Cancer patients at St. Louis University will soon be greeted with classical music when they visit the hospital for chemotherapy or other treatments.

Dr. Mark Varvares, director of the SLU cancer center, hopes the new partnership with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will comfort patients while training students and musicians in music therapy. The project will also include research to learn more about the healing power of music to reduce pain and stress.

Hospitals have believed in the value of music and art therapy for years. Having the creative outlets can be a welcome distraction and an emotional outlet for patients.

But exactly how music can reduce stress hormones, lower blood pressure or dull pain is still being studied. Varvares said anecdotal evidence shows that live classical music provides the most benefit.

"There's something special about the tactile interaction when music is being made," Varvares said. "We want to create a medical research arm of this program to prove that it helps."

Several local hospitals offer musical diversions, including concerts on the first Sunday of every month at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Volunteers play harps and pianos at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, and a music therapist visits patients by request.

The formal partnership between St. Louis University and the symphony is thought to be a first for the region and was inspired in part by a similar program between the University of Pittsburgh hospital and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

SLU is interviewing candidates for a full-time music therapist position who will coordinate their program and offer training to students and musicians. Maryville University, the only school in the area that offers degrees in music therapy, will provide interns to work for the program.

Symphony musicians Shawn Weil, violin, and Bjorn Ranheim, cello, played duets by Reinhold Gliere on Monday at a kickoff event at the SLU medical school. Participation for the musicians is voluntary, but they are compensated for their community work.

"We can bring music to people who can't get to Powell (Hall)," Weil said. "Being able to play for an appreciative audience is a wonderful feeling."