Molly Carr
Molly Carr
chamber musician, educator, artistic director,
Founder of "Project: Music Heals Us"
About
Violist Molly Carr received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School.
She was winner of the 2010 Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition
and a top Prize Winner in the 2008 Primrose International Viola Competition. Molly made her New York Concerto debut with the Juilliard Orchestra under Xian Zhang in Alice Tully Hall.
Molly is the founder+artistic director of Project: Music Heals Us, bringing the healing power of music to those in nursing homes, hospitals, hospice, homeless shelters and prisons.
Q & A
When did you begin playing your instrument?
I started playing violin when I was six years old… only because my mom forced me. When I was 10 or 11, my violin teacher handed me a viola. I held it and played a couple notes... and within a year I knew that I had found my voice. By the time I was 12, I knew I was going to be a musician. It was very clear for me.
What do you love about being a musician?
The awesome thing about the music world is that it is very small, but at the same time, it’s very international. I’ve made friends who are living in Europe and Asia and South Africa.
What was your inspiration for creating "Project:
Music Heals Us"?
My inspiration was a woman named Ruth. At one point when I was exploring the possibility of nursing as a career, I was doing my residency at a nursing home. I became very fond of one patient in particular, Ruth. As I finished up my residency, I promised her I’d return with friends I’ve made throughout my musical career and we’d come back and play for her. Six months later, I kept that promise, and Project: Music Heals Us
began in Ruth’s hospital room.
What have you learned from Project: Music Heals Us?
"We’ve played just under 100 concerts in four years.
Every time we play a Healing Concert, they fill us up as musicians and remind us of the power of what we can do with our art."
"People are people, placed in different circumstances or environments, but there’s no superiority or inferiority, we’re all here together. We can all help each other in beautiful ways."
My hobbies...
I love to play soccer. I’ve broken my knee, I’ve broken my nose and torn my hamstring playing the sport I love! I also love to bake and go on long walks with my puppy, Billy Jean.
My role models...
Definitely my mother. She’s an incredible woman and the most intelligent woman I've ever met. I also look to Michelle Obama and my former viola teacher, Heidi, as role models.
Over the years, I've learned...
That choosing the right path may not be the easy path. I learned this from my mother and it definitely applies to my chosen music career path!