Musical Rounds

Melanie Ambler and Shelby the cello
  • 5.0 (13)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks at the hospital bedside. Co-hosted by resident physician Melanie Ambler and her cello named Shelby, each episode is a session with a patient receiving palliative care recorded live in a single take: an unscripted story, a cello score improvised in real time. 75 of the first 100 patients asked for their stories to be shared. They wanted to reach people they may never meet. This series honors that ask. New episodes every Tuesday.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Art to Me Is Beauty

    “Art to me is beauty…What you put on that canvas is what's in your mind. And I love that. No one can take away what you draw, what you paint, what you say. No one can take that ever away from you.” On this episode, meet a true artist at heart, hear a serendipitous love story featuring a dog named Angel, and transport yourself to some ocean waves crashing in the background. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    Art to Me Is Beauty

  2. Jul 7

    Footprints in the Sand

    When I walked into this woman's hospital room, I discovered she was awake and intubated, which meant a machine was helping her to breathe and, as a result, she wasn't able to speak. Instead, she communicated with me by writing on a whiteboard. Together with her mother at her side, she shared about her devout faith, and her love for the beach. In a beautiful allusion to the poem, Footprints in the Sand, her mother described being carried by God through the most difficult stretches of life. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    Footprints in the Sand

  3. Jun 30

    Something Sweet

    Allie never thought of herself as sweet. Her sister knows exactly why: she knows everyone's name, walks up to strangers, makes every person feel like they belong. Her whole family lives within ten minutes of each other. Her Zumba friends dedicated a class in her honor. Three songs fill the hospital room, the last one inspired by her loving character. "Something sweet," Melanie says. "For a sweet person." Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories. *this patient’s family consented to names being used in the episode.*

    Something Sweet

  4. Jun 23

    Sunlight through the Trees

    A man meets Shelby the cello and decides he wants to go somewhere he's never been: a canyon in New Zealand, hunting red stag. As the low tones carry him into the landscape, he lifts his binoculars instead of his rifle, watching the stag rather than taking the shot. From there it's a walk through a pine forest, soft underfoot, sunlight breaking through the trees.Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    Sunlight through the Trees

  5. Jun 16

    Blue Light Special

    A woman takes us to her favorite place on earth, which turns out to be a person: her husband. The man who taught her what safety feels like. She tells the story of spotting him across the pillow section at Kmart, throwing a pillow at him, and ducking. Thirty years later, she still calls him her blue light special, the one she got to pick out and take home. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    Blue Light Special

  6. Jun 9

    The Hummingbird

    Meet a man who's lived the life of a hummingbird, with his family joining him in his garden for one last happy party. We hear stories from his youth waking up in the moat of an English castle with bats flying overhead, to decades of life lessons, and an everlasting joy for the "most amazing bird in all the world." Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest. Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    The Hummingbird

  7. Jun 2

    Alive & Kicking

    He used to clean a high school orchestra room and he can still hear every instrument. From a symphony hall in Mexico City to a hospital bed in California, he's still flying. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest. Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠musicalrounds.org⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠, ⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠ and the ⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    Alive & Kicking

  8. Jun 2

    As Far Into the Woods

    A cabin in the Sierras where the kids sleep on the floor, everyone piles onto a Polaris, and you head as far into the woods as you can go. Then a diagnosis threatens all of it. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    As Far Into the Woods

  9. Jun 2

    The Glass Doll

    A beautiful glass doll is dancing in circles, trying to bring happiness everywhere it goes. It doesn't know it's broken. A story of Afghanistan, family, and a spirit that refuses to be extinguished. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠⁠musicalrounds.org⁠⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠⁠ and the ⁠⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    The Glass Doll

  10. Jun 2

    So, Here We Go

    A tale of radical acceptance. A woman who has had six cancers since age 23 shares why she stopped fighting — and started making friends. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest. Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  Melanie entered these rooms not as a physician but as a musician. As such, she had little to no information as to why this patient was in the hospital — and nor will you. What you will hear is what they wanted to share with you directly. During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. Website: ⁠musicalrounds.org⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠, ⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠ and the ⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    So, Here We Go

  11. Jun 2

    A Duet with the IV Alarm

    A cellist walks into a hospital room, and the most annoying sound in medicine becomes something unexpected. Meet Melanie Ambler and Shelby the cello, and the moment that started Musical Rounds. Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. 75% of people asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they may never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest. Website: ⁠musicalrounds.org⁠ Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠⁠Peak II Foundation⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠⁠, ⁠Honeywell Arts Academy⁠ and the ⁠⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠⁠.  With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

    A Duet with the IV Alarm

  12. Season 1 Trailer

    Musical Rounds

    Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks.  Hosted by cellist and resident physician Melanie Ambler (and her cello Shelby), this series began as a year-long research project while she was a medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine.  During bedside sessions in palliative care at three hospitals in the Bay Area, patients share unscripted stories from their lives while Melanie improvises a cello score that moves with them. Each conversation is recorded live, in a single take, in the hospital room. Seventy-five of the first hundred patients asked for their story to be shared with the world. They wanted to reach people they would never meet. This podcast is our way of honoring that ask. The people you will meet in this series are receiving palliative care, a field of medicine focused on comfort and dignity near the end of life. Their stories hold love, loss, and laughter. Their music carries the rest. New episodes release every Tuesday starting June 2nd, 2026. Website: musicalrounds.org Hosted by Melanie Ambler. Original music composed and performed by Shelby the cello. Produced by Grace Carroll and Chase Morano. Audio engineering and mixing by Michael Shofi. Cover art and animations by Janice Tjan. Made possible in partnership with the ⁠Peak II Foundation⁠, ⁠Healing Hands Scrubs,⁠ ⁠Stanford MedScholars⁠, Honeywell Arts Academy and the ⁠Arnold P. Gold Foundation⁠. With deepest gratitude to the patients and families who entrusted us with their stories.

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

Musical Rounds is a podcast where people with serious illnesses share their life stories, and we transform them into live, improvised soundtracks at the hospital bedside. Co-hosted by resident physician Melanie Ambler and her cello named Shelby, each episode is a session with a patient receiving palliative care recorded live in a single take: an unscripted story, a cello score improvised in real time. 75 of the first 100 patients asked for their stories to be shared. They wanted to reach people they may never meet. This series honors that ask. New episodes every Tuesday.

Information

  • Creator
    Melanie Ambler and Shelby the cello
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Melanie Ambler and Shelby the cello
  • Show Website
    Musical Rounds

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