Blog Post · Tuesday, May 12, 2026 David Villareal, RPh, CCM
There is something that happens when you share a vision with someone and they say yes.
Not a polite yes. Not a “sounds interesting” yes. A real yes — the kind where you can tell they actually felt something.
That is what I have experienced with each of the musicians who are joining me for the founding session of Acoustic Healing on May 17.
I want to introduce them to you — not as performers, but as people. Because that is what this project has always been about. People. Presence. The willingness to show up for someone you may never meet again.
Mary Superak joins us for the morning session. Mary is the kind of musician who walks into a room and makes the air feel different. In a hospital setting, that is not a small gift. It is everything.
Julia Bartles Emahiser will be with us for the afternoon session on May 17. Julia brings a quality that is essential to this work — the understanding that what we offer is not a performance. It is a presence. She understood that from the first conversation.
And then there is Vivian Sarubbi.
Vivian is a founding member of this effort — and her connection to it runs deeper than most people know. Before she was a musician in this work, she was an oncology nurse. She sat with patients through some of the hardest moments of their lives. She understood what it meant to be present, to hold space, to offer comfort when there were no words left.
She also played music for Becca.
Becca — my daughter-in-law, the inspiration behind everything Acoustic Healing has become — received the gift of Vivian’s music during her illness. Vivian remembers those visits. She carries them with her.
When I think about what it means to have Vivian as part of this founding session, I don’t have words that feel adequate. She is not just a musician who said yes. She is someone who already understood, long before I asked.
And then there is me — the fourth musician. I started this whole thing and somehow ended up last on the list. That feels exactly right.
Think about the moment a patient is first admitted. Everything is unfamiliar. Cold. Someone brings them a warm blanket — and it matters so much. But there is a part of a person no blanket can reach. The fear. The loneliness. The quiet wondering about what comes next.
That is where we are going. That is what these four musicians are saying yes to.
I am grateful to Julia, Mary, and Vivian. They believed in this before it was anything more than a vision. That means everything to me.
I’ll be writing more about May 17 as it gets closer. For now, I just wanted you to meet the people.
💜 David E Villareal, RPh, CCM
🎸 www.acoustichealing.music
🌐 www.thetherapeuticguitarist.com
💼 linkedin.com/in/david-villareal-rph-ccm-35963819
🏢 linkedin.com/company/acoustic-healing