Hospital musician plays again after stolen cello is returned
A musician who brings comfort to patients in hospital has been reunited with her cello after it was stolen.
Ivy Wang is a nursing student at the University of Alberta who also spends time at the Stollery Children's Hospital helping patients with her other skills.
"I play cello around in the hospital to calm people and de-stress," said Wang.
Since she was 12, Wang has been playing the instrument.
Wang's played the cello as part of school orchestras and now, she plays in the hallways and the healing garden at the Stollery.
"I usually do classical (music), but I started picking up some pop and trending music," Wang said.
On Jan. 10, Wang left her cello in the Fine Arts building at the university, afraid of damaging it by bringing it into the cold. The next day, EPS officers with the transit community safety unit noticed a man in the Churchill Transit Station had a cello with him.
"It's just rare, I mean, it's almost midnight… I've never seen anyone with a cello before," said Cst. Mike Rott.
"We did ask him if he knew how to play… one of the statements he made was he didn't know how to play the cello, which makes you suspicious that it's probably not his."
The cello was seized as stolen property, but when officers looked to see if one had been reported stolen, there weren't any.
"We waited about a week and then still nothing," said Rott. "So it ended up being a roundabout way, we did a Google search for a name that she (the owner) had written in a piece of music."
Wang had discovered it was missing and reported it the day before police reached out to inquire if the one they found was hers. She's happy to have it back and grateful it wasn't damaged.
"I just need to retune the strings, but everything — the wood, the power of the cello — is all perfect," said Wang.
"When you can reunite somebody with something like that, that they hold with value in their minds… it's always nice," added Rott.
Wang is now keeping the cello locked up safe and sound to prevent this from happening again.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'We're not the bad boy': Charity pushes back on claims made by 101-year-old widow in $40M will dispute
Centenarian Mary McEachern says she knew what her husband wanted when he died. The problem is, his will says otherwise.
Bela Karolyi, gymnastics coach who mentored Nadia Comaneci and courted controversy, dies at 82
Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power, has died. He was 82.
Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration.
'A wake-up call': Union voices safety concerns after student nurse stabbed at Vancouver hospital
The BC Nurses Union is calling for change after a student nurse was stabbed by a patient at Vancouver General Hospital Thursday.
'The Bear' has a mirror image: Chicago crowns lookalike winner for show's star Jeremy Allen White
More than 50 contestants turned out Saturday in a Chicago park to compete in a lookalike contest vying to portray actor Jeremy Allen White, star of the Chicago-based television series 'The Bear.'
NYC politicians call on Whoopi Goldberg to apologize for saying bakery denied order over politics
New York City politicians are calling on Whoopi Goldberg to apologize for suggesting that a local bakery declined a birthday order because of politics.
Montreal city councillors table motion to declare state of emergency on homelessness
A pair of independent Montreal city councillors have tabled a motion to get the city to declare a state of emergency on homelessness next week.
WestJet passengers can submit claims now in $12.5M class-action case over baggage fees
Some travellers who checked baggage on certain WestJet flights between 2014 and 2019 may now claim their share of a class-action settlement approved by the British Columbia Supreme Court last month and valued at $12.5 million.
King Arthur left an ancient trail across Britain. Experts say it offers clues about the truth behind the myth
King Arthur, a figure so imbued with beauty and potential that even across the pond, JFK's presidency was referred to as Camelot — Arthur’s mythical court. But was there a real man behind the myth? Or is he just our platonic ideal of a hero — a respectful king, in today's parlance?