Lullaby and Goodnight: University of Puget Sound Student’s Song to Be Performed at Carnegie Hall

Community, Students

On May 30, a small orchestra at Carnegie Hall will perform an original song written by University of Puget Sound graduate Madison Hening ’26. Hening’s piece, titled “Lily Rose,” was written for a class as part of the Lullaby Project, which pairs new and expectant parents with artists to compose personal lullabies for their families.

For Hening, it all started when she signed up for Music 323: Making Music for Public Good, taught by Tracy Doyle, professor and director of the School of Music. A classically trained pianist and violinist who started playing at a young age, Hening didn’t have any prior songwriting experience, but she was drawn in by the chance to support families whose babies had recently left the NICU through music.

“When I heard that the music elective MUS 323 would involve working with families that had graduated from the NICU, I was immediately intrigued. This class would be a way for me to combine two of my interests — music and medicine. I have prior experience volunteering as a musician in hospitals and this class was a way for me to continue using music as a tool for healing in the context of medical trauma," Hening said.

Madison Hening ’26 penned a song that was one of only four chosen from around the world to be performed at the Lullaby Project Celebration Concert.

Hening worked with a family whose daughter, Lily, was born premature at 22 weeks and spent four months in the NICU at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. Hening met with Lily’s father over Zoom, where she listened to the story of his daughter’s birth and early months. The entire process was highly collaborative, with multiple meetings to go over the concept and refine the song.

“I drafted lyrics and I started toying around with the melody. Then I met with him and got feedback from him on the lyrics, and we workshopped them together for several hours,” Hening said. “Once we had a finished product, I came up with chords and a melody to match the lyrics.”

Hening and her classmates were joined by local musicians from the community to record all of the songs. The lullabies were performed on campus in December and Hening’s song was later selected as one of only four songs chosen from submissions from around the world to be included in the Lullaby Project’s celebration concert.

“I can't believe this is even happening,” Hening said. “It's a very emotional and heavy song, and most people, when they hear it, they cry. Music is so powerful.”

"Earlier this month, Hening graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music and neuro bioethics and a Bachelor of Science in natural science chemistry. She’s working as a medical scribe and clinical research assistant in Denver while she prepares to apply to medical school. But first, she’s heading to New York City, where she’ll hear her lullaby performed at Carnegie Hall.

Madison Hening ’26 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music and neuro bioethics and a Bachelor of Science in natural science chemistry. She plans to attend medical school and continue to combine her music and medicine.

I really want to find a way to combine music in medicine in the future,” Hening said. “It brings people so much joy and it's amazing to me that I have the power to give that joy back to someone else through music.”

The Lullaby Project Celebration Concert is Saturday, May 30, at 3 p.m. at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Tickets are available at carnegiehall.org.