February 23, 2001

The MGH is known worldwide as a center of medical talent. Yet many MGHers also harbor other gifts, like the musical ear and voice displayed by surgical technician Wendy Esoldo.

Esoldo has been a surgical technician in the Wang Same Day Surgery Unit (SDSU) for four and a half years. Her musical career, however, stretches back much further. Esoldo began singing and playing the piano as a child, and started writing songs when she was only 10 years old. "I write about a variety of things, from my own life story to things that have happened to other people," she says. "I just write as it hits me."

In 1997, Esoldo decided to record a CD. She made several trips to a recording studio in New Hampshire, often in the evening after she finished her MGH shift. Late last year, she completed the compilation, "Something to Believe In," which she describes as a collection of "relaxing pop ballads."

Esoldo's colleagues at the MGH have been supportive of her musical endeavors. "Everyone knew that I played the piano and sang," she explains. "They would ask how the CD was coming. When I got the discs around Christmas, people were buying them here in the SDSU." That led Esoldo to contact the staff at the MGH General Store, who agreed to sell copies of the CD in the gift shop.

Esoldo now hopes to market her songs to record companies around the country. "I worked so hard on this," she says. "I'm going to try sending it out and just see what happens."