While he attended Pershing Elementary and Churchill Middle School, Gold River resident Michael Cicelski was a Sacramento Youth Symphony member.  Photo courtesy of Michael Cicelski

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Gold River resident Michael Cicelski, a University of California, Los Angeles senior, combines his passion for music and human connection through Backbeat Bruins, a student-led organization bringing live performances to hospitals, senior centers and communities in need across California.

Cicelski has lived in Gold River since he was 2 and attended Gold River Discovery Center, Pershing Elementary and Churchill Middle School, where he was part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

While in middle school and in the Sacramento Youth Symphony, Cicelski performed as a cellist and formed a small chamber group with his sister and classmates to volunteer at local senior communities, including Eskaton Village Carmichael, Eskaton Gold River and Eskaton Fair Oaks.

His connection to these communities is deeply personal. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cicelski’s grandfather was an Eskaton Fair Oaks resident. Because of health restrictions, Cicelski could not visit his grandfather. This experience deepened Cicelski’s awareness of how isolation affects older adults and inspired his later commitment to reconnecting generations through music.

While attending Folsom High School, Cicelski decided to test out of high school early during the pandemic. Cicelski continued his studies at Folsom Lake College and American River College before transferring to UCLA, where he is majoring in sociology and pre-med.

This past spring, Cicelski founded Backbeat Bruins and joined with fellow UCLA students Aiden Jahangiri and Nupur Gupta to bring the organization to life. Jahangiri, an El Dorado Hills resident and Folsom Lake College alumnus, shares Cicelski’s passion for using music as a bridge between generations. The group’s mission is to bring comfort, joy and genuine human connection through live performance. Their first concert took place at Santa Monica Hospital, featuring student musicians and a UCLA faculty member.

Co-founders Michael Cicelski and Aiden Jahangiri speak at Eskaton Village Carmichael in August. Photo courtesy of Michael Cicelski

“As both a parent and a music teacher, I loved seeing how much Michael enjoyed playing music with others, especially chamber music with his sister and my piano students,” said his mother, Erie Cicelski. “It's heartwarming to see him continuing that same spirit through his outreach program."

This past summer, while home from UCLA, Cicelski and Jahangiri organized a performance at Eskaton Village Carmichael, the same senior community where Cicelski first played as a middle-school volunteer. Local musicians joined the ensemble, volunteering their talent and time to make the event possible.

“We were amazed by the support from the local musicians who joined us,” Cicelski said. “It was inspiring to see how many people were willing to come together for such a meaningful cause.”

Beyond the music itself, Cicelski emphasizes the importance of personal interaction.

“Many residents in senior and healthcare communities experience loneliness or go long stretches without visitors,” Cicelski said. “Live performances offer something deeper than entertainment. There’s real human connection, smiling, talking, clapping together; and that can make a big difference. Music has been shown to lift moods, reduce stress and help people feel more connected, even for a short time.”

Cicelski’s studies in sociology and global health have helped shape his understanding of these effects. He has shadowed physicians at UC Davis Medical Center and at Metropolitan General Hospital in Athens, Greece, and volunteered with neurodivergent children in Jakarta, Indonesia. While volunteering abroad, Cicelski recognized that communication through music is universal, transcending language and cultural barriers.

“Music is a universal language,” Cicelski said. “It crosses borders and brings people together in ways words often can’t. My friends from different communities and countries immediately understood what Backbeat Bruins is about and they wanted to bring that same experience to their own areas.”

These experiences have broadened Cicelski’s perspective on how culture and context shape mental health care and how creative approaches such as music can adapt to diverse settings. He plans to pursue a career in psychiatry that blends music, cultural understanding and global perspectives on care.

Interest in Backbeat Bruins has already spread beyond California. A family friend in Austin, Texas, who is a music teacher, has invited the group to host a performance and offered to perform alongside her students. In the Philippines, another friend expressed excitement about organizing a similar volunteer event and said she could recruit musicians from her church.

“It’s really something that can be done anywhere,” Cicelski said. “Music has a universal appeal and our goal is to help others see how easy and rewarding it can be to create those moments of connection in their own communities.”

The group plans additional performances this year throughout the Los Angeles area, with growing interest from musicians and healthcare communities in other parts of California and beyond. Highlights from the Carmichael performance can be viewed on their YouTube channel at youtube.com/watch?v=xght5nYOkg4.

You can also visit their website at www.backbeatbruins.org.