COLUMBUS, Ohio — Music can be moving. That's why one chaplain is using the gift of song to bring hope in to a place you'd least expect. 

Chris Ciampa is the chaplain at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, so bringing hope and comfort to psychiatric patients falls under his job title. 

Part of that involves performing acoustic music for those patients. 

"It gives people a break from the hard work that they're doing in the hospital recovering and dealing with mental illnesses,” said Ciampa.

Ciampa has kept the music going, following the tunes of the previous chaplain, who also led sing-alongs. 

It's something, Ciampa said, that comes naturally to him. 

"I've been a musician all my life.” He said. “My mother played the piano, which gave more music. My father was a big jazz fan, and it was just always a part of the house."

Ciampa is also a freelance musician, so he performs with local bands around Columbus, but performing for the psychiatric patients here strikes a different cord. 

"You know, I think it helps them feel less lonely,” said Ciampa. 

Sounds like the music is doing just that. 

"I think the best reactions are when somebody who's been kind of down and sour and all of a sudden you see that foot start to tap,” he said, “or several of the nurses will actually dance through depending on the song.” 

While performing, Ciampa hopes to give the patients a new song track to live by: "Life is hard, but it can also be wonderful. Life can be fun and good and joyous and that you are loved and appreciated, not because of what you do or what you have, but just because of who you are." 

Outside of performing for the patients, Ciampa also offers spiritual-emotional care for them and their families going through tough times.