After playing and singing "Little Wonders," by Rob Thomas for Army veteran John Fay at the DC VA Medical Center's Hospice Unit, Musicians On Call performer, Dante Ciolfi, thanks Fay for his service. Tyrone Turner/WAMU for NPR hide caption

Tyrone Turner/WAMU for NPR

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dante Ciolfi unzips his guitar case in a courtyard of the Veterans Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"I'm about to tune my guitar," he says.

He is getting ready to play some songs for patients in the hospice wing of the hospital. Ciolfi is a musician volunteer with Musicians On Call or MOC, a non-profit that brings live music to hospital patients nationwide, both bedside and virtually via zoom. The group's motto is "delivering the healing power of music." When Ciolfi isn't volunteering, he teaches computer science to graduate students.

He meets up with Ellen Morris, another volunteer with MOC.…