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Former BYU quarterback Steve Young holds a freshly cut ribbon joined by Barb Young (pictured behind Steve on the left), Adele Storrs (left of Steve Young), Anne-Marie Barton (pictured behind Storrs) and others at the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Courtesy Intermountain Health

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An image of Sophie Barton and artist memorabilia are pictured outside of the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Courtesy Intermountain Health

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Barb Young, co-founder of the Forever Young Foundation, speaks to a crowd during a grand opening celebration for the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Courtesy Intermountain Health

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10-year-old Adele Storrs of Springville performs a Taylor Swift song during a grand opening celebration for the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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Anne-Marie Barton, Sophie Barton's mother, speaks to a crowd during a grand opening celebration for the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Courtesy intermountain Health

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A signed guitar by Taylor Swift is pictured at the the new Sophie's Place inside Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Courtesy Intermountain Health

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David Osmond performs a song during a grand opening celebration for the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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A sign instructing patients to make a rose in honor of Sophie Rose Barton is pictured during a grand opening celebration for the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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Brigham Young University mascot Cosmo the Cougar meets young singer Adele Storrs at the new Sophie's Place at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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Music has a way of bringing people together, evoking emotion and serving as a form of healing for people of all ages.

For children battling various illnesses, experts at Intermountain Health say the link between musical therapy and emotional well-being is beneficial in health care settings.

On Wednesday, patients, caregivers and community members celebrated the opening of Sophie’s Place, a music therapy room at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Campus in Lehi.

Sophie’s Place is a unique, music-inspired playroom that blends music, art and dance/movement therapy for pediatric patients.It was established 12 years ago, in memory of singer and songwriter Sophie Rose Barton, who volunteered her time at Primary Children’s Hospital to help patients.

Barton died in June 2010 at the age of 17, after she reportedly collapsed while on a hiking trip with her mother and some friends at a girls camp near Heber City.

Anne-Marie Barton, Sophie’s mom, said her daughter had a vision to heal the world with music and a passion to give back to the community.

“Playing music for the kids and their parents and creating an area with a feeling of inspiration — that’s what she was good at…that’s what she was looking for,” Anne-Marie Barton said during Wednesday’s ceremony.

When Barton wasn’t strumming her guitar and playing music for sick children, she was recording new material and performing at different venues around the state of Utah with her sister Tessa.

In a Deseret News article published shortly after Barton’s death, friends described her as a gifted songstress who could write a song about anything happening in her life or surroundings.

The space inside Intermountain Primary Children’s Lehi campus marks the ninth and the biggest Sophie’s Place to open nationwide.

The title of one her songs “Shine On” is prominently displayed on a mantle inside Sophie’s Place.

The expressive therapies room features instruments including a piano, drums, guitars, microphones and a dedicated recording studio.

“What makes this location unique is its vibrant, multidisciplinary approach to healing through self-expression, self-discovery and joy,” said Lisa Paletta, president of the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital Miller Family Campus.

Sophie’s Place was created with support from the Intermountain Foundation and Forever Young Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by former Brigham Young University quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young along with his wife, Barb.

Young remembered his first time visiting Primary Children’s Hospital in 1983, and how he felt seeing so many kids battling different illnesses was a life-changing moment.

“I had been in a bubble; I didn’t know kids got sick,” he said. “Just as a young kid, you don’t realize how much pain and suffering that kids go through, and so that changed me.”

The Forever Young Foundation was established in 1993 and serves children across the country facing significant physical, emotional and financial challenges by providing them with academic, athletic and therapeutic opportunities that otherwise may not be available to them.

Young said that through Sophie’s Place, her heart and spirit live on by bringing comfort, inspiration and healing to countless young patients.

“The frequency of physician�’prescribed music therapy underscores just how vital this noninvasive, functional treatment is in transforming and improving the lives of the children we are privileged to serve,” he said.

Barb Young noted the benefits music therapy has on reducing a person’s stress and anxiety.

“Scientific studies have consistently shown that music therapy activates and integrates multiple areas of the brain, promoting neuroplasticity and the development of new neural pathways, helping regulate pain responses, lowering stress hormones, reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression and enhancing both fine and gross motor skills in children,” she said.

The room is surrounded by a diverse array of artist memorabilia and collectors items, including a guitar signed by Taylor Swift.

Following a ceremonious ribbon-cutting, officially marking the opening of the new Sophie’s Place, Wednesday’s event continued with performances from David Osmond, Brigham Young University dancers Katie Williams and Jordan Halterman, and 10-year-old Adele Storrs.

Storrs, of Springville, who sang a rendition of Swift’s “Love Story” before a packed room inside the hospital, has her own connection to Sophie’s Place.

In 2022, she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and spent weeks at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

“I was sick, I couldn’t see my family, I was just with my mom and I was really lonely,” Storrs told reporters during Wednesday’s event.

But having access to Sophie’s Place provided a sense of joy and hope.

“As soon as I found out there was music therapy, I lit up like a light bulb,” she said.

Storrs said she’s always loved music and dancing ever since she learned how to walk.

Although Barton’s life ended more than a decade ago, Storrs is just one example of how the singer and songwriter’s work and legacy continues to impact the youth.

“I just really admire her example in trying to help other people, (and) that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” she said.

Storrs credits her family for their love and support for her during such a dark time in life.

For other young patients like Storrs, Sophie’s Place at the Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital looks to continue providing a special space of healing for thousands of children and their families and leaving a long-lasting impact on their lives well into the future.

Sophie’s Place is funded entirely through philanthropy. Services are provided to patients and families at no cost, Intermountain Health says.

“We are proud to partner with Intermountain Health to deliver these measurable, evidence�’based benefits through the creation of this specialized music therapy room, where ‘Music Changes Everything.'”