Strings Attached

My life has taken me from Quebec to Florida to Vermont, but the one constant has been music: It’s my passion, and my way of life. 

I discovered the guitar at age 13 after hearing Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. I haven’t put it down since. I’m a guitar player first; I played in bands pretty seriously for 10 years. Nursing is a second career for me.  

I also studied music – classical and jazz guitar – but I didn’t like the academic side. I just wanted to play. So I did, five or six days a week, while teaching private lessons and recording at my house. By the 1980s, the music business was declining, and I was starting a family. Nursing seemed like a good option. 

I was still thinking about music all the time. For a lot of people, music is like a hobby – they can go weeks without playing. But for me it’s a passion. 

I always loved the sound of the cello. When I was in high school, my music teacher played a piece by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, and I fell in love with the instrument. But for me, it seemed impossible to play.  

Then in 2001, after we moved to Vermont, my daughter started cello lessons. When she didn’t want to do it anymore, we were going to return her rented cello. But I started playing for fun and taking lessons, and I thought, “This is really hard!” There are no frets, and bowing was the hardest part: You have to make your cello sing. 

Now, I consider myself a decent cello player. I’ve performed recitals at the hospital with coworkers on piano and violin. It’s rewarding but challenging. I still play guitar, too – everything from jazz to Joni Mitchell to “oldies.” 

I practice almost every day. I always want to learn something new, so I can get better. It’s also my oasis: When everything gets crazy, I go practice. It makes me forget pretty much everything and relax. 

Music is just something that lives in you. Like a painter or an artist – you never stop. 

Denis Thibouthot is a registered nurse at Central Vermont Medical Center. He has been with us since 2001.