| Departments — Pulse | Spring 2008 |
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All the Right Notes The orchestra’s roots within Harvard Medical School run deep. Established in 1982, the orchestra was the brainchild of musically inclined HMS students and professors who wanted to play together. Today, the LSO has 120 musicians, three-quarters of whom are physicians and other health care professionals from area hospitals and medical schools. Two HMS students—Sandy Mong ’08 and Sherman Jia ’11, both violinists—were appointed co-concert masters for the orchestra’s 2007–2008 season. The connection between music and medicine is an instinctual one for many physicians, says the LSO’s president, Lisa Wong, an HMS clinical That dedication isn’t limited to the stage. In 1991, the LSO cemented its commitment to community service by introducing its Healing Art of Music Program, an initiative to raise funds and awareness for various medical nonprofit organizations. “Rather than simply donating money to these groups, we ask them to purchase blocks of tickets and then work together to create a unique fundraising event,” says Wong. This blend of creativity and collaboration has paid off: Since its inception, the program has helped raise more than $800,000 for nearly 30 organizations, including the Dimock Community Health Center, Partners In Health, and the Shriners Burn Hospital Boston. The soundtrack for these events is equally varied. LSO conductor Jonathan McPhee, who also serves as music director for the Boston Ballet, enjoys introducing Boston audiences to pieces they may not have heard recently—or ever—such as the twentieth-century Czech composer Leos Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass. The program recently expanded its direction in honor of the orchestra’s 25th anniversary by offering a series of free daytime symposia on public health issues such as AIDS, global health, and women’s rights, with each symposium capped by an evening benefit concert by the LSO. The orchestra capped its latest season with participation in a London symposium on cancer care, including lectures—both of the LSO’s trumpeters are oncologists—and a concert. The 2008–2009 season, which will focus on the role of music and the mind in healing, will feature a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of Albert Schweitzer’s visit to the United States. In planning the program, Wong, a violinist, has considered the powerful effect of Schweitzer’s reverence for life on the music and minds of her fellow symphonists. “The way we play changes when we know we’re performing for something beyond ourselves,” she says. “We don’t obsess over hitting every note perfectly; we’re thinking about what we’re playing for.” For more information, visit www. longwoodsymphony.org. Jessica Cerretani is assistant editor of the Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin. Photo captions: The Longwood Symphony Orchestra on stage (story top); the Boston medical community has yielded a trove of musical talents, including violinist Lisa Wong, president of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, and violist Nicholas Tawa, Jr., ’81. Photos: Tom Kates Photography |
instructor in pediatrics. “Medicine is based in science, but with practice, you make it an art,” she explains. “Music is very similar. Once you perfect the technique, you add the artistry.” And like medicine, practicing music requires dedication. “Residents often trade their call schedules so they can perform with us,” says Wong, who admits that pagers do sound during practice, but quips that “they go off in tune.”
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