Symphony of scientists, caregivers launches fifth season

The University's Life Sciences Institute aims to break down traditional barriers between chemical genomics, structural biology and other fields. In the same vein, the Life Sciences Orchestra (LSO) is breaking down boundaries, too—between nurses, medical and dental students, biomedical scientists, and top physicians—as it makes its mark on the world of symphonic music.

Members of the Life Sciences Orchestra perform last year. The conductor shown here is Laura Jackson, who recently won a prestigious post in Atlanta. John Goodell replaces her. (Photo by Paul Jaronski, U-M Photo Services)

Now entering its fifth season, the LSO claims many distinctions. Last year's music director just won a prestigious conducting post, the orchestra released its first professionally produced CD during the summer, it has a new conductor with an impressive resume, and—perhaps the orchestra's greatest achievement in breaking down barriers—it is responsible for at least one marriage, with the upcoming wedding of a former conductor and cellist.

And, while there are other orchestras made up of doctors, members of the LSO pride themselves on being the only life sciences orchestra in the country, drawing members not just from medicine but also from pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, bioengineering and the basic sciences.

It's not surprising there aren't more, considering the amount of time it takes members to meet high musical standards while also maintaining busy careers in the health and science fields, participants say.

"When I first heard the idea, I said, 'This is crazy,'" says Dr. Robert Bartlett, professor in the Department of Surgery, director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and chief of the Division of Critical Care. "All the medical people are so busy. It seemed like a pipe dream. But just getting together to play in a symphony orchestra sounded great."

So, in 2000, Bartlett added one more to his long string of titles: bass violinist with the LSO.

The program started when then-resident David Brown approached M.D./Ph.D. students David Wu and Gary Meyer and Gifts of Art Director Elaine Sims about forming a symphony orchestra made up of people in the life sciences field at U-M. Like Bartlett, many others saw the appeal, and 120 people—including 20 flute players—showed up for auditions.

LSO meeting, audition schedule The nation's only Life Sciences Orchestra (LSO) begins its fifth season with a general meeting for returning and prospective members at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 in the McIntosh Theater of the School of Music Building. The meeting will feature remarks from the LSO's new music director, John Goodell, and attendees will be able to sign up for auditions, which will be Sept. 19-24. Prospective members who have not played with the LSO before should fill out the form at http://www.umich.edu/~lsorch/musicians/prospectives.html. The LSO is open to faculty, staff, students, volunteers and alumni of the medical and life sciences areas of U-M and their immediate family members over the age of 18. For more information on the meeting, or to request an audition slot if you cannot attend the Sept. 12 meeting, e-mail orchestra@umich.edu or call (734) 936-2787.

During the past several years, the orchestra has become popular through its free, twice-yearly performances. This year, members will perform at 2 p.m. Jan. 16 and on a date in April, says Kara Gavin, media manager for U-M Health System (UMHS) Public Relations and a French horn player in the orchestra. For updated time and location information, visit http://www.umich.
edu/~lsorch/. The site also contains information about the orchestra's CD.

At the January concert, the orchestra will perform Mozart's "Symphony No. 29" and "Symphony No. 1" by Gustav Mahler, says new LSO music director and conductor John Goodell, who completed his master of music degree in orchestral conducting at U-M last year.

"One of my greatest passions is sharing music with others," Goodell says. The LSO post gives him a chance to do that, he says, and he praises the orchestra for "encouraging musicians and audiences alike to recognize that music is vital and relevant to everything we do."

Goodell has worked with many professional ensembles, including the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Civic Orchestra.

He replaces Laura Jackson, who recently was one of four young conductors selected in a yearlong national competition by the American Symphony Orchestra League to join the inaugural class of the American Conducting Fellows Program. Two of the other winners also have U-M ties: alumnus Damon Gupton and Joanna Carneiro, who studied with Kenneth Kiesler, director of orchestras and professor of conducting at the School of Music and a major supporter of the LSO.

The LSO is part of the UMHS Gifts of Art program. Director Sims—also a member of the LSO executive committee—says she feels as proud as if she were a stage mother when she hears the orchestra play.

"I wish we could shrink them and take them bedside to play for patients," Sims says.

Sims sees the orchestra as an important element in the Caring for the Caregiver movement. Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals need a creative outlet to balance out the intense requirements of their jobs.

"If you play music or listen to music, you're resting the part of your brain that focuses on problem solving," she says. "When you come back to the task at hand, you perform better."

The orchestra also gives faculty, staff and students a chance to play side-by-side, says Gavin, a founding member of the LSO executive committee.

"You get undergrad students who hope to be doctors one day, playing next to the chief of surgery," she says.

Bartlett likes that. "For those of us who are the professors, it's a great leveling influence," he says. "Nobody cares what you do during the day; it just matters how well you can play your instrument."

There's no tenure in the LSO, either.

"Everybody has to re-audition every year," Bartlett says. "That reminds me, I've got to get practicing."