Members of the Northwestern Medical Orchestra are united not only by academics but also by a love of music.
“I thought that if I gave up on making music and pursuing it as a career, I wouldn’t have the luxury of doing it the way I wanted to,” says Ania Holbecki, NMO’s public relations manager and second-year doctoral student. said. . student in interfaculty neuroscience. “The orchestra gave me that.”
NMO was founded in spring 2018 with the mission of supporting the well-being of the NU medical community through live music performance. Comprised of NU graduate students, faculty, and alumni, the orchestra takes pride in promoting well-being, community, diversity, and programming.
Bettina Chan, NMO President and Co-Founder, is in her eighth year of medical and Ph.D. Students say the orchestra offers free performances to support equitable access to music. NMO often performs works by underrepresented composers, including black and female composers, she said.
The orchestra has approximately 120 musicians, the most in the group’s history. NMO gives preference to Feinberg students, but encourages anyone with a passion for music to participate.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, NMO hosted a series of virtual concerts and streamed performances via Zoom for those who did not feel comfortable attending events in person.
“We thought it was really important to continue to provide musical opportunities to the community,” Cheung said. “Especially as mental health has become a serious issue during the pandemic.”
Although NMO has resumed in-person concerts, we continue to livestream performances for distant family and friends, expanding the group’s reach in the community. NMO holds two concerts each season, in the fall and spring.
NMO also hosts an annual concert for patients in the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and runs regular programs exclusively for patients in the building.
“It’s a great way to engage with patients in a non-medical way and give them a way to forget about medical care, to step away from things for a little while and just relax. Sit back and enjoy it.” Holbecki said.
NMO practices once a week on Tuesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. The student and vice president of NMO said he enjoys rehearsals, which allow him to perform at his best without stressing his musical skills.
Parikh said the orchestra is also a source of great academic and musical community. He said he often helps first-year medical students in his section prepare for exams and advises them on schoolwork.
“Going to NMO for two hours a week and working a completely different part of my brain is always the highlight of my week,” Parikh said. “It’s a time where I can stop what I’m doing, whether it’s science, math or research-related, and work on music. It’s a really great checkpoint for me.”
NMO is scheduled to hold its first concert of the year on December 6th. Chan said the orchestra will continue to be a place for students to connect with people inside and outside the medical field.
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