The musicians might arrive in surgical scrubs or blue jeans. They could be fresh off a triumph in the lab or a heartbreak in the O.R.. Some come in exhausted from a medical exam or an overnight shift while others are recently returned from trips where their expertise was called on several states or countries away.
Such is the eclectic mix of the Life Sciences Orchestra, a volunteer 70-80 member musical body that lets the employees and students from the University of Michigan Health System and Life Sciences programs use the love of song to soothe the stress, chaos and pressure of the work week.
In the LSO, an amateur orchestra with a devoted following of fans, medical and dental students, doctors and dentists, students and professors, lab techs and administrators, researchers and hospital staffers sit side by side playing musical instruments instead of microscopes, scalpels, and computers.
The LSO is foremost an artistic outlet and community-builder for staff and students. It formed eight years ago and is operated by the health system's Gift of Arts program.
"When we all met we thought we'll just put up flyers and see if anyone is interested. Within one week we had 120 people," says Elaine Sims, director of the multi-faceted Gift of Arts program.
Because of the mix of members the orchestra turned out to be a great equalizer.
"In medicine and other areas there's a real hierarchy with the doctor at the top. In orchestra it's all about who can play," says Kara Gavin, a French horn player who is director of public relations for U-M's Health System and on the board of the LSO. "It's a really interesting. The whole hierarchy breaks down and they just have fun playing music together. It's people from all walks of life trying to play Shostakovich's 12th Symphony."
A crucial component of the orchestra is giving the musicians a valve to relieve the pressure brought on by their work.
"These folks have very complex jobs, very little room for error…What we do is give them a way to relax," Gavin explains.
That same on-the-job drive extends to their playing.
"Many of them are sort of perfectionist types. They bring those qualities to the orchestra," says Gavin.
Cello player and first year medical student Anna Yaffee can attest to the orchestra's calming effect.
"It's a nice break. It's something completely different from the things I do during the week, says Yaffee, an Ann Arbor native who has an undergraduate degree and master's degree in public health.
"It's 2 1/2 hours on a Sunday, but it really helps a lot," Yaffee adds. "It's a nice way to interact with people and it gives me a chance to play.
Yaffee is thrilled to be sharing the stage with people whose names she only knew through their accomplishments and prestige.
"Interacting on that level of familiarity is something I would never get a chance to do if not for the orchestra," she explains. "There are well-known doctors in the orchestra. Some of them I would never approach."
There's also an acceptance and understanding of one another among the members.
"Sometimes it's ok if someone's pager goes off and they to run out," she says. "Everyone understands."
The orchestra rehearses weekly and plays two public shows a year at the Hill Auditorium, an acoustically-supreme concert hall that has hosted a long list of world-renown artists. Student conductors from the School of Music, which has the top conductor program in the country, conduct and nearly 2,000 people attend. The next show is at 4 p.m. Jan. 11.
"The privilege of playing at the Hill Auditorium is another great thing about the orchestra," says Gavin, a French horn player since age 10. "It's an amateur orchestra, but they give it their all and it all comes together, the adrenaline rush, the conductors they all come together on stage and put on an amazing show."
The orchestra is also the venue where musicians can turn off the analytical side of the brain and tune into the creative side.
"They're going into a different zone, a different place, resting that analytical thinking," explains Sims. "There's research that art helps people relax. We did a survey and people feel it helps with stress."
Of course, getting in the orchestra isn't easy. Each year there are more and more people auditioning than there are spots.
"We get calls from incoming physicians or residents asking 'What are my chances of being in the orchestra because that will be a factor in the decision if I come there.' We have medical students saying, 'I couldn't have made it without the orchestra.' "
That potential employees are looking for harmony off the job as a prerequisite to accept employment is proof that today's best talent looks at a community's quality of life when making their job choice. In Ann Arbor, a city that cherishes art and artists, the LSO is one of many stages for performers.
"That's the thing, when you're in a college town like this, you've got an art school, you've got people who settle here after they graduate. You've got Detroit, Flint and Lansing, this whole region has a lot of talent and artists,"
boasts Sims, who through her job knows art and artists well.
"Being here makes it easy. You don't have to work hard to find the talent and the projects."
As the director of Gifts of Art, Sims oversees a long list of innovative programs at the University's hospitals. There are bedside musicians, weekly concerts in the hospital lobby, a poster art selection for patients to choose what hangs in their room, a healing garden and more. Like the patients, the LSO is meant to calm staffers through artistic expression.
Which is not to say that they don't play like pros.
"I have to say the orchestra is one of our best known things out in the community," Sims says. "People just know it….What happens in the hospital with the arts program is a well kept secret, but the orchestra members have been great ambassadors."
Kim North Shine is a staff writer at the Detroit Free Press and wishes she had practiced piano like her mother told her to. Her previous article fopr Concentrate was
Photos:
Some Sheet Music at the LSO's Practice-Ann Arbor
A Member of the LSO's Violin-Ann Arbor
The String Section Practices at U of M School of Music-Ann Arbor
The Conductor of the LSO Doing His Thing-Ann Arbor
A Violin Player at LSO-Ann Arbor
All Photos by Dave Lewinski
Dave Lewinski is Concentrate's Managing Photographer. He likes the movie High Fidelity. That's about as musical as he gets.
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