Taking the show - and the cancer care - on the road
Doctor-musicians play, study in London
Lots of music groups tour abroad, and scientists regularly attend symposia in other countries. Putting the two together? That's a variation.
On June 21, some 30 members of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra boarded a flight to London to launch "Bridging the Atlantic: Artful Innovations in Cancer Care," a combination concert tour, medical symposium, and philanthropic campaign. The London performances were the first concerts ever given outside Massachusetts in the 25-year history of the orchestra, which is composed mainly of local medical professionals.
"Almost everywhere we went - no, everywhere we went - we connected at the highest level," said music director and conductor Jonathan McPhee, who describes himself as "the professional musician in the group."
The orchestra's performances were recognized in two prestigious musical journals in London, Classical Music UK and The Stage. And the medical work accomplished - sharing experiences and research - was equally exciting to orchestra members, said LSO violinist and board president Dr. Lisa Wong. "Serious long-term connections were made," she said.
Like the group's stateside concerts, the tour raised money for a health-care cause. About $5,000 was collected to benefit Marie Curie Cancer Care, a charity that funds cancer research and provides free care for cancer patients in their homes.
The Longwood Symphony agreed to share photos and details from their trip blog. Some excerpts:
JUNE 21-22
Without any hassle from security about the horns and violins, and with a relatively smooth, direct flight to London, we arrived at the Heathrow International airport. London greeted us with sunshine and we piled off the bus for a brief stop at Buckingham Palace.
Our next stop was the violin shop of Florian Leonhard. Mr. Leonhard has generously provided the LSO cello section with beautiful instruments to use during our time in London. (This saved us quite the hassle of either packing the instruments in gigantic flight cases or purchasing each cello a seat on the flight!)
Our first London rehearsal took place at Greycoat Hospital - a historic building that used to be a hospital and is now a school for girls. The rehearsal served as a mini-reunion with former LSO members who are now residing in the greater London area.
Despite the fact that we had all been awake for at least 25 hours, we buckled down and focused for an intense three-and-a-half hour rehearsal.
JUNE 23
Our first full day in London included a six-hour medical symposium presented by members of the Longwood Symphony and our medical counterparts here in London.
We arrived bright and early at St. Bartholomew's Hospital - which is commonly known as Barts. Barts was founded in 1123 and remains a working hospital nearly 900 years later. William Hogarth's awe-inspiring wall murals, created in 1731, greeted us as we climbed the winding stairs to the Great Hall, in which the symposium and concert took place. These works, depicting Christ caring for the sick, seemed a perfect introduction to our day focusing on arts and healing.
As orchestra members, we are trained to communicate our passions through our instruments. Today was a very different day for us. Our [musical] identities were temporarily put aside as we shared our passions, not for music, but for our research and our patients. This was the first time we have had a chance to hear in depth what our fellow musicians do in the labs, in the wards, and at the bedside.
The symposium focused on all aspects of cancer care and was divided into sections. Speakers in the "From Bench to Bedside" section shared the latest in cancer biology and targeted therapy. "Living in Harmony with Cancer" raised important questions about quality of life for the cancer survivor.
After [a] meal, we returned to the Great Hall as musicians. The evening concert showcased our own musicians, opening with Bach's Concerto for Two Violins featuring Harvard medical students and LSO co-concertmasters Sherman Jia and Sandy Mong. The duo was followed by a performance of Borne's fiendishly difficult "Carmen Fantasy," featuring flutist Dr. Daniela Krause. Dr. Leonard Zon, whose talk on zebrafish, embryonic stem cells, and cancer biology inspired us early in the morning, returned with an equally inspiring performance of Albinoni's piccolo trumpet concerto.
JUNE 24
On Tuesday morning, 12 of our travelers returned to Barts to visit the newly renovated Bodley Scott Infusion Unit. The morning consisted of a tour of the facility and a brief chamber music performance by LSO musicians. The state-of-the-art oncological facilities housed harmoniously in this 900-year-old hospital was a bright example of the juxtaposition of modernity and history that seems quintessential London.
In the early afternoon, the group reconvened at Regent Hall for a rehearsal. Soprano Janna Baty arrived directly from the airport after a long flight delay from Washington, D.C. She added her rich and luxurious voice to the orchestra's storytelling for Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915." We also rehearsed with David Juritz, with whom we had performed at Tufts University on May 31, and who was now joining us on his home turf in London. David and Janna are the featured British and American soloists in the symphony's June 26 and June 27 concerts.
JUNE 25
A group of 17 LSO musicians set off for Surrey to visit the Marie Curie Cancer Research Institute.
In the lecture hall, where many of the lab's researchers had gathered, Dr. Robert Cross talked about Marie Curie and her dedication to innovation in research. He introduced us to the Institute, which consists of 100 scientists whose work focuses on "the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of cancer . . . with the ultimate aim of exploiting our efforts in the development of new methods for the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and palliation of cancer."
Dr. Wong explained the LSO's mission and vision and then our musicians and scientists introduced themselves by instrument and profession, then performed a concert of solos, duos, quartets, and quintets. The analogy of collaborative science and chamber music was immediately apparent.
The afternoon brought us to Edenhall Marie Curie hospice in Hampstead. Dr. Philip Lodge [a palliative care physician there] led a lively discussion about similarities and differences in palliative care between the UK and the US. Several chamber ensembles shared their gift of music with the patients. As one family said a final farewell to their loved one, they thanked us that her final hour was filled with music.
JUNE 26
Grand Rounds at Royal Marsden Hospital's cancer research center in Surrey:
After a lively discussion between UK and US oncologists comparing medical approaches, symphony members Tom Sheldon and Steve Wright performed a musical offering of Beethoven duets arranged for oboe and bassoon, and were joined by [members of] the Ibert Woodwind Quintet. Following the performance, the musicians asked for any questions from the audience. The only question that was posed was, "Is there an encore?" And there was!
After returning to the hotel for just long enough to change our clothes, we loaded up the bus again to head to our second full orchestra concert, this time with a different repertoire.
JUNE 27
On Friday morning we headed to visit Windsor Castle. We arrived in time to witness the changing of the guard. Having already had the surprise opportunity to wave our greetings to the Queen on Tuesday evening [as she was leaving a 400th anniversary celebration at the Temple Church, across the street from one of the LSO's concert venues], perhaps we should not have been surprised to hear the Royal Guards Fife and Drum Corps playing Copland's Shaker Melody there on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
After grabbing a quick lunch, it was back on the bus for another hour or so to Basingstoke for our afternoon concert and evening performance. In the audience for the evening concert was the Mayor of Basingstoke, who opened the concert with warm words of welcome and thanks to the LSO for traveling to London and for performing for such a wonderful cause. The final piece on the evening's program was Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring." The evening was simply amazing. Some indescribable, intangible magic embraced us all for our final performance of the tour.
We headed back to the hotel, to celebrate with what had become the "usual" post-concert meal -a pint of Guinness and beer-batter fish and chips!
For photos and information about the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, visit longwoodsymphony.org. The orchestra will perform its annual free concert on Boston's Esplanade at 7 p.m., Aug. 20.
