Make Music With Duke Medicine Ensembles

With the start of the academic year, the Duke Medicine Orchestra and Duke Medicine Chorus are looking for new members.

Instrumental auditions for the orchestra begin August 17, and an information session for chorus singers is Sept. 5.  Both ensembles are open to Duke faculty, staff and students and their family members.

"These ensembles provide a creative outlet that nurtures the artistic nature of faculty, staff and students," said Sharon Swanson, program coordinator of Arts & Health at Duke, which co-sponsors the ensembles.  "They also offer Duke Medicine community members the opportunity to give back to patients, visitors, staff and the community in a way that is separate from their usual work or study-related roles."

The 50- to 60-member orchestra includes strings, wind instruments and percussionists. Instrumental musicians of any ability are welcome to audition though players typically have at least two or three years of experience, said conductor Verena Mosenbichler-Bryant, a professor of the practice of music at Duke. Interested players can set a time to audition on or after August 17 by sending an email to Mosenbichler-Bryant. Musicians should be prepared to perform a two- to three-minute selection of music that demonstrates their best playing

The orchestra will perform free concerts in the newly renovated Baldwin Auditorium at 3 p.m. on Nov. 24 and 7 p.m. on May 3, 2014. The 2013-14 season performances will include Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, Gustav Holst's The Planets, and music from John Williams' film score from Star Wars.

If you don't play an orchestral instrument but want to make music with your voice, consider the Duke Medicine Chorus. This will be the second season for the chorus, which accepts singers without audition.

Although singers may join the chorus at any time during the year, conductor Allan Friedman, a former choral conductor at Duke Chapel, will host an information session about the Duke Medicine Chorus from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 5 in the atrium of the Duke Cancer Center.

"We have members who have sung in choruses most of their lives and folks who are just starting to experience the thrill of singing in a group," Friedman said.

The chorus sings short concerts throughout the year at various locations on the Duke Medicine campus and other venues such as the Forest at Duke retirement home. Friedman is planning music around the theme of "Autumn" for an October concert and "Food" for a November concert.

Delbert Wigfall, associate dean for medical education, sang with the chorus last year and enjoys sharing his love of melody.

"It's such a gift to hear harmony develop much like our relationships and friendships evolve," he said. "And we also get the joy of bringing smiles to the wider community."