Doctors, community reap benefits of local orchestra
By Dana Benson
Stethoscopes, scalpels, microscopes – these are the tools of the trade for physicians and researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. But some BCM faculty have sharpened their skills on instruments of another kind.
BCM doctors and researchers can be found playing wood, wind and brass instruments in the Doctors Orchestra of Houston, an endeavor that gives them a creative outlet to balance careers in science and medicine.
Sweet escape
"It's tremendously beneficial to have this outlet," said Daniel Musher, M.D., professor of medicine – infectious disease at BCM, who plays violin in the orchestra and serves as the concert master. "It's just a total escape from medicine."
But it's not just the doctors and scientists who benefit, but the local community too. The orchestra is full of talented musicians who perform accessible and affordable concerts, Musher pointed out, and the shows raise money for medical charities. The existence of a highly successful doctors orchestra has also been used as a recruiting tool for medical students and residents, he said.
The orchestra performs several concerts each year, and Musher encourages music lovers and even first-time orchestra goers to attend the performance. Children are also welcome at the concerts. In fact, Musher said Doctors Orchestra performances are a great way to introduce youngsters to orchestra.
"I assure people they'll have a good time – maybe even as much fun as we have as musicians."
Labor of love
For Musher and the other musicians, performing with the Doctors Orchestra really is a labor of love. Many of them have played an instrument since they were young, but ultimately pursued careers in medicine and research over music.
That was the case with Lynn Zechiedrich, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of molecular virology and microbiology, who plays principal flute in the Doctors Orchestra.
She took up the instrument in seventh grade and also plays piccolo and alto saxophone. Zechiedrich attended college on a full music scholarship but came to what she calls a "fork in the road." She decided to switch to a science major but still kept music in her life by playing in the spirit and marching bands.
As she's progressed in her career, she always thought she would finally have to give up music, and during her first couple of years at Baylor College of Medicine, she was so busy setting up her lab and as a single mother that music did take a back burner. Zechiedrich's lab focuses on fighting drug-resistant bacterial infections and understanding the enzymes that untangle DNA in cells that are the targets for widely prescribed anticancer drugs.
But then she saw a sign for auditions for the Doctors Orchestra. She was thrilled to earn a spot on the orchestra, which she said "fulfills me in a way not possible with work alone.
"I always ask myself who else on this planet has the joy of running a successful major research group at a top 10 medical school at the same time as learning and playing the most interesting and challenging flute and piccolo songs ever written," said Zechiedrich.
She and Musher both praise Libi Lebel, conductor and founder of the Doctors Orchestra of Houston. Zechiedrich described her as a visionary who brings the musicians to the top of their skill level and Musher called her a "dynamo."
