World Doctors Orchestra

The World Doctors Orchestra (WDO) is the most notable orchestra made up entirely of physicians. It was established as a non-profit organization in 2007 by Prof. Stefan Willich at the Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany with the purpose of combining music with global medical responsibility. The members are physicians representing over 30 countries worldwide, many of them with a professional musical background. The WDO performs usually twice a year in various venues and countries around the world donating the concert proceeds to medical aid organizations. C:\Users\Anne\Desktop\wdo09.jpg The World Doctors Orchestra in the Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, 4 July 2009

Orchestra

The World Doctors Orchestra combines the pleasure of fine music with charity. Twice a year, some hundred physicians from all over the world exchange their white coats for evening attire and perform benefit concerts for people in need of healthcare. Although all of the physicians share a passion for music, this is not an end in itself. Indeed, the driving force behind the WDO is the conviction that neither national borders nor political or economic interests should limit access to adequate healthcare. With its series of benefit concerts, the WDO wants to raise global awareness that healthcare is a basic human right and a precondition for human development. The WDO is an independent non-profit organization driven by the spirit and dedication of its members and supported by private and institutional sponsors.

Conductor

Founder and conductor of the World Doctors Orchestra is Stefan Willich, director of the Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics at the Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany. Willich, who studied violin, chamber music, and conducting in Stuttgart, Berlin, Boston/Tanglewood and Paris, chooses his fellow musicians from candidates with outstanding musical credentials.

Members

The WDO currently includes a pool of 500 physicians (45% women and 55% men) from 34 countries. They all work in the medical profession and, at the same time, are enthusiastic and active musicians, many of them with professional musical background. Around 100 members participate in each concert, depending on their availability and the instrumentation requirements of the program. All major instruments are represented. About one third of the members have been active as professional musicians, the others are excellent non-professional musicians with regular musical activity in addition to their medical profession. There is great variety of medical specializations among the members with internists, pediatricians and general practitioners taking the lead.

Concerts and charity

Before each concert, the WDO comes together for intensive rehearsals lasting several days, followed by a pre-concert for patients and co-workers in hospitals and the benefit concert for the public. To date, six concerts have been held or are scheduled, further concerts are planned in the USA, China, South Africa, and Germany. Inaugural concert on May 4, 2008 in the Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, Germany performed the Overture to “L’Elisir d’Amore” by Gaetano Donizetti, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Ludwig van Beethoven with Boston based violinist Peter Zazofsky as soloist, and the Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”) by Antonin Dvořák. The proceeds from the concert were donated to the Hugo Tempelman Foundation and Hilfswerk Indien e.V. 2nd concert on February 8, 2009 in Severance Hall, Cleveland, USA performed the Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copland, Triple Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven with soloists Annie Fullard, violin, Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, cello, and Sergei Barbayan, piano, and Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms. The proceeds went to the Hugo Tempelman Foundation and the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland. 3rd concert on July 4, 2009 in the Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, Germany, performed Sinfonia Concertante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with soloists Tanja Becker-Bender, violin, and Aida-Carmen Soanea, viola, and Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler. The proceeds went to the Hugo Tempelman Foundation and the Berlin Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims. 4th concert on January 17, 2010 in the Aram Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan, Armenia performed the Festive Ouverture by Alexander Arutiunian, in the presence of the 90-year-old composer, Violin Concerto by Peter Iljitsch Tchaikovsky and Symphony No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Soloist was Sergej Khachatryan, prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Jean Sibelius, Fritz Kreisler, Ludwig Spohr and Indianapolis violin competitions with a highly acclaimed international career. The proceeds were donated to Prkutyun, the Centre of Disabled Children and Young People in Yerevan . 5th concert on October 11, 2010 is planned in the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin, Germany as gala evening of the 2nd World Health Summit performing Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven 9. The orchestra will be joined by the Philharmonic Chorus Berlin and renowned soloists Anja Kampe, Soprano, Simone Schröder, Alto, Endrick Wottrich, Tenor, and Falk Struckmann, Bass. 6th concert on November 14, 2010 is planned in National Concert Hall, Taipeh, Taiwan performing the Bunun Legend by Shu-Si Chen, Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber, and Symphony No. 5 by Peter Iljitsch Tchaikovsky. The concert is supporting the Formosa Cancer Foundation.

External links

• World Doctors Orchestra official site
• Story from WKSU, February 22, 2009
• Article from The Plain Dealer, 2008
• Article from The Plain Dealer

Video

• Video from WKSU