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“Music is the medicine of the mind,” according to American playwright John Logan.And a group of medicine students would heartily agree. They have formed the new WA Medical Students Orchestra and rehearse every week in the Music School with music students as guest conductors.

Third-year medical student and violinist Daniel Dorevitch , whose father and grandfather both played the violin, said he had been thinking last year about forming an orchestra when he discovered that two students in the year below him – Johanna Lee and Amy Zhang – had the same idea.

Today about 25 medical student musicians get together to play music including Strauss waltzes and the Harry Potter Suite.

“Music and medicine are similar in some ways,” Daniel said. “Medicine is both an art and a science, and music is an art that has a strong maths component.” And he added that combining music and medicine was good for the mental health of the musicians as well as for their audiences. The students have already played for patients at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children.

“We have most instruments but are short of some of the less commonly played ones such as the French horn, trombone and bassoon,” Daniel said. “But we’d welcome any new members and they can be medical students as well as pre-med students.” If you are interested please contact the orchestra.

Published in UWA News , 29 October 2012