National Symphony Orchestra Delights CRC Crowd
Photo: Marleen Van Den Neste
Photo: Marleen Van Den Neste
Photo: Marleen Van Den Neste
Photo: Marleen Van Den Neste
Photo: Marleen Van Den Neste
When you see a semi-trailer pull up in front of the Clinical Research Center, followed by a tour bus, there’s a good chance the National Symphony Orchestra is back on campus.
The NSO played a 10-selection concert on Sept. 18 in the CRC atrium as part of its Sound Health Initiative, now in its 6th year.
Patients, staff and visitors crowded not only the atrium floor but also several stories worth of balcony to enjoy the performance.
The concert had a pronounced pharmaceutical effect; it was as though the entire lobby went into a hush to allow the music space to enchant.
“It was an important goal of the architects to design a hospital that was comfortable and welcoming,” said Dr. James Gilman, CEO of the hospital, in welcoming remarks. He added that the frequent NSO visits—either as orchestra or smaller ensembles—have promoted “tranquility, healing and wellness.”
Selections at the concert ranged from Beethoven, whose compositions both began and ended the show, to Aaron Copland, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Bryce Dessner, a modern American composer perhaps best known as a member of the rock group The National.
The concert also featured Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter, a whimsical piece featuring Eric Shin on, yes, an old Royal manual typewriter.
The performance was sponsored by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, Inc.—Rich McManus