Concert violinist and practicing physician, Dr. Joel Ang is often asked his preference — music or medicine? “For me, that’s very complimentary,” said Ang, a primary care doctor in D.C. and a member of the World Doctors Orchestra performing Sunday evening on the stage at Strathmore. “There are many things about being a musician that I’ve learned from being a physician; the multitasking and working out complex problems. They are very similar to me and I’ve always loved playing for that reason.”
Ang and his physician/musician colleagues will perform Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major and as a worthy finale to the evening’s repertoire, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, “Resurrection.” For this piece, they will be joined by the National Philharmonic Chorale, under the artistic direction of Stan Engebretson.
| Onstage |
| World Doctors Orchestra presents Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 |
| Where: Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 7 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $25 to $75, 301-581-5100, strathmore.org |
“Rehearsals are going well,” Ang continued. “Today we read the whole Mahler [piece] and everyone is well prepared.”
The World Doctors Orchestra was founded in 2007 as a nonprofit organization by Stefan Willich, director of the institute for social medicine of the Charite Hospital Berlin. With more than 500 physician members from 36 countries, their mission is to “raise awareness that health care is a basic human right and a precondition for human development and productivity.”
The members meet several times a year all over the world for intensive rehearsals culminating in a benefit performance for medical aid projects. Willich conducts the Strathmore performance that benefits Whitman-Walker Health.
“The concert is also a commemoration of the people who fell on 9/11,” Ang explained. “It is for a great cause — helping people in the city with HIV. All proceeds will go to that.”
This solemn remembrance, just as every concert the orchestra takes part in, serves as a plea for peaceful solutions to world problems, combining classical music with global medical responsibility.
“My patients think the music makes for a more well-rounded physician overall,” Ang said. “For me, it’s a reliever of stress. It’s great to have other outlets in your life, to have a release valve.”
