The Music and Medicine InitiativeMedical students typically excel in science, but many are also gifted in music. The Weill Cornell Medical Col-lege family includes musicians with a wide range of experiences, from serious amateurs to conservatory-trained professionals. All share a passionate pursuit of the expression of beauty and perfection through music.

Musicians may turn to a career in medicine for a variety of reasons. But once medical students, they often find that their passion for musical exploration seamlessly translates into the pursuit of medical knowledge. These students begin to think of their medical training as an-other form of art.

With this in mind, the Music and Medicine Initiative at Weill Cornell Medical College—spearheaded by David A. Shapiro, MD, and Richard Kogan, MD, and supported by a generous gift from the Block Family Foundation—allows medical students to continue to enjoy their mu-sical life. The program emphasizes continued academic excellence with the added opportunity for students to practice music as a balance to a busy academic life.

Supporting the Student MusicianThe Music and Medicine Initiative provides medical stu-dents with the resources necessary to continue their ex-ploration in music, including:• Musical and medical mentors• Collaborators• Performance opportunities• Rehearsal space and equipment

- 2 -

Musical GroupsThere are a number of active musical groups for interested students to participate in, including: • Tri-Institutional Orchestra composed of WCMC students, NYP employees, and Rockefeller personnel • WCMC Chamber Music Society including piano trios, string quartets, and duos of all kinds, as well as vocalists• Weill Cornell Jazz Ensemble, which plays at hospital and Medical College functions• The AneuRhythms, an A Cappella group composed of students and faculty who give lively performances at events throughout the year

Music as Medicine Through Weill Cornell’s affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian, the students and faculty of the Music and Medicine Initiative are developing partnerships to integrate music into medical practice. Our students have performed for patients and families in:• Monthly hospital mini-concerts at NYP • Caregivers Concert at the Ronald Perelman Heart Center• Performances for patients undergoing treatment at the Infusion Center

Music in the Community Bringing music to the Weill Cornell community and New York City is a vital part of our mission. Events have included:• Orchestral benefit concerts for Weill Cornell Community Clinic, for Weill Cornell for Human Rights, and for The Center for the Performing Artist• Weill Cornell ceremonies, including graduation at Carnegie Hall• Chamber music concerts for hospital employees• Coffeehouse events for the Weill Cornell student body

Student Outreach The Music and Medicine Initiative also engages in outreach to the student body at large to increase participation in musical activities by organizing and sponsoring trips to NYC concerts and events. Recent events include: • Lang Lang and the San Diego Symphony at Carnegie Hall• Rigoletto and La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera

Music and Medicine

- 3 -

In addition to working with medical departments at NewYork-Presbyte-rian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medi-cal College, the Music and Medicine Initiative has built relationships with some of the world’s foremost musi-cal institutions, which provide our stu-dents with unique opportunities for mentorship, partnership, and growth. In return, we provide specialized med-ical care to their musicians and or-ganize seminars on performing arts medicine targeted towards musicians. Students and faculty of The Juilliard School have partnered with WCMC to shape the Music and Medicine Ini-tiative. Juilliard faculty members vol-unteer as coaches, and students at the two schools often collaborate to organize and perform at events. We also collaborate with the 92nd Street Y, which provides quiet re-hearsal rooms for our students. We are always seeking new partners to expand our initiative, so please con-tact us if you have ideas about how Music and Medicine can be a part of your program or organization.

The Art of Collaboration

Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall

The 92nd Street Y

The Juilliard School

Becoming the BestMedical college admissions officers compete to recruit the best and brightest ap-plicants. When students are considering a medical school, many factors contribute to their final decision.

Weill Cornell Medical College is fortunate to already have many attractive elements: its location in Manhattan, commonly called the cultural capital of the world; large and diverse faculty, student and patient populations; a Problem-Based Learning curriculum that focuses on student discovery; and one of the country’s leading global medicine programs, with a campus in Qatar and a unique education and clini-cal training program at the Weill Bugando Center in Tanzania.

The Music and Medicine Initiative serves as another factor to attract students who want to pursue a career in medicine but do not want to sacrifice their love of music. While the Medical College will continue to attract the brightest and most intellectu-ally curious students, the Music and Medicine Initiative seeks to attract musically creative applicants, who can matriculate knowing that their interest in music will be supported throughout their academic career at Weill Cornell.

An Investment in Creativity

Weill Cornell’s Music and Medicine program is an entirely privately funded initiative under-taken by our faculty and students. We believe strongly that the program will enhance the medical college experience for our students, and that it will also be of great benefit to the Weill Cornell community at large.

Music and Medicine relies on the generosity of friends and patrons to underwrite its programs and mission. Involvement is possible at various levels, and every dollar raised is directed to the program and its success.

For more information on how you can become involved, or to learn how you can support this important program, please contact David A. Shapiro, MD, Program Chairman, at (212) 534-3448. You may also contact Weill Cornell Medical College’s Office of Development at (646) 962-8720, to make a donation or request more information about supporting this unique program.

Dr. David A. Shapiro, ChairmanDr. Richard Kogan, Vice Chairman and Artistic Director

Dr. Joseph Murray, Academic Coordinator

Advisory Board:Jack D. Barchas, MDCharles Bardes, MDBarry Coller, MDJoseph J. Fins, MDHarvey Klein, MDLaura Liberman, MDLarry Norton, MDStephen Paget, MDAlvin Rosenfeld, MDZev Rosenwaks, MDThomas Sculco, MDDavid Skorton, MDMichael Stewart, MD, MPH

Student Committee:Co-Chairs:Lisa Zhang (MS2)Manik Uppal (MS2)Timothy Kim (MS2)

Representatives:Maria Passarelli (MD-PhD)Tony Sun (MD-PhD)Jenny Xia (MS2)Peter Hung (MS3)Rohan Soman (MD-PhD)Pedram Navid-Azarbaijani (MS3)Kathy Li (MS3)Lauren Tufts (MS3)Frances Chen (MS2)

Friends and Faculty Committee: Robert E. Accordino, MD, MSc

Peter Block, Vice President, Block Family FoundationJosh Levinger, MD

Cantor Joseph MalovanyTiffany Peng, MD

Ittai Shapira, Violinist, Artistic ConsultantVincent P. de Luise, MD

For more information about the Music and Medicine Initiative, please contact Program Manager Nancy Amigron, naa2025@med.cornell.edu or (646) 962-5441.

Music and Medicine