Medicine to meet music as Doctors Orchestra to perform in Waterford

Medicine will meet music at the Irish Doctors Orchestra’s special fundraising concert which will take place at the SETU Arena in Waterford on Sunday, September 29, at 4.30pm. 

All proceeds from the concert will go to the Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts programmes at University Hospital Waterford. Under the baton of well-known Waterford musician and conductor Liam Daly, the concert will feature music from the opera, 'Maritana', by Waterford composer William Wallace, 'Concerto in F major for Two Bassoons', by Johann Baptist Vanhal and 'Symphony No. 7', by Antonin Dvorak, in addition to a traditional Irish element, courtesy of the Waterford Harp Ensemble of Music Generation Waterford. 

Announcing details of the concert, Dr Julia O’Leary from the Irish Doctors Orchestra said: “We are very excited to be performing at the SETU Arena in September and we’re especially thrilled to be performing 'Maritana', by William Wallace in his home place of Waterford."

"We’re also delighted to be joined by young musicians from the Waterford Harp Ensemble of Music Generation Waterford for this concert," she added.

"The Irish Doctors Orchestra is a unique gathering of medics who love to play classical music and what better purpose could there be than to raise funds for the fantastic organisation that is Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts."

Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts, also expressed delight ahead of the event and commented: "We’re thrilled to welcome the Irish Doctors Orchestra to Waterford and we’re deeply appreciative that they have selected Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts as the beneficiary charity of their autumn concert."

"While the Arts Council and the HSE cover the majority of our core costs, we have to continuously fundraise to meet our arts programme costs," she said. "For this reason, we are extremely grateful to the Irish Doctors Orchestra for their incredibly generous decision to support our work."
The orchestra always draws a huge crowd and several local doctors are members including violinists Dr Emma Dunne, a radiologist from Tramore, Dr Carmel Whitford, a GP from Youghal, Dr Darina Sloan, Consultant Psychiatrist at UHW, Dr Caroline Fielding, Consultant Microbiologist, and Dr Niamh O’Regan, Consultant Geriatrician. 

"We hope the local Waterford community will come out to support us and to enjoy what promises to be a wonderful occasion," said Claire.

Speaking to Waterford News & Star about the concert Dr Darina Sloan said everyone involved gets great enjoyment from their involvement with the orchestra and helping Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts is a bonus.

"The orchestra started in 2019 and the first concert was online and then they went from strength to strength," she said.

"I joined two years ago," she added.

"They do two concerts a year and it's all doctors and medics and there are also some dentists and psychologists who get in and there are also some medical students, which is nice."

Dr Sloan said everytime a concert takes place they are self-funding: "Everybody pays a fee to join and then that's used to hire out the venue where it's going to be held etc."

On the weekend of the concert the orchestra will rehearse on Friday and Saturday, part of Sunday and then the concert will be Sunday afternoon.

"So yeah, we pay for the venue and we pay for a tutor to come in and tutor us and for a conductor but a lot of the time people give their time for free," said Dr Sloan.

She also acknowledged the fact that conductor, Liam Daly, is giving his time for free to the concert.

"So, everyone is working in the medical world and what we all have in common is that we are musicians," she said.

"Some of the musicians are phenomenally good and that is quite humbling," she added.

"The concert is to a very high standard and this year it's all going to Healing Arts which is very exciting because it's like a circular economy; it's in Waterford,  all the Waterford people will hopefully come and then all the money will go back into Waterford Healing Arts which is great."

Founded during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Irish Doctors Orchestra is an all-Ireland fellowship of medical professionals who are also classically trained musicians. 

The concept of the orchestra is to provide an opportunity for medics from across the island of Ireland to come together to create music as a therapy to the stresses and challenges faced in their professional lives. 

Their programme of rehearsals and coaching by professional musicians culminates in public performances. 

To date those have included sold out performances in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, Redemptorist Church, Limerick, and Astra Hall, University College Dublin. 

The Irish Doctors Orchestra follows in the footsteps of other doctors’ orchestras such as the European Doctors Orchestra, the Australian Doctors Orchestra and the World Doctors Orchestra.

Réalta is the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts and health in Ireland. 

At local level, Réalta delivers the extensive Waterford Healing Arts programme, bringing music, visual art, creative writing and storytelling to the bedside of patients at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) and other healthcare settings. 

Nationally, Réalta manages the resource website www.artsandhealth.ie and delivers training; provides information, mentoring and advice; supports networking; and engages with policy makers to increase understanding and support for arts and health. It's core funded by the Arts Council and the HSE. 

Tickets priced €20, €10 and €5 are now on sale. Further details are available from www.waterfordhealingarts.com