CUMC students know how to get down

As our resident fan for all things sports and music, future medical-music fan Ross Chapman trekked all the way uptown to catch the CUMC Orchestra playing Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Read on to hear about the top medical students in the country being really good at something else, too. 

The Columbia University Medical Center, between its students, faculty, and staff, has a lot of great musicians. The CUMC Symphony Orchestra is a recently revived musical group up at 168^th Street whose stated mission is “to bring together the diverse population of the CUMC community.” And that they did – the Alumni Auditorium’s ground floor seating was packed with Columbians and community members for the 3:00 concert yesterday afternoon. The group put together a very professional concert on, as their conductor informed us, just three rehearsals’ worth of time. Today, they presented Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto and and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.

The CUMCSO (acronym pending?) presented the concerto first, followed by an intermission before the Mozart. Most impressive to me about soloist Elliott Huang’s performance of the first movement (which was the only one presented) was the endurance of his virtuosity. The movement is 20 minutes long and has very little space for the soloist to rest. The impressiveness of the performance only went on as the concerto developed. The main theme is quaint and calm, but the elaborations and cadenzas can get furious, at times sounding to a bit more solely technical than musical. Huang played entirely from memory, and he seemed to prepare himself perfectly for the event – only at the very end did he begin to show signs of fatigue. The piece ended with a strong finish, in composition and performance, and the crowd was happy to see such a display of virtuosity from the soloist and the orchestra. About a third of the crowd ended up standing for the multiple encores, and it seemed like they were restless for more immediately. However, they would have to wait for the lights to dim again, because the short program still demanded an intermission.

When everyone took their place back onstage, they jumped immediately into one of Mozart’s most famous symphonies. Following a rough first measure, the first movement went mostly without incident. The symphony as a whole was a good feature of the french horns and woodwinds, especially in the high registers. Conductor Hanjay Wang had the full attention and support of his orchestra, with the beat of the music lining up exactly with the hits of the baton, a timing quirk that is increasingly rare in orchestras. The final movement was definitely the most varying in terms of moods, and the most dramatic and engaging in performance. The piece didn’t have a huge symphony ending, but everyone loved in nonetheless. The crowd wasn’t drawn to stand as much as they were after the concerto, but the applause lasted even longer.

After the performance finished, the conductor thanked everyone for coming out and honored everyone who helped revive the CUMC Symphony Orchestra. This was their second annual spring concert, and if this is their crowd so early in their career, it bodes very well for the state of music on the medical campus. The orchestra had a huge range of age of players, from about 20 to 70 years old. Groups like this are always great signs for musicians who aren’t looking to pursue it as a primary career. This ensemble put together a great, albeit short, show which visibly surprised and impressed the audience. Keep an ear out for future performances from this doctors’ symphony.

Doctors can be fun, too! via Shutterstock