Medicine and music: UNM Health Sciences Center Orchestra to perform at Keller Hall

Musicians in the Health Sciences Center Orchestra performing for the University of New Mexico all have one thing in common outside their love for music.

All of them work in the health sciences field, doing anything from occupational therapy to medical lab research, and all of them have a love of performance. The orchestra will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at Keller Hall on the UNM campus.

Medicine and music: UNM Health Sciences Center Orchestra to perform at Keller Hall

“Most of the people do work for the Health and Sciences Department, but they don’t all necessarily work for the university,” said Lee Anne Klombies, vice president of the Board of Chamber Music at UNM. “A lot of the people are either medical students or doctors, or we’ve got some physical therapists and occupational therapists, and then you have regular community members.”

The Health Sciences Center Orchestra will perform their first concert of the year at Keller Hall, mixing in variations of classic orchestra pieces like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with orchestra renditions of music by Pharrell Williams to create the perfect blend of modern and classic music.

“There will be a Mozart flute quartet, a (Joseph) Haydn trio which features violin, flute and cello, and more,” said Klombies.

Klombies added that the groups performing are a little uncommon in comparison to other trios and quartets people might listen to.

“Having a group of trombones play together or a group of clarinets is really unique because you usually hear a string quartet, but you don’t often hear those other groups getting to play,” she said.

Guests can expect to see nine separate groups throughout the performance, and the performance is expected to last roughly ninety minutes.

“Because we’re through the university, they allow us to use Keller Hall as part of the connection with the Arts-in-Medicine Program,” Klombies said. “It’s free because we don’t have to pay to rent Keller Hall, and we just want people to come and enjoy our musicians.”

The group, founded in late 2012, is part of the Arts-in-Medicine Program and allows students and professionals in the field to bond over their similar job roles and their love of music. The group was formed from the UNM Chamber Music group, and established a new group to try and grow the chamber music from players that are in the orchestra. The group puts on various performances at UNM, even playing for graduations on occasion.

“We’ll play for the hat toss event, which celebrates medical students that go above and beyond,” Klombies said. “We will also play for the UNM medical school graduation program in May and other kinds of events that are through the Health Science and Arts-in-Medicine Program.”

During the show, visitors of the performance may notice a small booth inside Keller Hall filled with sweet treats. Guests can purchase baked snacks like cookies and brownies in exchange for a donation, where all proceeds will go back to the orchestra.

“We want people to come and enjoy our musicians,” Klombies said. “It’s a great program for everyone to attend, especially children, since some groups only play for five or six minutes. We just want everyone to listen to our musicians and have a good time.”