Medicine will meet music at the Irish Doctors Orchestra’s special Fundraising Concert to take place at the SETU Arena on Sunday 29 September 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. Tickets (€20/€10/€5) are now on sale. To book, click here
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. 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. Many of our medical colleagues have told us about the wonderful work of the Waterford Healing Arts programme at UHW, easing patients’ worries through the arts, and softening the clinical space with the hospital’s stunning art collection. This is a perfect fit for us and we can’t wait to perform in Waterford.”
Claire Meaney, Director of Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts, added “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. 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 with several local doctors among their members, including violinists Dr Emma Dunne, a radiologist from Tramore, Dr Carmel Whitford, a GP from Youghal, in addition to our own Dr Darina Sloan, Consultant Psychiatrist and Dr Caroline Fielding, Consultant Microbiologist, so we hope the local Waterford community will come out to support us and to enjoy what promises to be a wonderful occasion.”
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 these 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. These arts experiences lift spirits and reduce isolation, anxiety and stress for patients, family members and staff. 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 + health. Réalta is core funded by the Arts Council and the HSE.
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