On Saturday, May 9, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra (LSO), which is made up largely of musicians from the Boston medical community, will premier a new piece that honors Albert Schweitzer, the Nobel Prize–winning physician and humanitarian whose namesake foundation sponsors fellowships for graduate students in health and human services–related fields.
Albert Schweitzer Portrait, commissioned by the LSO and the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship program as part of a year-long celebration marking the 60th anniversary of Schweitzer’s only visit to the United States, parallels Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and sets Schweitzer’s words to music. Narrating the piece will be David Satcher, former United States Surgeon General, who will receive the Schweitzer Award for Humanitarianism at the concert.
The concert caps a celebration of the Boston Albert Schweitzer fellows. Twenty-five new Boston fellows were chosen for 2009–2010, including five from HMS, HSDM and HSPH. The fellowships allow graduate students to participate in a community service project of their choice over the course of a year. They fellows must devote at least 200 hours to their projects and participate in public outreach programs and attend regular meetings.
New fellows Albert Chiou and Jessica Tao, from HMS, are establishing the Chinatown Renal Initiative, a long-term, community-based effort to address chronic kidney disease through screenings and culturally and linguistically appropriate education, initially focusing on Greater Boston’s Asian and Pacific Islander population. Sybill Hyppolite, an HSPH student, will work with the Institute for Community Health to help a group of bilingual, immigrant parents create a community map of behavioral health resources for children, which will serve as a resource for the parents and as a vehicle for outreach. Another HSPH student, Michelle Lugalia, is partnering with Bridge over Troubled Waters to produce a “zine” with participating youth about the social determinants of homeless youths’ health issues. And HSDM student Michelle Mian is collaborating with Cambridge Health Alliance to incorporate dental student volunteers into an existing oral health education and screening service provided to local elementary schools.
The May 9 concert takes place at 8 p.m. at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. In addition to the premier of Albert Schweitzer Portrait, the LSO will perform Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3 and George Antheil’s McKonkey’s Ferry. Preceding the concert will be a symposium at Northeastern University, titled “Addressing Health Disparities Through Schweitzer-inspired Service.” For more information and concert tickets, visit www.longwoodsymphony.org or call 617-667-1527.
