Musician Profiles
Robert Malison, MD
Dr. Robert T. Malison has been playing the cello with the YMSO for 6 years. Dr. Malison is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry.
What is your musical background?
I started playing the cello in 4th grade. My grandmother played and I inherited her instrument. I played in my high school orchestra at local and state levels before playing in the Berkshire Symphony while at Williams College. In medical school at Yale, I played in small ensembles during the first 2 years, but stopped playing once I started on the wards and during residency. I picked it up again 25 years later when I heard about the YMSO.
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
I will never forget our first 'pops' concert and the standing room only crowd that came to hear us play.
What is your favorite piece/concert that you have played with the YMSO?
My favorite Symphony has always been Brahms's first, so this was one of my favorite concerts of the YMSO.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
I really enjoy playing great classical music with a group of talented musicians. Playing cello again helped me rediscover the joy that playing music brings, a valuable distraction from the rigors and stresses of an academic medical career.
Christopher Tien, PhD, DABR
Christopher Tien, PhD, DABR is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Therapeutic Radiology. He is also a Medical Physicist II in the Yale-New Haven Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology.
What is your musical background?
I began piano around the age of 7 and did not begin cello until I was ten. By the time I first started, I was surrounded by classmates who had been playing since they could walk. Since seating is usually based on skill, I was always seated in the back for the first few years. Naturally, my parents and I pretty much assumed I would not be able to catch up. But I kept at it. One day I got the results of a seating audition back and I was listed as first chair. That was a fun dinner: my mom didn’t believe me and my dad finally discovered that I didn’t just choose to sit in the back! As a soloist, I went on to compete at local and state levels during high school, where I spent a few weeks of my summer as a member of the Interlochen All-State orchestra.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
I had my cello tucked away for (literally) years. I don’t want to ever go that long without playing again. By joining the orchestra, I now have a tangible commitment. Even if I don’t get the opportunity to practice at home the week prior to every rehearsal, it’s great to be able to unwind from academic and clinical stress by totally zoning in on a challenging Tchaikovsky piece. Or to just sight-read a fun holiday classic such as Sleigh Ride. Not sure which one is more rewarding. Never mind. Sleigh Ride is definitely better.
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
I forgot how to tie a bow-tie. Right before a concert. That was stressful.
What is your favorite piece/concert that you have played with the YMSO?
For the 2018 Halloween concert, I was dressed in a full-body penguin suit. The way this orchestra is seated, I was literally in the closest row to the audience, dressed as a penguin.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the community about your YMSO experience?
We really appreciate the support the community has shown just by attending the concerts, while we tackle these pieces. Just being there for an hour means the world to us. For an amateur orchestra, it is so encouraging and flattering to have played in front of standing-room-only audiences!
Robert T. Smith III, Conductor
Robert T. Smith has been the conductor of the YMSO for the past eight years. He also plays the viola.
How did you hear about the YMSO?
When my predecessor at Hopkins School, Adrian Slywotsky, left to finish his graduate degree, I was contacted by Dr. Lynn Tanoue about the possibility of auditioning for the conductor position.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
My favorite part about being in the YMSO is hearing the musicians in the orchestra develop and express themselves each week. This is both musically and verbally, as each person has a professional life outside of their musical life. Regardless what happens outside of rehearsal, the time we have together is special and rare, and I enjoy making it count as much as I can.
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
Our first Halloween concert! We had poetry readings, costumes, Jack-o-lanterns, and we performed some of the creepiest classical repertoire out there. I believe this was also our first standing room-only audience!
What is your favorite piece/concert that you have played with the YMSO?
My favorite piece is Beethoven's 7th symphony, and we just performed it beautifully last year along with Wellington's Victory. The 7th symphony has always been my favorite piece.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the community about your YMSO experience?
Conducting the YMSO for the last eight years has given me quite a perspective on the repertoire we've been able to perform and the musicians in the orchestra. I have seen and heard so many great things from this orchestra, and I have seen and heard so many great things from our audience! It's been such an honor to work with these amazing musicians, these amazing medical professionals and teachers, and I count myself lucky to be able to stand in front of them each week. It's really an awesome experience to hear a YMSO concert and realize that everyone on stage is a professional in another field . They are playing for you because they love music, they know music can heal, and they never wanted to let the music in their lives disappear. That says a lot about the power of music, but it also says more about the people who make up the YMSO!
Martina Brueckner, MD
Dr. Brueckner is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Cardiology. Dr. Brueckner has played with the YMSO for 10 years since its founding in 2008.
What is your musical background?
I played in the Charlottesville Symphony throughout college and medical school, and also participated in many chamber music and early music groups. Residency, fellowship and having a family put a stop to my flute playing. When the YMSO was founded, I found my flute, had it repaired and started playing again.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
There is nothing like being a part of an orchestra; it is truly 50 or more people becoming one. As soon as I sat down for that first rehearsal 10 years ago (I think we were playing the Dvorak New World Symphony, and I wasn't sure I remembered how to read music, much less play Dvorak) the sound and the feeling of making great music came back, and it's been an amazing experience since then.
What is your favorite piece you have played with the YMSO?
Brahms Symphony No 1; all flute players love playing Brahms.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the community about your YMSO experience?
Since the founding of the YMSO, I have been incredibly gratified by the amazing support of the Yale Medical School community, there is nothing like seeing a full house at every concert!
View Dr. Brueckner's academic profile here
Benjamin M. Cherry, MD
Dr. Benjamin Cherry has been playing violin and viola with the YMSO since 2012.
What is your musical background?
I studied classical violin from age three using the Suzuki method, and played through college. I added viola in high school and was the principal viola in my undergraduate chamber orchestra. Then there was a long break after college and through medical school when I didn't play at all. In many ways, YMSO brought me back to music. In recent years I've also been exploring folk music, especially Irish fiddle.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
I love seeing how members of the larger medical school community, from junior students to senior faculty, come together outside of the hierarchy of the medical school to celebrate their shared passion for music.
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
Our 2018 Halloween concert prompted an unprecedented level of creativity and engagement from all the members of the orchestra. From jack-o-lanterns to costumes to spirited readings, it was an incredibly fun night.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the community about your YMSO experience?
My life-long love of the arts and humanities has taken on new significance in the political turmoil of recent years. Our YMSO rehearsals and concerts offer a sort of psychological refuge from both the intellectual rigors of medicine and the sectarian matters of public life. Making and sharing music with my family, friends, and colleagues is tremendously important to my personal wellness, and I am grateful for the dedication of time and effort given by all the members of the orchestra.
Brian Rash, PhD, Associate Research Scientist
Brian G Rash, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist in the Neuroscience Department, has served as the concertmaster of the YMSO since its founding in 2008.
What is your musical background?
I have played violin since the age of 3, beginning with the Suzuki method. I am grateful for the many private lessons I received until the age of 19 with Ralph Pfister of the National Symphony, and then again during graduate school with David Taylor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I played in the DC Youth Orchestra, the Prince George's Philharmonic Orchestra in Maryland, and then with the University of Chicago Symphony before coming to play with the YMSO at Yale. I have led the New Music Ensemble and other groups at UChicago and performed Handel's Messiah in Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago. For the past 5 years I have been an active member of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in New York, and have served as concertmaster of that group. In addition, I regularly play string quartets with many fellow musicians in the New Haven and New York areas, occasionally performing. It is an honor to play with the YMSO to help provide a musical outlet for the medical community.
How has the YMSO evolved over the years?
The YMSO has always had a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm for the music. I think everyone's mood really benefits from being able to play an instrument on a regular basis, and accordingly, the level of musicianship has improved markedly. In the beginning, it was sometimes harder to fill needed instrumentation, but with 10 years of development, we are always at stage capacity. Thus, we are able to play more and more advanced repertoire, which I think inspires everyone even further. It is wonderful to see this growth.
How does the YMSO fit into the overall fabric of life at the medical center?
I think some of the nicest, kindest people I know are in the YMSO. I feel fortunate to have discovered a group where there are so many talented musicians who are also just great people. The YMSO is a gathering place for the creativity of people here. For musicians, it's hard to pack away your instrument for a long period of time. You miss it. It's an opportunity to make more of a medical career because it refreshes the mind and our emotions...before we hit the books again!
What makes the YMSO unique?
If anyone has a medical emergency during a rehearsal or concert, there is no safer place to be!
Emily Hyun, MD
Dr. Emily Hyun is a Psychiatry Resident at Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Hyun has played in the violin section of the YMSO for the past 5 years since starting as a medical student at the Yale School of Medicine.
What is your musical background?
When I was 3, I asked for violin lessons after seeing a group of kids perform at our local library. I spent most of my summers growing up traveling with my violin teacher’s ensemble and participating in various music festivals. When I went on to college at Dartmouth, I continued lessons, played in the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, and participated in the chamber music program. I then came to Yale for medical school, where I was excited to find a thriving musical community.
How did you hear about the YMSO?
I first learned about the YMSO online while figuring out where to apply for medical school. I also heard wonderful things about it from multiple people on my interview day, and it ended up influencing my decision to come to Yale.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
I think it’s remarkable that many people in medicine also have a serious interest in music, and it’s wonderful to come together every Thursday to engage with that community, explore some of the great orchestral works, and work on our expression as a group. There is something special about being with others who understand the rewards of making music together - we are united by our passion for the music as well as the process.
Michael Higley, MD/PhD
Michael Higley, MD/PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, has played percussion/timpani with the YMSO for 8 years.
What is your musical background?
I started playing percussion in middle school. Since then, I have played with a number of concert groups, including the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony and the Cornell Wind Symphony. In medical school, at the University of Pennsylvania, I also played in the band Dr. Brightwhite, featuring members of the UPenn neurology department.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
Academic medicine and research can feel all-consuming sometimes. It's great to have a creative outlet that lets you stretch your mind and spirit.
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
Early on, we played a piece written by Yale Professor Thomas C. Duffy, titled Heart-Throb. It featured some amazing syncopation on the timpani symbolizing the beating of the human heart!
View Dr. Higley's academic profile and website
Emily Fine, MD
Dr. Emily Fine of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, has been a member of our stellar french horn section for 5 years.
What is your musical background?
New York Youth Symphony, Tanglewood, Yale Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra (6 years), faculty at Neighborhood Music School (20 years), Elm City Winds ( 20 years and current), Chamber Music Conference of the East attendee (20 years and current)
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
There are many! Every concert is a “high” ( or as I have been known to say: “an SSRI infusion!”), but sharing this experience with friends and MY SON on trumpet makes this even more special.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
Playing beautiful substantial music and striving for excellence. The conductor is awesome and strives for more with realistic expectations.
I am a HUGE advocate for the healing and sustaining nature of music. Music and it’s connections to medicine/health are well studied and documented. I am honored to be a part of bringing this experience to our community. But, honestly, this is important for my own mental health and well-being!
Ms. Analissa Martínez
Ms. Analissa Martínez, cello
Photo courtesy of Ms. Martínez
Ms. Analissa Martínez is a Certified Medical Interpreter at Yale New Haven Health. Ms. Martínez has been playing with the YMSO cello section for two years.
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
What I most enjoy about being a member of the YMSO is the support and social interaction of my hospital office co-workers for concerts.The YMSO creates a sense of community in the orchestra itself, but I think it's worth noting that it creates a sense of community outside the work area in other departments, also. I’m also enjoying getting to know the musicians. I love seeing the way they still connect to their instruments even after having very busy and demanding work.
What is a particularly memorable moment in your YMSO experience?
My most memorable moment with the YMSO has been the Star Wars concert. It was so popular with the audience! These pop concert are a treat for me because I currently play with ensembles in NYC that play traditional Classical music and others that tend to concentrate on other serious music by contemporary and living composers.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the community about your YMSO experience?
I'd like to draw attention to the conductor. Robert is knowledgeable, courteous, charming and has such a great personality for this particular group of professionals. Because he handles us with such grace and encouragement, I can see how the orchestra has risen to the level of being able to play a large work like Tchaikovsky's 5th. For that, he deserves much recognition. He makes it fun.
Sarah Hull, MD
Dr. Sarah Hull
Photo Credit: Dr. Lawrence Young
Dr. Sarah Hull has been playing with the orchestra since 2012. Dr. Hull is a faculty member in the Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine.
What is your musical background?
I started playing the viola in elementary school. In the viola community this makes me a so-called "purebred" since most violists started as violinists and I have never played the violin! There was something so special about the lush tones of the viola that captivated me at a young age and I've never looked back!
How did you decide to start playing in the YMSO?
I came to Yale in the summer of 2011 to start my cardiology fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. I saw the December 2011 concert advertised in the halls of YNHH and decided to go. I was absolutely floored by how amazing this medical orchestra could sound, and shortly thereafter I emailed Robert Smith to audition and joined YMSO for the spring 2012 concert!
What is your favorite part about being a member of the YMSO?
I cannot overstate how much I value the opportunity to make such meaningful music with so many talented individuals. I love being a cardiologist because it is intellectually stimulating and I often feel like I can really help people and make a difference in their lives, but playing with YMSO helps to remind me of why life is so beautiful and so worth living in the first place.
J. Grant Thomson, MD
Dr. Grant Thompson, cello (right)
What is your musical background?
Music became an important part of my life, thanks in great part to my father, who was also an amateur musician. I have always played the piano, but only played the cello sporadically for small orchestras for several years. I didn't even touch the instrument for 20 years until I started playing in the Yale Medical Symphony!
What is your favorite concert that you have played with the YMSO?
Brahms is my favorite composer, and the cello section solo in the Brahms symphony was amazing to play. But I enjoy all sorts of music, and I loved playing the Star Wars and other John Williams' movie scores. The "pops" concert was a break-out moment for us since it was our first standing-room only concert.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the community about your YMSO experience?
For me, there is something intangible about hearing and seeing a live music performance that can inspire incredible emotions. It is great that our concerts are free, and that anybody has an opportunity to enjoy the experience of live music.