The spring concert series of the Medic Orchestra planned in the Visegrád countries was cancelled due to the coronavirus. The international tour is planned to take place in the autumn, which will be preceded by a concert of Semmelweis University’s ensemble in Hungary.
The last concert of the Medic Orchestra was held on 10th March in the Palace of Arts. The 3.5-million-forint revenue from the tickets sold was donated to the 2nd Department of Paediatrics.
“It was an uplifting experience to perform in the Palace of Arts, and based on the feedback, the audience and the members of the orchestra enjoyed it just as much.”, said Gergely Dubóczky, conductor.
The orchestra played the symphonic poem Les Préludes by Ferenc Liszt and Symphony no.1 in D major by Gustav Mahler. The second piece was played by an extended orchestra, as students from the international partner universities joined the ensemble on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Semmelweis University.
According to the original plans the Medic Orchestra would have started an international tour in the Visegrád countries after the concert in the Palace of Arts but it had to be postponed due to the coronavirus. As the epidemic subsides, the cancelled concerts will take place in the fall: the ensemble joined by the students of Semmelweis University’s partner institutions will perform in Trnava, Slovakia on 25th September, in Prague, the Czech Republic on 27th September and in Krakow, Poland on 5th October.
Not only did they have to cancel the concerts but they were also unable to hold rehearsals due to the restrictions of the epidemiological measures. In addition, many members of the orchestra are medical students who were working on the frontlines in the fight against the virus. The ensemble could start rehearsing only a couple weeks ago. Before they set out on the international tour, they will perform in Hungary for the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic on 18th August. The concert will be held in the Ceremonial Court of the Pest County Hall featuring pieces by Debussy and parts from Mendelsshon’s Midsummer Night’s Dream in cooperation with the award-winning Vox Mirabilis Chamber Choir. Tickets for the concert are now available on the following link.
Gergely Dubóczky believes that the future concerts of the orchestra will be as successful as the one was in March in the Palace of Arts.
“On a global scale, it is unique for a non-musical higher education institution to have such a rich cultural life and to have such a high-quality musical ensemble. I hope to keep on providing excellent representation and promotion for Semmelweis University in the future as well.”, said the conductor of the Medic Orchestra.
The Semmelweis 250 International Medic Orchestra Tour is supported by the Visegrad Fund.
Ádám Szabó
Photo: Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
Translation: Ágnes Raubinek
