Merging Music and Medicine at Dell Med

Mark Bernat, who leads the Red River Ensemble (Provided by Mark Bernat)

The Red River Ensemble – a newly formed orchestra from Dell Medical School and UT Health Austin, intended to bring music into patients' days – will perform its first concert next Wednesday. Over 20 members affiliated with UT-Austin make up the ensemble, which launched in February in collaboration with clinical partner Ascension Seton. All concerts will be held in Dell Seton Medical Center at UT. The intent is for patients, family, and friends to enjoy a moment of music within the hospital, says Mark Bernat, Dell Med's director of music services and leader of the Red River Ensemble.

It's not an easy thing to create an orchestra from scratch, he said. But the ensemble certainly seems in good hands: Bernat is a Juilliard-educated double bassist and former member of the Israel Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony. The ensemble consists of UT medical professionals, students, and professors who all share a love of music. Dr. Nace Golding, a UT-Austin professor of neuroscience, is currently the sole trumpeter in the Ensemble. He dusted off his trumpet after more than 20 years to join the orchestra. "I find when I play, it really helps me focus because it's all-encompassing," he said. "I think that's part of the therapeutic value of music: It's therapeutic to hear it, but it's also even more therapeutic to play it."

The Red River Ensemble has been rehearsing every week to prepare for their musical debut, Golding said. "We're practicing basically in the middle of the lobby. Patients and staff pass by and many of them will stop and listen for a good five or 10 minutes, and you can see that they're enjoying it."

There's a strong connection between music and medicine, Bernat noted. We've all been dealing with heightened stress levels throughout the pandemic, he added, so the ensemble aims to offer relief in whatever way needed. "The idea of having music during this time is extremely important, maybe more important than normal times," he said.

The May 11 show will be an all-Beethoven program, including his Symphony No. 1 and Leonore Overture No. 3. "It's going to be very heroic, uplifting music, I hope," Bernat noted.

Bernat hopes the Red River Ensemble will provide comfort to the Dell Seton community. But he also wants it to strengthen the classical music scene here in the city. "Austin is a music capital, but not necessarily in classical music," he said. "But I think it's growing daily. There's more interest in classical music than ever and the appreciation and level of performances here are skyrocketing."

Golding says the creation of the Red River Ensemble "seems to be very Austin. … For this city, it seems completely appropriate to have music sort of invading science and medicine, to have music be a part of the scientific life here."

The Red River Ensemble’s debut performance will be at noon on Wednesday, May 11, in the atrium of Dell Seton Medical Center.