Tuesday, March 08, 2011

The Kids of Doctors

Mamas, dont let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them old trucks
Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.

-Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson


Well, I tried to do what Waylon and Willie suggested.

But one's becoming a musician instead.

As I listened to him play the first movement of Schubert's String Quintet in C Major (he's second cello on the left), I was struck to find that two of the five musicians in his group were the kids of doctors.

I'm not sure if this means much, but it was an interesting observation.

Medicine as an art.

Music as art.

Medicine's work ethic.

Music's work ethic.

Focus. Concentration. Discipline.

But I wonder if their tilt toward music as a vocation occurred because of what they saw from their parents as they grew up: the work hours, call, and frequent absence during their formative years.

It certainly isn't because they weren't smart enough.

-Wes

P.S. For those interested, here's links to the the second, third and fourth movements that they played consecutively. (Warning: the whole piece takes nearly an hour to view)

2 comments:

Marco said...

Interestingly, several biologists I know have kids who became jazz musicians.

Margaret Polaneczky, MD (aka TBTAM) said...

Loved listening to this. I think it is so wonderful. A life based on music. Such a gift.