© 2025 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Duke Medicine Orchestra Blends Science And Art

Host Frank Stasio talks with composer Michael Markowski; DMO president Nick Bandarenko and conductor Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant. They are joined by a trio of DMO members – Benjamin Fenton on flute, Jiyoung Ryu on violin and Shinhye Hwang on cello – perform live in the studio.

The Duke Medicine Orchestra (DMO) serves as an intersection of science and art. Since its inception in 2010, the ensemble has grown from 35 members to nearly 90 musicians. The orchestra is comprised of doctors, students and others affiliated with the Duke University Health System.

As the group has expanded, so too has its mission. DMO originally played in small venues, like hospital cafeterias, for patients and families but now also performs in concert halls for the larger community.

For its winter concert, DMO commissioned composer Michael Markowski to transcribe his wind ensemble piece, “City Trees,” for the full orchestra.

Duke Medicine Orchestra performs that concert at 7:30 p.m. on December 9 at Baldwin Auditorium at Duke University.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Markowski; DMO president Nick Bandarenko and conductor Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant.

A trio of DMO members – Benjamin Fenton on flute, Jiyoung Ryu on violin and Shinhye Hwang on cello – perform live in the studio. 

Verena Mosenbichler-Bryant conducts the Duke Medicine Orchestra.
Eric Monson /
Verena Mosenbichler-Bryant conducts the Duke Medicine Orchestra.
Duke Medicine Orchestra held a concert in the Duke Cancer Center for patients and families, shown here in May 2014.
Eric Monson /
Duke Medicine Orchestra held a concert in the Duke Cancer Center for patients and families, shown here in May 2014.

Copyright 2015 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Andrew Tie