In September 1994, I was invited to join the flute section of the I Medici di McGill OrchestraI Medici di McGill Orchestra, a “doctors” amateur symphony founded in 1989 by McGill pharmacology professor Ante PadjenAnte Padjen. For 30 years, I have had much pleasure playing a broad range of symphonic repertoire and accompanying many outstanding soloists. The orchestra is based in McGill’s Faculty of MedicineMcGillFaculty of Medicine because in 1989, Dr. Padjen proposed to Richard Creuss, the then dean of the faculty, that an orchestra would offer Montreal audiences the healing power of music through concerts benefiting the healthcare community and various charities. Some of the organizations and charities that have benefitted from I Medici concerts include the Montreal Association for the Blind, the Mackay Foundation (for disabled children), Syrian refugees, the Médicins Sans Frontières in Sudan, the Bell Fund for Cancer, and the Cedars Cancer Foundation. The orchestra has also given two concerts for the medical benefit of people in Ukraine affected by the brutal invasion by Russia in February 2022.  I officially retired from the orchestra in May 2024 after having played under the first four conductors of I Medici. However, I did return as a substitute in one concert (March 2025) to play under the current, internationally acclaimed conductor Lori AntounianLori Antounian.