The first Albert Schweitzer Symposium, which will explore Dr. Schweitzer’s life and his contributions to the fields of music and medicine, will take place from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, at St. James’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford. The Symposium is free and open to the public.
The Symposium is part of a new collaboration between The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival at Trinity College and the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University.
During the symposium, David Ives, Executive Director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac, will introduce My Life is My Argument, a documentary made by the Institute and aired on CPTV in 2007; the documentary won an Emmy for the Institute in May, 2008. Following the video presentation, Dr. Lisa Wong, a pediatrician, violinist and avid exponent of the benefits of music medicine, will present an hour-long discussion of Schweitzer’s contribution to the field, describing her recent visit to the Schweitzer hospital in Lambaréné in Gabon, and her many personal experiences in performing for patients, especially Alzheimer’s patients. Dr. Wong is the author of From Scales to Scalpels: Doctors Who Practice the Healing Arts of Music and Medicine.
The new collaboration between the Festival and the Institute will bring Dr. Schweitzer‘s love and mastery of music to the offerings of the Institute, and will bring an exploration of Schweitzer’s ethics to the Festival. Both organizations will further explore the connection between music and medicine. Quinnipiac University will be an active sponsor of the Albert Schweitzer Symposium, and will bring university students to Festival events throughout the weekend. (The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival also receives support from the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Marjorie Jolidon Fund at the Greater Hartford chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and Trinity College.)
The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival, now in its 19th year, presents an organ competition every fall in two categories: high school and young professional. The winners receive prize money towards their musical education. The Festival presents an opening concert of recitals by the current judges, and a closing recital of performances by the previous year’s winners, in addition to a Master Class and ancillary activities. The Symposium is expected to become an integral part of the annual Organ Festival.
“The Festival and the Institute are delighted to collaborate in pursuing the many areas in which Dr. Schweitzer made a profound contribution,” said David Spicer, Artistic Director of the Festival. “The Institute has always focused on Dr. Schweitzer’s ethical and philosophical endeavors to change the world, while the Festival has always focused on his gifts to the world of music – in particular organ performance. In addition to being a humanitarian, a theologian and a physician, Dr. Schweitzer was an internationally-recognized organist.”
The Albert Schweitzer Institute conducts programs that link education, ethics and voluntarism. Its programs focus on health, humanitarian and peace efforts, to increase public awareness of Schweitzer's philosophy and its potential to create a more peaceful and sustainable world.
More information about the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival can be found on the Web at www.albertschweitzerorganfestival.org and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/asofpage.
For more information about Quinnipiac University , please visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quinnipiacunews
and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.
For information on Trinity College www.trincoll.edu and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCollege.
The Festival competitions take place at Trinity College Chapel. The main Chapel organ was built by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford and contains nearly 5,000 pipes. Many of the world’s most prominent organists have performed on this organ.
