Scalpel ... sponge ... scissors ... cellos ... clarinets?

You might expect that an orchestra made up mostly of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals would sound a little stressed out. But in the case of Symphony Parnassus, an orchestra founded by a biophysics student at UCSF in 1989, the soothing tones of a neurologist on clarinet and a primary care physician on viola are just what the doctor ordered.

Today, the 85 musicians of Symphony Parnassus will set down their stethoscopes for a concert at Herbst Theatre that will feature Mahler's Symphony No. 1, and Vaughn Williams' "The Lark Ascending."

"Medicine is hard, right-brain type work," says Thomas Bodenheimer, a primary care physician and viola player in Symphony Parnassus. "We work long, stressful hours, and by the end of the day, we get tense and tight as a drum. Music is a way to calm yourself down and cool yourself out."

Like most of the members of Symphony Parnassus, Bodenheimer has semi-professional experience playing music. Many of the performers have either played in orchestras during college, grew up playing in youth orchestras or joined Symphony Parnassus from another orchestra in a community they previously lived.

Although technically an amateur orchestra, the vibe of Symphony Parnassus is very much professional, according to French horn player Robin Varga, a massage therapist and reflexologist who joined the orchestra about a dozen years ago, when it was known as the UCSF Orchestra.

"I've played music professionally for much of my life and the atmosphere of this symphony is in some ways more professional and actually better," says Varga, who admits that between rehearsals, she has exchanged massage work for medical advice. "It's less stressful in the way that you don't have to worry about getting fired if you mess up. But there's still a sense of challenge to take our skills to the next level."

You don't have to be an open-heart surgeon to be a member of Symphony Parnassus. Since breaking ties with UCSF, renaming the symphony and hiring San Francisco Symphony bassoonist Stephen Paulson as its music director, Symphony Parnassus has become less identified as a doctors-only club. The orchestra now has attorneys, financial analysts and an airline pilot on board. But the symphony maintains the disciplined personality of a group of people who have spent a ridiculous amount of time in college, according to Paulson.

"I can sense that these people relate to challenge and discipline," he says. "They want to do all the meat and potatoes that usually only big professional symphonies do. We've covered very complex pieces like Mahler's Symphony No. 5, and I can see they understand the idea that you absolutely have to get this bar right."

Since Paulson joined the orchestra eight years ago, many of the Parnassus veterans have seen the quality of play improve dramatically.

"He holds us to a high standard," Bodenheimer says. "But Stephen understands the difference between 'how far I push them' versus 'OK, they're not the San Francisco Symphony.' "

Dawn Harms, an expert violinist and co-concertmaster with the Oakland East Bay Symphony, enjoys taking a break from the strictly pro atmosphere to jam with Symphony Parnassus. She'll be a soloist at today's concert and has been rehearsing with the group for the past few weeks.

"The reason I love playing with Symphony Parnassus is because I can tell they want to be there," she says. "Sometimes when you work with professional orchestras the musicians can get a little attitude and treat it like a 9-to-5 job. The people in Symphony Parnassus appreciate the opportunity just to be able to play music."

According to Harms, there are two kinds of musicians: the ones who can play any note and the ones who can make anyone cry.

"It's like when a singer can sing every note perfectly but it doesn't do anything. Another singer might mess up a few notes but will make you want to cry because the delivery is coming from the heart," says Harms, who recognizes the second type in Symphony Parnassus.

To the untrained ear, a Symphony Parnassus concert will easily pass for a professional orchestra. Unlike the Village People, they don't wear their work clothes onstage.

"I don't even know what most of the people in the orchestra do for a living," admits Annie Li, the symphony concertmaster and violinist who works as a civil engineer and project manager on the Hetch Hetchy retrofitting. "I think of them as the wind section or the string section. Sometimes I'll look at the roster and think, 'Oh wow, that guy's a doctor and that person's a physical therapist.' We just enjoy destressing together with music."


Concertmaster and violinist Annie Li goes over music before a Symphony Parnassus rehearsal.
Chronicle photo by Chris Stewart


Music Director Stephen Paulson.
Chronicle photo by Chris Stewart