This Saturday (Nov. 22), a very special initiative will take centre stage at U of T. The Medical Society (the student council of the Faculty of Medicine) and the University of Toronto International Health Program will jointly present Earth Tones, a benefit concert that supports programs and initiatives aiding destitute children around the world.
Showcasing the world-class talents of students, professors, residents and alumni of the Faculty of Medicine, the project harmoniously brings together musicians and organizers from a wealth of disciplines, including Medicine, Radiation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and all other graduate programs in the health care fields.
Ilun Yang, the Co-Chair of Earth Tones and a second-year med student, describes the show as a mosaic of musical talent that includes almost every genre possible. “We have large bands, jazz bands, American rock and roll, we have reggae bands, we have bluegrass,” he says. We also have smaller ensembles, duets and classical music, violin and piano combinations… there’s something for everyone.” Yang himself will be accompanying a classical violinist on piano. The event will include 16 different acts, ranging from the med student jazz quartet Billy’s Bounce to Dean Naylor, who will accompany the med student band Orbital Groove.
DJ Cook, the trumpeter of Billy’s Bounce, has worked with the Earth Tones show in previous years and looks to it as an opportunity “to appreciate the talent that is involved in the medical school at U of T and to show what people are doing outside their academic pathways, while benefiting charities related to international health.” Billy’s Bounce, a band of med students formed four years ago, has been preparing specifically for Earth Tones for the last six weeks.
The organizers of Earth Tones have collaborated with the U of T International Health Program in an attempt to create a long term and successful relationship with international health initiatives that will best benefit from their support. This year the focus of funds collected by Earth Tones will be a HIV/AIDS village in rural Cambodia as well as The Mingha Project in Cameroon, which UTIHP Co-Director Nisha Thampi describes as a “place where children who have lost their parents to AIDS or other illnesses will have an opportunity to grow and develop and socialize with other young people.” Thampi also emphasizes that UTIHP is “not only contributing to them [rural Cambodia] with this event but we’re also partnering with them on different levels of health initiatives.”
Coordinator of Student Affairs and founder of Earth Tones Diana Alli stresses the fact that “every dollar in a developing country counts and so every penny that we give out will help make the difference there.”
And the body of volunteers affiliated with Earth Tones has been working day and night to put together the elaborate concert and raise every cent possible. Creating everything from posters and Web sites to acting as their own ticket agent, the volunteers for Earth Tones have been diligently preparing for the last six months, proving, as Alli notes, “if you have students on your side, you can move mountains.”
The third annual Earth Tones concert happens this Saturday (Nov. 22) at 6:30 p.m. at Convocation Hall. Tickets are $15 advance (call 416-978-2764), $20 at the door.
