Hana Asazuma-Cheng, violin

Hana has been a music teacher for 15 years of violin, viola, and chamber music. She has volunteered to play violin at medical grounds such as Brigham & Women's, Children's, and McLean Hospitals. She has been featured in media such as Newsweek, Prevention magazine, Boston Globe, Chronicle, Channel 5, and NECN. In Hana's spare time, she enjoys composing music and writing. She hopes to complete and publish her memoir. This is Hana's 11th season with LSO.

Michael Barnett, oboe

Michael Barnett is currently a fourth year medical student at Harvard Medical School. He has degrees in biochemisty and oboe performance from Yale College and the Yale School of Music. He is interested in pursuing a career in neurology, psychiatry or primary care. He enjoys the teamwork between health professionals at all stages of their professional careers in addition to the sense of purpose and mission that drives every LSO concert.

Jeffrey S. Berman, M.D., clarinet

Dr. Berman is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at Boston Medical Center, where he directs the Pulmonary Clinic.  He has a particular interest in Sarcoidosis, a mysterious inflammatory disease which may involve any organ of the body. In addition to its musical mission, he finds the unique philanthropic mission of the orchestra to be of particular value in connecting the orchestra to the community. He has played clarinet in the LSO for 13 years. He and his wife share their home with two tail-less cats.

Martha Davis, bass

Martha F. Davis is Professor at Northeastern School of Law and Co-Director of its Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy.  A prolific writer, her work addresses economic and social rights, particularly relating to women.  Professor Davis holds degrees from Harvard University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago.  She began playing the double bass at age twelve, and has played with the Bronx Symphony, the Regina Opera and the Bermuda Symphony.

Sumi Fasolo, violin

Ms. Fasolo is an architect at Cambridge Seven Associates and a Senior Designer for Kuwait University's College of Engineering and Petroleum.  Previously, she was actively involved in designing healthcare facilities for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, Mattapan Community Health Center and major hospitals in the Boston area.  She is a graduate of Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis and has been a violinist with the LSO for the past 5 years.

Vanessa Gardner, french horn

Vanessa Gardner started playing the French horn at the age of 11. In the fall of 1999, Vanessa moved to Boston where she studied under the tutelage of David Ohanian at the Boston Conservatory and graduated with honors in 2003. Vanessa joined the Longwood Symphony Orchestra in 2007 and was appointed principal horn in 2008. Vanessa enjoys cooking and has a side job as a private caterer. She also works as Concerts Manager at MIT. She resides in Lowell with her husband and two dogs. 

Mark Gebhardt, M.D., clarinet

Dr. Gebhardt is Chairman and Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Frederick W. and Jane M. Ilfeld Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School.  His work focuses on limb-sparing surgery of musculoskeletal tumors. Since joining the LSO in 1986, he has served as principal clarinetist, as well as LSO Board Chair and Board member. He enjoys being in the LSO for the perspective it gives to his life, the opportunity to meet and get to know musicians from other walks of life, and of course, the musical rewards!

Wolfram Goessling, M.D., Ph.D., trumpet 

Dr. Goessling is a member of the Genetics Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he uses zebrafish to better understand the role of stem cells in organ regeneration and cancer formation. As an oncologist and gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, he specializes in the treatment of colon, pancreatic and liver cancer. He has been with the LSO for 16 years and enjoys playing in the orchestra with his wife Helle Sachse as their weekly date.

Tamara Goldstein, O.T., violin

Tamara is an Occupational Therapist specializing in geriatrics and she also plays the violin. She has played in the Longwood Symphony Orchestra for 12 years. She feels very fortunate that she is able to combine her interests and she is proud to be a member of an organization that serves the community.

Heidi Greulich, Ph.D., cello

Dr. Greulich is a cancer biologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a visiting scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.  Her research involves identification of mutations in human cancer that represent novel therapeutic opportunities, with the goal of developing targeted cancer therapies.  Dr. Greulich has been a cellist in the LSO since 1995 and enjoys the opportunity to play with such a wonderful group of people.

Sherman Jia, M. Eng., violin 

Sherman is a student at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, where he was also concertmaster of the MIT Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. Sherman is interested in using computational tools to solve problems at the intersection of engineering and medicine, as well as combining music with medicine as a force for healing. He was recently named a Collins Foundation Scholar for dedication to the arts and medicine.

Heidi Harbison Kimberly, M.D., violin

Dr. Kimberly is an Emergency Medicine physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital where she is currently a fellow in Emergency Ultrasound.  She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency.  This is her 11th season with the LSO.  She also enjoys playing chamber music, occasionally bluegrass fiddle, spending time with her family, and enjoying the great outdoors on foot, bike or skis.

Alistair Kok, D.D.S., violin & viola

Dr. Kok is a general dentist with Gentle Dental in Porter Square, Cambridge.  He is an alumnus of Virginia Tech (1999) and the Ohio State University College of Dentistry (2003).  He studied viola with Doris Lederer of the Audubon Quartet and is currently pursuing a graduate performance diploma (violin) with Mark Lakirovich at the Longy School of Music.  Alistair has been an active orchestral and chamber player with the LSO since he moved to Cambridge from Blacksburg, VA in 2006.

Jeremy Lang, timpani, percussion

Jeremy Lang runs Elysium Digital, a small business that provides expert testimony in computer-science-related legal cases.  Jeremy has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Columbia and a performer's diploma in timpani and percussion from The Conservatory at Lynn University.  Jeremy joined LSO upon his return to his home town of Boston in 1998, has served on its Board, and twice as its personnel manager.  He lives in Arlington with wife Karla and daughter Sabrina.

Anna T. R. Legedza, Sc.D., violin

Anna Legedza is a senior biostatistician at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. At Vertex, Anna works on the statistical analysis of clinical trials of drugs to treat hepatitis C. Anna joined the violin section in 1995. Over the years, she has served as cookie girl, second violin leader, and Board of Trustees member. Besides playing music, she spends her free time doing volunteer travel to places like Mongolia and Spain, and is learning how to curl.

Andrea Letvin, J.D., violin

With law school and the Bar Exam finally behind her, Andrea is working this year as a law clerk for the Massachusetts Superior Court.  She spends her days helping judges behind the scenes, meeting great people, and soaking up every bit of experience the courthouse has to offer.  No matter how tired she gets, Andrea always looks forward to Thursday night rehearsals.  This is her fourth year as a violinist with the LSO, and she anticipates many more.

Shenkiat Lim, violin

Shenkiat Lim is a Director of Product Development at Fidelity Investments, where he supports Fidelity's managed accounts offerings.  Shen has been playing violin with the LSO since 1998, with the exception of a two-year hiatus spent teaching fifth grade social studies in rural Mississippi.  Apart from his passion for music, Shen spends much of his time working with local area non-profits such as Teach For America and City Year.

Justin Lo, violin

Justin is a second year MD/PhD student at Harvard Medical School.  This is his second season playing with the LSO, but he has been continuously involved in music from a young age as both a composer and a violinist.

Psyche Loui, Ph.D., violin

Psyche is an Instructor in Neurology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, where she conducts studies in cognitive neuroscience and music. Using a combination of music theory with brain imaging, electrophysiology, and psychophysical methods, her current research projects include the neural substrates of tone-deafness and absolute pitch . Loui is a violinist in the Longwood Symphony.

Martha MacMillin, cello

Marty enjoys being part of an orchestra whose members are mostly from the medical and scientific community. She joined the LSO in 1992 while working as a genetic counselor at the Harvard Community Health Plan and has since changed careers twice. After spending several years teaching private cello students in her home, she is now pursuing a career as a high school biology teacher. For her, LSO has been the link between her love of science and music.

David Mish, violin

Dave teaches both English as a Second Language and History at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. His students are an incredibly diverse group, representing countries that include Haiti, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Nepal, India, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. He enjoys teaching his students about the world and feels incredibly lucky to also learn about it from them. Dave joined the LSO in the 2005-2006 season. Making music revitalizes him. He feels privileged to do so with an organization that does so much good for the community.

Ramona Nee, J.D., violin

Ramona Nee is a corporate attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and has a diverse transactional practice emphasizing leveraged buyouts, mergers & acquisitions and general corporate counseling.  Ramona represents a number of prominent private equity firms and hedge funds.  Ramona has been a violinist with the LSO since 2001, and a member of the Board for the past three years.  In her past life, she was also an accomplished pianist but has lately been consumed with balancing raising a spirited toddler, lawyering, violin and the occasional trip to exotic locales.

Susan P. Pauker, M.D., FACMG, violin

Dr. Susan Pauker is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Chief of Medical Genetics at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (formerly Harvard Community Health Plan) since 1975. At Harvard Medical School she serves as Academy Scholar, Member of the Faculty Council, Associate Master of the Francis Weld Peabody Society, and member of the Division of Medical Ethics. At Massachusetts General Hospital, she directed the Genetics Clinic from 1981. A practicing Medical Geneticist, she consults at Brigham and Womens, Lahey, Boston Children’s and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospitals and lectures on Ethics and Medical Genetics nationally to prevent birth defects, cancer, and genetic disease.

Dr. Pauker trained in Pediatrics and in Medical Genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is Board Certified in Pediatrics and in Medical Genetics and is a Founding Fellow and Trustee of the American College of Medical Genetics, and Fellow of the American Society of Human Genetics. She received the first Jonas Salk Memorial Award and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Award from the March of Dimes, the Outstanding Physician Award from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and the Exceptional Woman in Health Care Award from WMJX, Boston. She serves as editorial advisor in Genetics for the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide, the Harvard Women’s Health Watch, and the Harvard Health Letter.

Read Pukkila-Worley, cello

Dr. Pukkila-Worley is a fellow in infectious diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital.  In addition to seeing patients at the MGH, he conducts research in the laboratory to study several fungal pathogens that can cause serious human infections.  Dr. Pukkila-Worley has been a cellist in the LSO for 6 years, during his residency and fellowship training.  Playing music with the LSO has provided him with an essential and wonderful balance to the rigors of medical training.

Christopher Reuning, cello

Christopher Reuning has been a cellist with the Longwood Symphony since 1996. Although not directly in the medical community, Chris is a doctor to violins and other stringed instruments. He owns and operates Reuning & Son Violins and Carriage House Violins which are high end and student violin dealerships, respectively, in Boston's South End. Chris also serves as a trustee to the Boston Chamber Music society and is president of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers.

Tom Sandora, percussion

Dr. Sandora is a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital Boston, where he is the Hospital Epidemiologist and Medical Director of Infection Control.  He works to reduce healthcare-associated infections and also conducts research regarding infection prevention for children in healthcare settings and in the community.  He is also involved in medical education and serves as an Associate Program Director for the Boston Combined Residency in Pediatrics.  Dr. Sandora has been performing with LSO since he started medical school in 1993.

Thomas Sheldon, oboe

Dr. Sheldon graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and the Harvard Joint Center for Radiation Therapy. He served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, the staff of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and New England Deaconess Hospital. There he studied combined chemotherapy/radiotherapy for lung cancer, breast cancer and testicular cancer. Since moving to New Hampshire, he has been active in the American Cancer Society, and with Margaret Lamb. RN, coauthored a landmark study on the sexual adaptation of women after treatment for uterine cancer. Dr. Sheldon, after 25 years in oncology practice, remains inspired by the strength and dignity that patients display when challenged with a life-threatening medical diagnosis.

Paul Silver, clarinet

Paul Silver is the founder & President of Handyman Heroes Inc, a home remodeling business with 2 locations. Most of his career was spent in the technology sector, where he founded one consulting company, and managed 2 others. He plays all of the clarinets, and saxophones, and sometimes oboe. He has been with the LSO for 19 years, on the Board of Directors since 2000, and is a former Board Chairman.

Andrea E. Spencer, M.D., viola

Andrea is a resident in pediatrics and psychiatry at Massachusetts General and McLean Hospitals, planning a career focused on immigrant and international child mental health. She graduated from Yale University in 2003 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music, and from Harvard Medical School in 2008. She has been a member of the orchestra since 2004 and of the Board since 2005. LSO melds her life's passions of playing music and advocating for the underserved.

Nicholas E. Tawa, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., viola

Dr. Tawa is a surgeon at Beth Israel Deacness Medical Center who specializes in the  management of melanoma, breast cancer, sarcoma, and gastrointestinal malignancies, while also performing basic research seeking to understand why muscle wasting occurs in disease states such as the cachexia of cancer. Dr. Tawa has been a violist in LSO for 8 years and served on the Board of Trustees from 2004-2009. He finds his experiences with LSO to be uplifting, as an alternative to the emotional rigors of the clinic and as a way to share the spiritual values inherent in good music.

Gwendoline Thornblade, B.D.Sc, M.Sc,.D., viola

Originally trained as a dentist with specialty in Paedodontics, Gwendoline Thornblade subsequently was trained as a Suzuki violin and viola teacher. Active on the national and state level, she founded the Suzuki School of Newton in 1986, and was recently recognized as one of the founders of the MA Suzuki Association. An avid chamber music player, she sits on various boards which support this activity, including ACMP. Currently she is teaching and coaching with Project Step, in addition to conducting a senior citizen chamber orchestra. Playing with the LSO has proved to be a very musical and fulfilling experience.

Elisha Wachman, M.D., violin

Dr. Elisha Wachman is a pediatric resident at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center.  She is interested in hospitalist medicine and international health, having spent time in Lesotho.  She is a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine, and received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.  Elisha started playing the violin at age eight and joined the LSO in 2006.  She is the coordinator of the Arts-Healthcare Alliance at Boston Medical Center, a volunteer program that brings musicians to the hospital to perform for patients.

Lisa Wong, M.D., violin, viola 

Dr. Wong attended Harvard where she majored in East Asian Studies and then pursued medicine. As a pediatrician, Dr. Wong endorses the importance of music to all of her pediatric patients, encouraging parents to start playing music for their children when they are babies, and even start piano lessons by age five or six. Dr. Wong believes that the Longwood Symphony Orchestra is a beautiful combination of music and community service. As President of the LSO, she enjoys working with other community service organizations in Boston and learning from them. Dr. Wong also serves on the board of the Young Audiences of Massachusetts and helped start the Bring Back the Music program, which revitalized in-class instrumental music instruction in the Boston public schools.

Stephen C. Wright, M.D., bassoon

Dr. Wright, clinical professor of medicine and chief of medicine at Faulkner Hospital, is the winner of the Milton and Natalie Zucker Outstanding Accomplishment in Clinical Teaching Prize, which recognizes medical faculty who epitomize the best of clinical teaching. Wright joined Faulkner Hospital in 1973, and over the next 20 years established himself as a superior teacher and clinician and directed the Tufts medical student teaching program at the Faulkner. Despite having a busy and active gastroenterology practice, he always makes time for students, serving as an important role model and mentor to students and young faculty. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Wright is an active member of Longwood Symphony Orchestra and a beekeeper.

Source: Tufts Alumni Magazine

Leonard Zon, M.D., trumpet

Dr. Leonard Zon has played first trumpet with Longwood Symphony Orchestra since 1984. Dr. Zon is also the Grousbeck Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Director of the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston. His research focuses on two major developing areas: modeling human diseases in zebrafish, and stem cell biology. Dr. Zon is a member of the Institute of Medicine and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.