Spotlight: - Laura Schultz

Oboe - Data Scientist

What’s your connection to healthcare?

I am a data scientist in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  My area of expertise is computational genetics, and I work on research projects relating to neuropsychiatry and cardiology.

Why did you choose to pursue your Current field?

My Ph.D. is actually in Neuroscience.  After realizing that I much prefer analyzing data to collecting it in a lab, I pivoted towards a career as a statistics professor and eventually left to work at CHOP.  I love my current role analyzing large genomic datasets.  In a sense, my career has gone full circle since I primarily work with neuropsychiatric data.

What instrument(s) do you play in PMSO, and how long have you played these instrument(s)?

I play oboe and English horn in PMSO.  I have played oboe for about 9 years and English horn for less than a year.  I have also played flute and piccolo for over 40 years.

Why did you start playing your instrument(s)?

I played flute and piccolo through college and then took a break during my graduate school and postdoctoral years.  I started playing again when my oldest daughter joined her school band.  I joined a community band and really enjoyed playing again.  After a few years, I decided to learn to play the oboe, an instrument that I have always loved hearing in orchestral performances.  I took three years of lessons with the oboe professor at the university where I used to teach, and I found that my flute experience made me a quick study at the oboe.  I picked up the English horn this past summer when I played the Reed 2 book in a pit orchestra.  I think that the English horn is my new favorite instrument, and I am happy to play it in PMSO this semester.

Why is music important to you?

Music makes me happy and serves as a stress release for me.  I practice at home or rehearse with a performance group every day of the week because I always feel happier after I have played some music. 

Do you think music and healthcare can complement each other in any way?

CHOP has a music therapy program that I think is quite beneficial to the children we serve.  Also, I performed in concerts at CHOP and a variety of nursing homes prior to COVID, and it always struck me that the patients were absolutely thrilled to engage with our music.  I believe that performing and listening to classical music is especially beneficial to mental health.

Why did you get involved in PMSO?

I played in a pit orchestra some years ago with a CHOP doctor while I was still working as a professor.  He mentioned that he played violin in PMSO, and I remembered him when I started working at CHOP.  It has long been a dream of mine to play oboe in an orchestra, and I am grateful that I am able to do so with a group as talented as the PMSO.

What has your experience in PMSO been like so far?

I have played oboe 2 with PMSO since the virtual performance of Nimrod in 2020.  This semester, I am playing English horn for the first time, and my hope is to play oboe 1 in the future.  Since I joined PMSO, there has been a steady change in personnel (including a new conductor) as medical students and residents graduate and move away from the Philadelphia region.  Despite the new faces each year, we always come together as a group and make beautiful music together.  The past couple of years, the leadership committee has been providing us with a lot of new opportunities to socialize with other orchestra members outside of rehearsal time.

What is your favorite piece that you’ve performed with us? Have there been any highlights of playing with the orchestra?

My favorite piece so far has been the Dvorak cello concerto.  It featured our awesome principal cellist (Andrew Devaney) and was fun for the rest of the orchestra to play, too.

Why should people come to the concert this year?

This semester we have the largest and best sounding orchestra yet.  This semester, we have quite a few members who double-majored in music when they were undergrads, and they really elevate our performance quality.

 Interview with Laura Schultz prior to the Fall 2024 concert. Published 11/27/2024