“It’s OK to have a hobby,” Byron Vandenberg, MD, said. The Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine was talking about his time playing with a jazz band made up of University of Iowa Health Care physicians as a positive break from work. Formerly known as Dox, the group traces its roots back to the early 1970s. After some years of hiatus, the group reformed a few years ago, practicing weekly and performing a few concerts a year. Members from Internal Medicine also include Drs. Scott Vogelgesang and Judy Streit.

Late last month, the group performed in the Atrium of the hospital for visitors and staff. What made this particular performance special was the presence of a long-time member, a “maestro emeritus,” Dr. Kenneth Hubel.

At the same time as the jazz group entertained its audience inside the hospital, outside in the health sciences quad, the Recliners were entertaining the Science Thursday crowd gathered to soak up some sun and some street tacos. Some of the members of the band include Ann Aschoff (ARNP in cardiac electrophysiology), Dr. Jack Stapleton (Professor in Infectious Diseases), Dr. James Rossen (Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine), and Dr. Paul McCray (Professor of Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology). For a full list of members, and some notable alumni, the About section of their Facebook page has some interesting surprises.

And while these may be the most visible and organized instances of Internal Medicine members making music, sharp-eyed community members can spot others around town. Dr. David Stoltz, Professor in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, offered some jazz classics on the sousaphone along with his two sons and their friends at a recent backyard crawfish boil.

Dr. Michihiko Goto, Clinical Assistant Professor in Infectious Diseases, played the trombone next to his daughter on trumpet after a recent Preucil School of Music recital for the gathered parents and students.

If you know of any other instances of musicians quietly lurking in the halls of the hospital or if you would like to get involved, let us know!