2021 Virtual Concert

Greater Boston PSR (GBPSR) and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) are pleased to host a very special fourth annual event to address the twin existential threats of nuclear war and climate change. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with restrictions on large gatherings in effect in Boston, the special event will be streamed live on-line, beginning at 7:00pm, on Saturday, September 25th, 2021. This event will feature live music from world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and chamber musicians from the Longwood Symphony Orchestra. Attendance to this virtual event is FREE, but sponsorships on behalf of both our organizations, no matter the amount, will be appreciated and put to good use.

If you are able, please donate to support a sponsorship for this inspiring musical and educational event. As a sponsor, you will not only aid IPPNW’s and GBPSR’s critical work to prevent the threats of nuclear war and climate change, but will be prominently featured in event publicity and to a large, unlimited on-line audience, including healthcare and business leaders. Last year’s live-streamed event included approximately 1,000 attendees.

Since there will be no reception, we regret we cannot offer our customary food or drink, but we encourage you to sit back in your home, perhaps with a cocktail in hand, and enjoy the online presentations and performance.

Questions? Contact Michael Christ at (781)521-5183 or mchrist@ippnw.org.

2021 Honorary Committee

Susan Alexander and Sidney Alexander, MD
Ronald A. Arky, MD
Joseph D. Brain, ScD
Edward Campion, MD
Richard A. Cash, MD
MA Senator Joanne M. Comerford
Goodarz Danaei, MD, ScD
Cole Harrison
MA Representative Patrick J. Kearney
Governor Michael and Kitty Dukakis
Lachlan Forrow, MD
Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
Joseph Gerson
Ira Helfand, MD
Jonathan King, PhD
Robert Jay Lifton, MD
U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey
C. Robert Horsburgh, Jr., MD and Brita E. Lundberg, MD
Savina J. Martin, MS
James Muller, MD
Sheila Nutt, EdD and Mekonnen Meshesha, PhD
MA Senator Patrick M. O’Connor
Dr. John O. and Marilyn A. Pastore
Prasannan Parthasarathi and Juliet Schor
US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
Jon E. Rohde, MD
MA Representative Lindsay Sabadosa
Elaine Scarry, PhD
Kevin Sidel
Mark Sidel
Doris Sommer, PhD
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
Dean Michelle A. Williams, SM, ScD

2021 Sponsorships

Symphony — $10,000
Ira Helfand, MD and Deborah Smith, MD

Concerto — $5,000
Anonymous
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Drs. Carl and Susan Racine

Sonata — $2,500
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Dept of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Lachlan Forrow, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital Dept of Medicine

Prelude — $1,000
James A. Babson / Massachusetts Peace Action
Cambridge Health Alliance Dept of Medicine
David Drake, DO (President, PSR National)
Eastern Bank ($750)
First Republic Bank
Andrew Kanter, MD, MPH
MassGeneral Hospital for Children
Arthur Milholland, MD and Luann Mostello, MD
Dr. Cornelia van der Ziel and Dr. Kenneth Kleene
The Village Bank
The Wales Family
Mr. Lynn Chang and Dr. Lisa Wong

Additional Sponsorships

Minuet – $500 and under
Anna and Jonathan Baker
Richard Clapp and Paula Georges
Barbara and Steven Grossman
Martha Ellen Katz, MD
Clark Freifeld and Andee Krasner
Robert Jay Lifton, MD
Drs. Robert Horsburgh, Jr. and Brita E. Lundberg
Anne Lown and Warren Green
Joseph McCabe
Jack Paradise, MD
Nyna Polumbaum

Sarabande – $250 and under
Sidney Alexander, MD — Ronald A. Arky, MD — Judith Chasin — Robert and Kristin Dodge — Mirret El-Hagrassy — Henry Kahn, MD — Barry Levy, MD and Nancy Levy — Lynn Linakis — Hildy Meyers  — Julie Meyers, MD — Aki Morizono — Philip Moss —Peter Moyer— Kathleen and James Muller, MD — Tom Newman — John Pastore — Alan Pinshaw, MD — Bruce Price, MD — Rachel J Sagan — Elaine Scarry — Rhoda Schneider — Mark and Kevin Sidel and family — Susan and James Snider — Geoffrey Stein

Chaconne – $100 and under
Joan and Peter Baker — Ellen E. Barfield in honor of Lawrence D Egbert, MD, MPH — Sissela Bok — David Bor — George Cani —Gordon Chase — Michael Christ — Mardge Cohen and Gordon Schiff —Dave & Inge Damm-Luhr — Arthur Glasgow — Robert Gould — Karen V. Hansen — Cole Harrison — Hines Family Trust — Kendal McDonald — Peter Meyers — Judith Norsigian —  Jane Petro — Tilman Ruff — John Quatrale  — Anne Sandstrom — Ellen Seely (In Honor of Dr. Lown) — Francine Sohn — Donna Tomb — Susan Wood

Passacaglia – $50 and under
Suzette Abbott and David Klafter — Janie Adato — Joel Amromin — Anonymous — Mary-Wynne Ashford — Katharine Baker — Kacey Bongarzone and Colin Barry — Mary Brady — Larry Cohen —Marcy and Brian Concannon — Susan Entin — Ellen Ferranti, MD — Ann Frisch — Janet Gottler — Wayne Grody — Christopher Spicer Hankle — Scott Helmers — Ari Horton — Dominic Hodgkin and Diane Gold — David Huntington — Carter Joliat — Elizabeth Kelly — Sarah Khan — Armin Kröning — John LaForge — Joan Lancourt — Melissa Langford — Carolyn Shadid Lewis — Claudia Leight — Stephanie Linakis — Susan Mirsky — Sue Morris — Claire OConnor — Dr. Joe Pater — Antoinetta Pleban — Mitchell Rabkin — Esther Rowland — Thomas Schnyder — Juliet Schor — Donald Sebian — Cathy Slesinger — Lionel Silberman — Gordon Szerlip — Diane Turco — Alan Wertheimer

Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, where he began to study the cello with his father at age four. Three years later, he moved with his family to New York City, continuing his studies at the Juilliard School. After his conservatory training, he sought out a liberal arts education, graduating from Harvard in 1976. Yo-Yo’s career is testament to his faith in culture’s power to generate the trust and understanding essential to a strong society. This belief inspired Yo-Yo to establish the global cultural collective Silkroad, and, more recently, to set out on the Bach Project — a six-continent tour of J. S. Bach’s suites for solo cello and an invitation to a larger conversation about culture, society, and the themes that connect us all.

Photo: Jason Bell
Photo: Jason Bell

Dr. Bernard Lown

Born in Lithuania, Dr. Bernard Lown came to the United States at the age of 13 when his family left their native country before the Nazi invasion.  After learning English in high school in Maine, he went on to study at the University of Maine and later earned his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Lown was one of the world’s leading cardiologists.  He was Professor Emeritus of Cardiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and Senior Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  A pioneer in the research of sudden cardiac death, Dr. Lown invented the defibrillator and the cardioverter and introduced the use of Lidocaine in cardiac care.

He was a founder and first President of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) in Boston in 1961.  PSR was among the first organizations to alert the public to the catastrophic medical and public health consequences of nuclear war with its 1962 study of a hypothetical nuclear bombing of Boston published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  He was also a founder of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in 1980 and, together with Dr. Evgeny Chazov of the Soviet Union, accepted the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of IPPNW for its efforts to educate the medical community, government officials, and the general public about the dangers of nuclear warfare.

Bernard Lown Headshot Lg

More Information