Interview with Drs. Jennifer Bryan, Jo Jo Leung, and Telisha Smith-Gorvie
Jenn and the Holograms are Dr Jenn Bryan (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Mr Justin Kwitco (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dr Jo Jo Leung (piano, violin, vocals) and Dr Telisha Smith-Gorvie (bass guitar, backing vocals). They first performed at the UHN Emergency Medicine conference in 2014, and have been jamming ever since. Jenn and the Holograms’ repertoire spans over eight decades and a variety of genres including pop, jazz, rock and even a Newfoundland folk tune!
Dr. Jo Jo Leung
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience with the arts?
JB: Jo Jo, Telisha, and I are all emergency physicians. Every year, UHN hosts an emergency medicine conference. It’s a gathering with music and a chance to socialize. We were all invited to play music for the conference, and that's how we came together musically. I think we each had very different experiences with the arts before coming together. Before medical school, I had always enjoyed music. I sang with a band here in Toronto and wrote music with Justin, [our fourth member], for some time. When medical school started, I found other ways of musical expression. We had a medical school band for which I played the euphonium for four years.
JL: My background is in music. I started playing piano at the age of four and violin at the age of five. I got my bachelor's degree in piano performance and transitioned to medical school from piano performance. So, for all intents and purposes, I was a professional musician prior to coming into medicine. That being said, I always knew I wanted to do medicine. With an undergrad degree, you have four years to do anything you want—so that's how I made the decision to study piano performance while also getting credits towards the MCAT. I used to play in various events, including nursing homes and various social gatherings. In medical school, I was also an organizer for Healing Tonics. It might have fizzled out during COVID, but throughout medical school, we would go to different shelters and hospitals to sing.
Dr. Jennifer Bryan
TS: I started piano lessons when I was six, then took up guitar at age ten. I was even nerdier than Jen and played tuba in my high school and university band, which was fun. In high school, I was in jazz band. Our bass guitar player graduated, and we didn’t have a [replacement] so I thought, “two fewer strings than an acoustic guitar—it can't be that much harder!” I also played in the Winnipeg Youth Orchestra. Then in medical school, I played in our class band for four years.
Q: Can you tell us more about how your group came to be?
JL: I think it was fall of 2014 that Jen and I first performed at the conference.
TS: I joined in 2015. I remember getting involved when I saw Jen photocopying some music and asked what [she was] doing, with no chill at all. I said I played the bass guitar if she was looking… and that's how I became involved with the band!
JL: That's so funny, I don't even remember that! We weren't so much a band initially, just some people playing in the background at this cocktail party. Then later with the addition of Telisha, we actually became more organized and gave ourselves a name: The Holograms.
JB: It's true. It was then that we started expanding beyond the conference. We played at various hospitals and different University of Toronto events looking for more ways to have fun playing music together!
Q: What were some of your motivations to pursue this artistic endeavor alongside your work as emergency physicians?
JL: I would say music has the power to heal and the power to connect. At work [as an emergency physician], a lot of your time and energy is focused on efficiency and getting things done. When you are performing, you can just be in the moment while connecting with a large group of people.
Dr. Telisha Smith- Gorvie
TS: That's exactly it. We got into medicine to help people, but the arts, as Jo Jo was saying, also has a way of healing. One of my favorite memories was when we played at Toronto Rehab a couple years ago. There was a patient sitting with their loved one, holding hands, and they just had a look on their face. I nearly teared up seeing that because you just knew how much they were there for each other.
JB: For me, it started off as a challenge—something fun and different compared to what we’re doing every day. I've also always enjoyed music, so the opportunity to share that with friends and colleagues was very exciting. We made conscious efforts to try to choose music that would be uplifting and engaging! Some of my favorite memories are when we had a group singing “Hey Jude” along with us in the lobby of Toronto Western, or “Sweet Caroline” at the Veterans Centre at Sunnybrook. Being able to share that feeling of freedom through music was a very special moment.
Q: Could you walk us through a typical session together or comment on how you get a project started?
JB: Well, it generally starts with tea and baking! We're a very food-oriented group… We love playing music, but we also love spending time together. So, once we've decided on a time to meet, we start with tea and catch up. Then, we each bring different songs that we'd like to try out—some work and some don't. We have [songs] in a folder since about 2014 that have not worked, but we live in hopes that one day maybe [they will]. Depending on where we're going to be playing, we try to pick songs that we think are going to best resonate and fit with the audience.
JL: I will add that oftentimes, our practices are a chance for us to catch up because we don't get to do that at work. I also wanted to highlight that Telisha is an amazing baker. She actually has her certificate from George Brown. So naturally, our practice also involves eating something that Telisha has made.
Justin Kwitco
Q: Is there anything that you learned or gained from the experience of working together?
JB: I can say that we have quite different tastes in music, which is often an adventure. This [group] has pushed us all musically!
JL: We've gotten to know each other really well over the years, which is a very nice feeling as opposed to, “Oh, this is just a work colleague.” On the rare chance that we do actually cross paths at work, it is nice to catch up and quickly chat about what we want to try next time.
JB: I completely agree. This has been especially important over the past few years. It’s a nice feeling when I'm at work and I know I'm going to be handing over to Jo Jo or Telisha, or vice versa. Through the pandemic, we haven't been able to play in person, but we’ve still done what we could to practice online. We actually get together regularly [online]—us and our partners—just for social things. We still want to maintain the closeness and group feeling that we’ve built over the years.
Q: That's amazing. It seems like you've also formed a community amongst yourselves outside of music as well! How has your experience with this group or your background in the arts influenced your perspective of healthcare?
JL: Something an emergency medicine mentor of mine once shared was, “Find a moment of connection with every single patient you meet.” That moment can be as easy as asking about the book they are reading or the picture of the dog on their phone—anything that's not related to their chief complaint. I think that participation in the arts opens up another avenue to find that moment of connection. For example, I had a patient with dementia just a few days ago who was very agitated. His daughter shared that he really likes the opera, Carmen, which is an opera I also know. So, I pulled it up on my phone and played it for him, which helped him settle down. Music just opens up a different avenue of connection. I will also say that training through the arts and learning to perform on stage brings a lot of other intangible benefits throughout your training and career. The ability to handle pressure performing in front of an audience, whether that be on a stage or in the middle of a resuscitation, or the ability to think ahead and decide what you want to do—these are examples that show how music enhances careers.
JB: As a mom of two little girls, that's a big reason why I wanted them involved in music. They're taking piano lessons and learning to sing, not necessarily because I think they're going to be professional musicians when they grow up, but because of the skills and the sense of accomplishment associated with the work. I think those are very important to learn, and something we were all fortunate enough to learn through our music training at early ages.
TS: Playing in an ensemble in music is about teamwork, and so is healthcare. These past two years especially have shown us how much we rely on each other, and the importance of working together to achieve something more. It’s being able to empathize and feel [each other’s] emotions as you're playing, listening to music, and even talking to patients about it. I've actually had a mini karaoke session with a patient who had some music playing on their phone. We both sang and rapped along. It wasn’t good, but we had fun. I really appreciate little moments like that.
Q: Thank you so much for sharing. What do you love most about this group? And what is your most memorable or favourite music moment?
JB: I'm so tempted to say the pies! But I love the chance to make music together to brighten other people's days. I think Jo Jo and Telisha alluded to this before, but as emergency physicians, we're generally seeing people on their worst days and doing the most to make those bad days better. [The goal of] this group is a little different—instead of trying to fix or address those bad days, we bring a little bit of light and joy. It's a wonderful complement to what we do in our work.
JL: In general, one of my most memorable moments is when patients or staff see this random group of people performing in the hospital lobby and recognize, “Oh, that's Dr. so and so!” I think it highlights who we are as individuals—not as this mythical doctor figure, but as a person. We are persons with identities, who have hobbies and interests. We are humans, just like our patients, and I think that is a nice thing for patients to see.
Q: Is there a message or a song that you want our readers to discover?
JL: I will throw in this song from Finding Nemo: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” Basically, just keep plugging away. I would say the medical training journey feels like a long one but remember, you are still the person you were coming into medicine. Yes, some things have to be temporarily put on hold for a few years. That's okay. They'll be there for you when you want to return. And if you just keep plugging away, eventually, you'll be able to rediscover that part of yourself.
JB: I never want to say anything after Jo Jo has answered because that is the perfect response right there! There's sometimes a tendency to think that you have to separate all the bits and pieces of yourself, but I think that us playing music together is a great reminder of how important all parts of you are. Our patients benefit from everything that we bring to our work—not just our medical training, but our experiences, values, and interests in life outside of the hospital as well. We're fortunate to be able to express those other parts of ourselves [through singing]. As physicians, we are also human beings who get to fully participate in life.
TS: I think the first thing that comes to mind is the song by the band Radiohead, called “Optimistic.” The lyrics go: “You can try the best you can, you can try the best you can, the best you can is good enough.” We’re human, right? That's all you can do.
Q: That sounds lovely. Are there any final thoughts you wanted to share?
TS: I know it’s hard to find time, especially for preclinical students who are on Zoom all day or during clerkship when you feel like you haven’t slept in days. Just find an outlet for your own creativity, whatever that may be. Try to [sustain that for] as long as you can because medicine is tough. Even for just two minutes, do something that speaks to your creative self. Being able to connect is what makes us, us.
JB: I agree with what Telisha said. During your medical school years, you might not be able to spend a whole half hour or hour doing something, but maybe take five minutes to play or listen to one song. Or paint one part of a picture, sketching a little bit at a time. Just do it for five minutes and then move on. It’s good to have that reminder that you are a person outside of medicine.
