MUSICAL MEDICS: Full Code, made up of professionals from Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, brings their brand of classic rock to Hinds Plaza on August 17 and Cranbury Library on August 20. From left are, front row, are Sam Ven-Batah and Craig Gronczewski. Behind them are David Barile, Kevin Skole, Jasmeet Bajaj, and Gabe Smolars.
By Anne Levin
Is there a link between music and medicine? Some studies suggest so. A decade ago, a Harvard Medical School professor wrote that more than 70 percent of doctors have received musical training. In New York, the Doctors Orchestral Society of New York has been performing concerts since 1938.
A group of medical professionals here in Princeton has been making music — classic rock — together for the past few years. Full Code, an ensemble of five doctors and one chaplain from Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, will perform on Sunday, August 17, at 4 p.m. at Hinds Plaza. A second concert is planned for Wednesday, August 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Cranbury Library. Both events are free.
The group is known locally from their performances at the annual Porchfest. They have played at the annual gala for Greenwood House, and at local backyard parties.
It all started at the hospital’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2019. The day before the gala event, at which The Temptations appeared, the hospital held a talent show for employees.
“A lot of people entered,” said Dr. David Barile, a geriatric medicine specialist who plays guitar and keyboards. “I knew two guys had been playing together. And we knew a bass player. I was fiddling around with the drums. And we thought, ‘Let’s join the competition.’ We learned two songs and came in third behind two barbershop quartets.”
Alan Stefanowicz, a laboratory courier who procures patient specimens from local Penn Medicine outreach clinics, has been managing Full Code for the past several months.
“The band first came to my attention through word of mouth at the hospital,” he wrote in an email. “Given that I had always been a fan of classic rock, I just knew I had to meet these guys. Little did I know at the time that five of the members were doctors within the Penn Medicine Healthcare System, as well as our hospital chaplain.”
After meeting with one of the members, Stefanowicz, who lives in Cranbury, was invited to become their manager. In addition to Barile, Full Code members include saxophonist Sam Ven-Batah, the hospital’s director of spiritual well-being; guitarist Craig Gronczewski, chief medical officer; guitarist Jasmeet Bajaj, director of the critical care unit; drummer Kevin Skole, gastroenterologist; and bassist Gabe Smolars, endocrinologist.
The band gets together at least once a month, usually in Gronczewski’s garage, to practice songs by Neil Young, Elvis Presley, U2, The Grateful Dead, and other rock icons. During the pandemic, they rehearsed in Barile’s backyard.
The link between music and medicine makes sense to Barile. “I know a lot of us try and use both sides of the brain in our work,” he said. “There’s a lot of math in music. And there are a lot of neuro diverse traits among musicians.”
Full Code has played a few times in the hospital’s courtyard, outside the cafeteria.
“The staff just love it,” said Barile. “It helps with burnout. Mostly, it’s been good for our morale. We don’t just play music, we get to commiserate about everything — work, parenting, medicine. There’s a lot of brotherly love there, and the music is a way of joining together. It’s a really fun experience to play on your own, but making music with another person is a good exercise.”