Ante Padjen
Padjen, a neuropharmacologist at McGill University, comes to life when he discusses his orchestra. In his office on the 13th floor of the McGill medical building, he shuffles through scrapbooks that date back to I Medici’s conception in 1989. Meanwhile, in the reception area, the secretary and her computer fight for space with a harpsichord and a double bass leaning against the filing cabinets. Over the past twenty years, Padjen has had the pleasure of seeing 320 musicians of every age and medical specialty pass through the orchestra. “Recently I received a letter from one student, a really smart guy who had several options to study medicine. He chose McGill so that he would able to play in I Medici,” he tells us. Despite the positive publicity that the orchestra lends to the Faculty of Medicine, I Medici receive no funding from McGill University(*). They are, however, provided with free practice space at the school.
