Who are we?
The Irish Doctors Orchestra (IDO) is a unique all-island fellowship of medical professionals who are also classically trained musicians. The concept of the IDO provides an opportunity for medics from across Ireland to get together and create music as a therapy to the stresses and challenges we all face in our professional lives. It follows in the footsteps of other doctors’ orchestras such as European Doctors Orchestra (founded 2004), Australian Doctors Orchestra (founded 1993) and World Doctors Orchestra (founded 2008).
We join together for rehearsals over a period of days which includes coaching by professional musicians and culminates in a public performance. Venue hire, professional coaching and other costs are all financed by the participating doctors which allows proceeds from the concert to be donated to a local nominated charity in the city of the concert
The IDO formed in 2020 and despite a staggered start under the pandemic, we finally met in person for our first live performance in Belfast in May 2022. Since then, we have performed in Dublin and Limerick and returned to Belfast in March 2023 where we joined forces with the choirs of St Dominic’s Grammar School and St Malachy’s College in the magnificent setting of the Ulster Hall. We then most recent concert took place in Waterford in September 2024, before a double session in St Canice’s Cathedral Kilkenny and Dublin in May 2025.
Our next concert is set to take place in Derry in November 2025
