I've loved music ever since I can remember, from "conducting" the kindergarten band to singing boy soprano in some very small performances, to being allowed to march and play the snare drum with the junior high band while still in elementary school. Music had to wait, however, while I engaged in sports and academics in high school. Things started to change in college. The college radio station would broadcast "Music 1," and I listened intermittently with considerable fascination, but little understanding. I then discovered that one could obtain unreserved, second-balcony seats for fifty cents-to the Boston Pops. I couldn't believe that one could hear a solo violin from so far away. In medical school, three of us subscribed to two seats and a full season of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at $1.50 per seat per concert, in the orchestra section! The medical school dormitory had a library with LP records of classical music. I used to wake up in the middle of the night listening to the scritch of the needle at the end of the record. Eventually, a generous friend gave me a fancy turntable-one that turned off when the record was through. My residency was at a hospital that was across the road from the Esplanade, where the summer Pops played-for free! At the end of my residency, several friends on different occasions said, "I'm so sorry you're finally leaving Boston. By the way, about those BSO subscriptions…"

During college and university, music was the one luxury. Being self-taught meant that years were required to learn about music. After a year or so of listening, one of my proudest moments came when I heard a new piece and recognized the composer (Beethoven's Seventh). With PACEM, we want to ensure that children of all ages can learn about, enjoy and love music, with nothing but the finest as teachers and examples. Start early; learn a lot.