Flautist Emily Krainer '12 and bassoonist Jesse Begelfer '12 are among the multitasking Brandeis students who compose the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra;?Krainer, a premed student, and Begelfer, a Spanish major, regularly juggle science labs, work and three-hour orchestra rehearsals. However, their busy schedules do not diminish their love of playing music. The Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra will perform Overture to Fingal's Cave, Op. 26 by Felix Mendelssohn as well as several other pieces during its performance on Sunday.

JustArts: Is it hard managing your pre-med work with the orchestra? Are there a lot of premed students in the orchestra?

Emily Krainer: It can be tough managing premed classes with orchestra, especially during concerts when rehearsals get longer, and sometimes we have multiple rehearsals in one week. Science labs are time-consuming, and the orchestra is a big commitment also. For example, every Thursday I have lab for 4 1/2 hours and then go right to orchestra for three hours, and by the end of the night I'm pretty worn out. But I find ways to make it work because I can't imagine having to choose one or the other.

The science thing is something I'm really excited about and interested in, and the music thing is something I love to do because it's fun. I need a balance of both, especially because science classes get very stressful at times and playing the flute kind of helps me to clear my head and relax. As far as I know, there are a few other premed students in the orchestra, but not that many.

JA: So, if you are majoring in Spanish, what do you plan to do after you graduate?

Jesse Begelfer: I am also minoring in Elementary Education. After school, hopefully I will be working at an elementary school. The way Spanish fits into it is that I hope to be able to involve parents in their kid's education who might otherwise not be able to because of [a] language barrier.

JA: Did you choose Brandeis with the orchestra scene in mind?

EK: Yes, I was definitely looking for a school that had a good music department and opportunities to play in ensembles. I was pretty sure that I wanted to major in science, but I wanted to be able to play in an orchestra or wind ensemble or chamber group for fun.

JB: I chose Brandeis because I felt that they supported interdisciplinary interests. At some colleges, you can't do both music and science or history and chemistry, but here I feel like that's the norm. I knew I wanted to do orchestra. There was absolutely no question: I love music and playing with ensembles.

JA: Do you plan to continue with music after graduation?

EK: I would love to continue playing the flute in the future. I don't plan on stopping unless I absolutely have to-I hear people don't have much free time in med school, but I really hope that I can continue finding ways to make time for the flute, because I think it's important to always have something you're passionate about. Especially in med school, where things can get so stressful, it's good to have some kind of outlet. Even after med school, I've heard about various doctors' orchestras, and I think that sort of thing would be so cool to play in. Also, I've been playing the flute for over 10 years and it's sort of become part of who I am, so I don't think I will ever quit completely.

JB: I don't think you can ever truly give up music. I hope to be able to incorporate music into my future classroom besides playing on the side, but who knows.