Dame, Dr. Mary Rorro, Chair of AMWA Music & Medicine Cmte. performs on viola in tribute to her Mother Dame Dr. Gilda Rorro.
Listen Here.
Dr. Mary Rorro, chair of the American Medical Women’s Association Music and Medicine community, and a physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs, played the national anthem on her viola and sang her original song “Remember Me, Remember Us” during the September 11 ceremony at Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad to pay tribute to all who perished on that day and since.
VA News wrote a piece about Dr. Mary Rorro and her musical collaboration with 97 year old WWII Veteran Matteo Giammario, her former Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra conductor.
Listen to “Thank You, Veterans”
“The Banner Yet Waves” is a song Dr. Mary Rorro composed for Memorial Day to honor and pay tribute to fallen soldiers, and also for any time.
“The Banner Yet Waves,” combines elements of The Pledge of Allegiance, The Star-Spangled Banner, and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The song commemorates those who served and sacrificed, honoring the flag and country.
Listen to “The Banner Yet Waves”
Dr. Mary Rorro and her former Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra conductor, Dr. Matteo Giammario—a 96-year-old World War II veteran—composed a “Meet the Moment” Suite with three songs honoring healthcare workers who served during the COVID-19 pandemic: Answering the Call, Meet the Moment, and Always Look Toward Tomorrow. The accompanying video features women healthcare professionals and students showing courage and compassion throughout the pandemic, while also showcasing the artistic talents of our members in art, photography, dance, and music — including Dr. Sydelle Ross, Cait Cavarocchi, Lori Horhor, Qiang Zhang, Dr. Rorro, and contributors from the Humanities and Healing: An Arts in Medicine Journal.
Thank you, Veterans!
Originally performed at the National VA COVID in 20 (C20) show on November 9th, 2021:
Artist: Mary Rorro, D.O. – Chair, AMWA Music and Medicine Committee and AMWA Humanities Working Group
April 2021 Listen to the recording
November 2021 – Played at the National VA COVID in 20 (C20): Does Pulse Oximetry Discriminate Against Your Patients? Listen to the recording (begins at 4:30)
Written by:
Mary Rorro, DO – Chair, AMWA Music and Medicine Committee and AMWA Humanities Working Group
A collection of songs related to the COVID-19 pandemic intended to deliver important public health messages through music.
Special thanks and gratitude to Karen Poirier-Brode, M.D. CM, AMWA Artist in Residence, 2020-2021, who contributed her beautiful artistry and video direction. Dr. Poirier-Brode, along with singer and sound engineer Cait Cavarocchi and singer and photo coordinator Lori Horhor, were instrumental to the success of the video, as were talented singers Sydelle Ross, M.D., Vanessa Gehring and Christine Xu. Sincere appreciation to Magda Wojtara for our group collage photo.
Our video features photos contributed by members of the American Medical Women’s Association Music & Medicine community, AMWA Humanities communities, and AMWA and Medical Women’s International Association physicians and students from around the world.
“Get Your Mammogram Telegram”
Music and lyrics by Dr. Mary Rorro
November 2020
Get your mammogram
get your mammogram
please don’t delay
Singing telegram
message is to make
your screen today
Have a healthy plan
see your doctor and
then you can say
you got your mammogram today!
Image of telegram lady created by Lori Horhor, AMWA premed member
Image created by Karen Poirier-Brode, MD, AMWA artist-in-residence
Music and lyrics by Sarah Partridge
On a cool September day in western Oregon,
I roamed a cemetery looking for her grave.
A modest marker bore her name,
And was hidden in the shade.
A shocking contrast to the legacy she’d made.
In a time that is alive only in history,
There is a girl who lives a life like you and me.
But her dreams reach far and wide.
She pursues them all with pride.
A loving doctor is the first life she would lead.
Chorus:
But there was more to come, so much more..
So many lives she lived and saved in scores.
There was love and joy and pain…
But she fought the fight and won the game.
While the politics of health lay in the voting man,
A woman’s say was not enough to make a change.
Her little boy had died in vain.
Empowered women seized the day.
Her coalitions marched ahead and paved the way.
Everybody’s Equal Suffrage League was hers to claim.
Free from cliques and class distinctions, meant for all.
Local grievances were aired.
Granting suffrage was impaired.
But in the end these acts of courage were absolved.
Chorus:
A major barrier to health was inequality.
The instability of life beyond our shores.
Refugees in need of care,
Disease and suffering everywhere.
Her social justice was an answer to the wars.
She lived her life forever challenging society.
Humanitarian for women of the world.
Her civic policies were bold,
A broader vision would unfold..
Nearly a century of change that still unfurls.
Chorus:
Last tag line after “But she fought the fight and won the game
…Tell our children to remember her name.”
Song about Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy, commissioned by the American Medical Women’s Association.
Sarah Partridge has also composed an album and tour of musical portraits of Women in STEM titled “Portraits of Wisdom“.
Dr. Mary C. Rorro (composer)
Richard Walsh (arranger)
June 20, 2019
Doctors of the world, united
leaders of our dream, inspired
shining a bright light, we’re guiding
and transforming
Physicians, Healers
Women, Dreamers
sharing our vision
we can heal the world
Physicians, Healers
Women, Dreamers
sharing our mission
we will heal the world
Commissioned by AMWA for the Centennial Congress of the Medical Women’s International Association.