IS THERE a doctor in the house? There will be tomorrow when the European Doctors Orchestra entertains on Tyneside, as David Whetstone reports.

IF A couple of hours of good music is just what the doctor ordered, then who better to deliver it than a band of doctors? Performing at The Sage Gateshead tomorrow afternoon will be The European Doctors Orchestra.

Yes, that’s an orchestra consisting entirely of musicians with an exemplary bedside manner and able to tell the difference between a tibia and a fibula as well as allegro and adagio.

The orchestra of medics has performed in several European cities, garnering some excellent critical feedback, but this will be its first UK concert outside London.

Orchestra member Dr Dave Tomson, a GP in North Tyneside and accomplished oboist, said: “The orchestra is composed of a wide variety of doctors from all over Europe – everything from neurosurgeons to gynaecologists, GPs to psychiatrists and everyone from newly qualified to recently retired.

“We play together twice a year to make music and make money for children’s health charities.”

Tomorrow’s concert, which will see the 100-strong orchestra filling the Sage’s Hall One stage, is in aid of the charity CLIC Sargent, which provides support for children with cancer.

The orchestra’s members are strewn across a continent and it is left to groups of individuals to organise concerts.

Previous UK concerts have been held in London, where the Duke’s Hall at the Royal Academy of Music has come to be regarded as the orchestra’s home.

This first North East concert has been organised by Dr Tomson and two fellow musically inclined GPs from the region, Dr Jonny Caudle, who works in Newcastle, and Dr Karen Riddle, based in Sunderland.

“I’ve been in the orchestra for four years and the others almost since the start,” said Dr Tomson.

“It is true that doctors do seem to be particularly well represented in music. I’ve been playing since I was 13. I started with the clarinet and moved onto the oboe because I liked the sound.”

As well as the orchestra’s twice- yearly engagements, Dr Tomson and Dr Caudle perform with a wind quintet called North Wind.