It was an exciting evening: The visitors entered the concert hall without knowing how much music they would actually hear first. Because at this year's NCT charity concert they received beats instead of tickets. The compositions West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin have 1,382 beats. Before the last program, Presenter Norbert Lehmann announced that 36 beats have not yet been sold. This encouraged those present to buy the remaining beats spontaneously, so that the musicians of the Collegium Musicum could play the concert until the end. In the end, the proceeds of the donation amounted to 30,000 euro, which will be donated to the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) in Heidelberg to support cancer research.
The NCT Heidelberg is a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the German Cancer Aid.
The tension after the break was noticeable. Would the visitors hear the music completely? Or will the music abruptly break off as in last year's concert? The orchestra and choir of the Collegium Musicum, conducted by Michael Sekulla, had already performed beats 1 to 851 with three pieces by George Gershwin and the "Symphonic Dances from West Side Story". Now, the second part of the West Side Story followed as a concert suite with the university choir and piano accompaniment.
More than 30,000 euro came together through the sale of the beats with the revenues from the sale of sparkling wines. The money will be invested in cancer research projects at the NCT. "The donations enable us to offer a comprehensive program from cancer prevention to aftercare. The proceeds allow us to support individual projects at the NCT. This year, it was a study on the use of genetically modified measles virus against cancer and a program that helps working patients stay longer in their working lives", said Dirk Jäger, managing and medical director at the NCT Heidelberg. "We thank all concert visitors for their great commitment."
With the unusual idea of selling beats instead of tickets, the NCT wants to illustrate the topic of cancer. The course of the evening was unpredictable, the music could end unexpectedly. A cancer diagnosis hits the patient similarly incalculable and incisive just like the discontinuation of the music. "Thanks to intensive cancer research, such as we do here in Heidelberg, cancer therapies can now be adapted more and more to the individual patient", said Christof von Kalle, managing director and head of Translational Oncology at the NCT Heidelberg in an interview with the moderator. "In this way, we hope to be able to convert or even cure cancers with an initially fatal diagnosis into a chronic disease in the future."
The patronage for the event took Theresia Bauer, Minister for Science, Research and Art of Baden Württemberg and mayor Eckart Würzner.
Accompanying picture free of charge:
https://www.nct-heidelberg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/NCT_Takte-2016_PM.jpg
caption: musicians of the Collegium Musicum under the lead of Michael Sekulla. On the piano: Clemens Berg.
Press Contacts:
Dr. Friederike Fellenberg
Nationales Centrum für Tumorerkrankungen (NCT) Heidelberg
Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Im Neuenheimer Feld 460
69120 Heidelberg
Tel.: +49 6221 56-5930
Fax: +49 6221 56-5350
E-Mail: friederike.fellenberg@nct-heidelberg.de
www.nct-heidelberg.de
Dr. Stefanie Seltmann
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ)
Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
69120 Heidelberg
Tel.: +49 6221 42-2854
Fax: +49 6221 42-2968
E-Mail: S.Seltmann@dkfz.de
www.dkfz.de
Doris Rübsam-Brodkorb
Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg und Medizinische Fakultät der Universität Heidelberg
Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Im Neuenheimer Feld 672
69120 Heidelberg
Tel.: +49 6221 56-5052
Fax: +49 6221 56-4544
E-Mail: doris.ruebsam-brodkorb@med.uni-heidelberg.de
www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de
The National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg
The National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg is a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg University Hospital and German Cancer Aid. The NCT's goal is to link promising approaches from cancer research with patient care from diagnosis to treatment, aftercare and prevention. The interdisciplinary tumor outpatient clinic is the central element of the NCT. Here the patients benefit from an individual treatment plan prepared in a timely manner in interdisciplinary expert rounds, the so-called tumor boards. Participation in clinical studies provides access to innovative therapies. The NCT thereby acts as a pioneering platform that translates novel research results from the laboratory into clinical practice. The NCT cooperates with self-help groups and supports them in their work. 2015 the NCT Heidelberg established a partner location in Dresden.
The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ)
The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) with its more than 3,000 employees is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany. At DKFZ, more than 1,000 scientists investigate how cancer develops, identify cancer risk factors and endeavor to find new strategies to prevent people from getting cancer. They develop novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful. The staff of the Cancer Information Service (KID) offers information about the widespread disease of cancer for patients, their families, and the general public. Jointly with Heidelberg University Hospital, DKFZ has established the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, where promising approaches from cancer research are translated into the clinic. In the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), one of six German Centers for Health Research, DKFZ maintains translational centers at seven university partnering sites. Combining excellent university hospitals with high-profile research at a Helmholtz Center is an important contribution to improving the chances of cancer patients. DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers, with ninety percent of its funding coming from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the remaining ten percent from the State of Baden-Württemberg.
Heidelberg University Hospital and Medical Faculty Heidelberg
Heidelberg University Hospital is one of the most important medical centers in Germany; Heidelberg University's Medical Faculty is one of Europe's most prestigious biomedical research facilities. Their shared objective is the development of innovative diagnostics and treatments and their prompt implementation for the benefit of the patient. The hospital and faculty employ approximately 12 600 individuals and are involved in training and qualification. Every year approximately 66 000 patients are treated as inpatients or day patients in more than 50 specialized clinical departments with about 1 900 beds, with more than 1 million patients being treated as outpatients. The Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale (HeiCuMed) is at the forefront of medical training in Germany. At present approx. 3500 prospective physicians are studying in Heidelberg.