Dr. Arnie Rosen

A good public school system in Pittsfield, Massachusetts gave me my start in music. I continued to play tuba through college, but then remained musically silent during my many years of medical training. Happily, I again found time for instrumental music when I moved in 1990 to Rockford, Illinois to practice gastroenterology. The Band Grandpa program started in 2017, following my retirement from medical practice. I remain on faculty at the U of I College of Medicine. My most fulfilling days can include teaching a seventh-grader the meaning of a dot after a note in the morning, and discussing the evaluation of abdominal pain with a junior med student in the afternoon. Many musical activities keep me busy and happy. For over twenty years, I have played tuba with the Rockford Wind Ensemble. I started drum lessons around ten years ago and have fulfilled my boyhood fantasy of playing drum set with a big band, the Rock Valley College Community Jazz Ensemble. I am a board member of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra and currently chair its Music Director Search Committee. My personal mission in being a Band Grandpa is simply this: to demonstrate to students that instrumental music can be a lifelong friend.