The soothing sound of classical violin flows into the halls of Michener as second-year radiation therapy student Ewen Hutton performs a calming piece for his classmates as they return from taking their practical midterm exams.

“I feel like music can be a great way to help balance the more intense stuff we deal with,” he says.

A naturally gifted musician with an interest in health science, Ewen says he sees a way to keep both in his life.

Ewen began violin and piano lessons at the age of 5, and since then has picked up a number of additional instruments — namely the French horn, where he specialized, but also drums in the form of the djembe and taiko drums, and the conch shell.

“It’s hard to explain the conch shell,” he says with a laugh. “It’s kind of like a French horn in how it feels, but it has a very unique sound — and a very limited range.”

With competing interests in both health science and music, Ewen had applied and was accepted to both programs at McGill University.

A scholarship for French Horn that accompanied his music offer helped him declare his major. Though he would discover that music was not meant to be his career.

“While at McGill I studied with one of the horn players for the OSM symphony (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal), and they helped put in perspective the reality of doing music full-time,” he says.

“I saw how the joy of performing could be eclipsed by the amount of work and preparation required, just by the very nature that this is now your job,” he says. “Music is my creative outlet, but it’s also my release — my way to relax and my coping strategy.”

“I did have to see how far I wanted to go with music first before committing to health science.”

While he continued to study music, he started taking the courses necessary to pursue healthcare. “I was basically doing a double major, so the scheduling was a bit tricky.”

Ewen says he realized he did not want to become a physician, so he began to explore other avenues.

He volunteered in a mental health role with Kids Help Phone as a bilingual crisis responder. “We do have mental health concerns come up with patients sometimes,” he says, “and I feel like I’m more prepared than most other students because of that experience.”

Following graduation, he worked an administrative role as a COVID operations supervisor at Pearson Airport with LifeLabs, where he helped to ensure arriving travellers had proper medical clearance to enter Canada. Ewen knew that he wanted something more.

As his grandmother battled cancer on multiple occasions, Ewen was introduced to radiation therapy. The more he learned of the profession, the more it seemed like a good fit with his aspirations.

“The radiation therapists I met were all pretty happy with their jobs, and they had long-term follow through with their patients,” he says. “That stuck out to me the most and really speaks to who I am, as I would prefer to stay with patients for a while — to see them progress and know that I’m able to help them.”

He also says their work hours are more standard, which would allow him to continue performing on the side. Ewen currently plays with the HMCS York Navy band and the Oakville Symphony Orchestra.

Ewen says the courses he has taken at Michener, and the clinical placement after his first year, helped him realize radiation therapy checks all the boxes.

“My first round of clinical placement provided me with a good idea of what the profession looks like, introduced the patient support perspective and showed how I could manage to keep my music on the side,” he says.

“I think I have found a way to balance my love of music and health science.”