Profiles in Performing Arts Medicine Courage--A Tribute to Dr. Alice Brandfonbrener

I was honored and privileged to join Dr. Robert Sataloff in delivering a tribute to Dr. Alice Brandfonbrener at the 2015 Symposium on the Medical Problems of Performing Artists in Snowmass, Colorado. As virtually everyone who reads this journal knows, Dr. Brandfonbrener organized the first symposium (then focused on the medical problems of musicians), was the founding editor of Medical Problems of Performing Artists, and was the first president of the Performing Arts Medicine Association. She died in 2014, just prior to last year's symposium. This year, after Dr. Sataloff presented a very engaging overview of Alice's career and impressive accomplishments, I gave a short address that was based on some of the editorials Alice wrote in this journal during her 20 year tenure as editor. I have chosen a few examples of how the courage that she demonstrated in launching an international medical conference, a peer-reviewed medical journal, and a professional association continued to present itself in her writing.