Music Meets Medicine: Cullah x Medical College of Wisconsin Release ‘Danse L’Intervention’
"Danse L'Intervention" — seven minutes of baroque strings and cutting-edge science — now streaming as part of MCW's award-winning art-science program.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Awen | [email protected] | awen.online
Media: mcw.edu/project-wonder/danse-lintervention
A collaboration between music and medicine.
MILWAUKEE, WI — Awen and Ian “Cullah” McCullough today announced the release of a collaborative music video for Danse L'Intervention, the closing track of Cullah's seventeenth studio album Cú Chulainn, created in partnership with Project Wonder: The Art of Science at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The video is now live at mcw.edu/project-wonder/danse-lintervention.
The collaboration brings together one of Milwaukee's most prolific independent artists and one of the Midwest's premier academic medical centers — pairing Cullah's sweeping, 7-minute baroque string epic with MCW's pioneering approach to science communication through art. The video marks a milestone for Project Wonder, which earned a prestigious GIA Award from the AAMC for its groundbreaking work making biomedical research accessible through artistic collaboration.
The Music: A Baroque Epic for the Modern World
Danse L'Intervention is the fifth and final track on Cú Chulainn, Cullah's 2025 studio album rooted in Irish mythology. At 7 minutes and 18 seconds, it is the album's longest and most orchestrally complex piece — a heart-racing reworking of Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre (1874).
The track features live string performances by the acclaimed Brusubardis family:
- Sonora Brusubardis — Violin I
- Kristian Brusubardis — Violin II
- Viktor Brusubardis — Cello
Recorded by engineer Josh Evert at Silver City Studios in Milwaukee. Written, produced, and arranged entirely by Cullah. Piet Levy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described the album as closing with “a heart-racing baroque string piece.”
Nothing is off limits for Cullah creatively, and it may be his strongest asset as an artist.
— Allen Halas, Breaking & Entering
Meet the Director: Wes Tank
The Danse L'Intervention music video was directed by Wes Tank, a Milwaukee-based multimedia artist, filmmaker, and founder of TankThink — a media production company known for inventive visual storytelling.
Tank rose to national prominence in 2020 when his Dr. Seuss-over-Dr. Dre rap videos went viral, earning coverage from SPIN, CNN, and HuffPost, landing on Reddit's front page. He has since launched StoryRaps, an original children's series on Kidoodle.TV, and serves as Artist-in-Residence at the Betty Brinn Children's Museum.
His work on Danse L'Intervention brings a cinematic eye to the intersection of classical music and biomedical science — translating the drama of Cullah's baroque composition into a visually stunning narrative.
Learn more at tankthink.org/westank
Inspiration & Featuring: Ginny McCullough, MSN, FNP, APNP
Ginny McCullough is the inspiration behind and featured subject of Danse L'Intervention — a vascular neurology nurse practitioner at the Medical College of Wisconsin and stroke survivor, she brings a deeply personal connection to the intersection of science and art that defines this collaboration. Danse L'Intervention is the closing track of Cú Chulainn, Cullah's 17th studio album.
In January 2016, Ginny — then a 54-year-old active mother of six — suffered a massive stroke while playing forward for her women's soccer team. She was rushed to Froedtert Hospital at MCW, where a pioneering mechanical thrombectomy procedure saved her life and led to a near-full recovery. She returned to nursing as a stroke care specialist at the very hospital that saved her, helping other patients navigate the same journey she had survived.
Her story has been featured by WISN and Froedtert & MCW as a testament to the life-saving research at MCW — the same institution whose Project Wonder program now hosts Cullah's music video. That Ginny's son would one day collaborate with MCW through art is a full-circle moment that underscores the deeply personal roots of Danse L'Intervention.
Connect with Ginny on LinkedIn
Meet the Producer: Alex Boyes
Alex Boyes is the Senior Creative Consultant at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the driving force behind Project Wonder: The Art of Science. With over a decade of expertise in digital media, creative direction, and brand strategy, Boyes conceived and leads the initiative that pairs MCW scientists with Milwaukee-area artists to translate cutting-edge biomedical research into compelling public-facing art.
Under Boyes' leadership, Project Wonder produced the award-winning MCW Impact video series and earned the AAMC GIA Award — one of the highest honors in academic medical center communications. His work reaches more than 1.5 million people globally. The Danse L'Intervention collaboration represents his vision of using music as a vehicle for science storytelling at its most ambitious scale.
Connect with Alex on LinkedIn
About Project Wonder: The Art of Science at MCW
Project Wonder is an initiative of the Medical College of Wisconsin that pairs basic and translational scientists with Milwaukee-area artists, illustrators, graphic designers, and storytellers — translating cutting-edge biomedical research into bold, imaginative artistic works that speak to the public without sacrificing scientific integrity.
Since its launch, Project Wonder has reached more than 1.5 million people nationally and globally through video, photography, animation, sculpture, and written narrative. The program received a Group on Institutional Advancement (GIA) Award from the AAMC, recognizing it as one of the most innovative science communication efforts at an academic medical center in the United States.
Danse L'Intervention represents the program's first deep collaboration with a Milwaukee musician on a video piece of this scale. Learn more at mcw.edu/project-wonder.
Science tells us what is possible. Art shows us why it matters. Danse L'Intervention is both at once.
— Project Wonder, Medical College of Wisconsin
Film Stills
Credits
Director & Editor: Wes Tank, TankThink
Project Wonder: Alex Boyes, Medical College of Wisconsin
Music Written & Produced by: Cullah (Ian McCullough)
Inspiration & Featuring: Ginny McCullough, MSN, FNP, APNP — Vascular Neurology, MCW
Violin I: Sonora Brusubardis
Violin II: Kristian Brusubardis
Cello: Viktor Brusubardis
Recording Engineer: Josh Evert, Silver City Studios
Ribbon Dancer: Mie
Filmed at: Froedtert Hospital · Cudahy Middle School · Washington Park Media Center
Adapted from: Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns (1874)
About the Artists
Cullah (Ian McCullough) is a Milwaukee-based multi-disciplinary artist and producer who has released a new studio album every year on his birthday since 2006. Cú Chulainn is his 17th studio release. His music has been licensed for The Expendables 4, video games, and TV productions. He is a 2023 WAMI Award winner (Unique Album of the Year) and a two-time finalist at the NEWM Music Video Festival. cullah.com
Wes Tank / TankThink — Milwaukee-based filmmaker known for inventive visual storytelling. Creator of viral Dr. Seuss-over-Dr. Dre rap videos (SPIN, CNN, HuffPost), StoryRaps on Kidoodle.TV, and Artist-in-Residence at Betty Brinn Children's Museum. tankthink.org
Project Wonder — MCW's initiative pairing biomedical scientists with Milwaukee-area artists, reaching 1.5+ million people globally. mcw.edu/project-wonder
Watch & Listen
About Awen: Awen is a Milwaukee-based creative agency and production studio founded by Ian “Cullah” McCullough and Maggie Schmidt. Awen produces original music, video, live events, and digital experiences. Recent projects include Sync.Land, campaigns for the Wisconsin Blockchain Business Council, and video production for Rare Network. awen.online
About TankThink: TankThink is a Milwaukee-based media production company founded by filmmaker Wes Tank. Known for inventive visual storytelling, TankThink produces music videos, documentaries, branded content, and creative campaigns. tankthink.org
About the Medical College of Wisconsin: MCW is a leading academic medical center in Milwaukee committed to advancing health through research, education, patient care, and community engagement. Home to Project Wonder, an AAMC GIA Award-winning initiative reaching 1.5M+ people globally. Affiliated with Froedtert Hospital. mcw.edu
Media inquiries: [email protected]