Performances and Sessions — Music and the Mind

On Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3, 2017, the NIH and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, hosted Music and the Mind, the first public initiative for their Sound Health partnership, exploring the connections between music, health/wellness, and science. 

Performances and Sessions

Music and Childhood Development

Dr. Kraus, a leading neuroscientist, is joined by the D.C. Youth Orchestra to explain basic principles of music and its connection to the brain through demonstration, visuals, and participation.

Recovery, Resilience & Quality of Life

A longtime advocate of music therapy, singer-songwriter-composer Ben Folds joins prominent researcher Dr. Sheri Robb where they, along with patients and families, share powerful stories that are woven together with observations and research reports.

The Future of Music and the Mind – Featuring NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and moderated by Renee Fleming

Join National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins M.D., Ph.D. and 19th United States Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy M.D., M.B.A., in a discussion moderated by Renée Fleming on what the future may hold for music and the mind.

Creative Aging

Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Aniruddh Patel and soprano Renée Fleming partner with D.C.–based jazz trio Mark G. Meadows & the Movement and the Different Strokes for Different Folks choir for this interactive presentation on how the mind and body respond to creating music.

Jazz, Creativity, and the Brain

Neuroscientists have recently begun to examine the elusive nature of human creativity. Join Dr. Charles Limb, bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding, and jazz pianist Vijay Iyer as they discuss this fascinating new science and examine improvisational art forms such as jazz.