The Singer Behind the Song | Renée Fleming

Free with reserved seating

Call UBC Opera Box Office at 604-822-6725

Renée Fleming’s Music and the Mind presentation explores the power of music as it relates to health, including childhood development, music therapy, and discoveries that are changing our understanding of the brain. Ms. Fleming’s presentation is inspired by the Sound Health initiative, which she spearheaded as part of her role as Artistic Advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The initiative, established in partnership with the National Institutes of Health and in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, explores and brings attention to research and practice at the intersection of music, health, and neuroscience.

Throughout Ms. Fleming’s journey as an artist, she has been struck by music’s power to heal and transform lives. “Today we are riding a wave of scientific discovery in music and neuroscience, and I’m fascinated by the breadth of the research being conducted. Beyond its ability to enthrall and entertain, music can offer a host of health benefits – from childhood development to therapeutic applications for Alzheimer’s disease, autism, PTSD, Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain,” said Ms. Fleming. “And close to my heart, singing can retrain the brain to use different neural circuitry, helping those who havesustained a traumatic brain injury or suffered a stroke regain the ability to speak.”

Sponsored by the Vancouver Symphony, The Sonya and Charlotte Wall Arts Fund, the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, UBC Opera and the UBC Faculty of Arts.