Mozart and the Mind
Mozart and the Mind is an annual series of presentations, performances and interactive expositions wherein influential scientists, researchers and clinicians share the stage with musicians and composers to explore intersections between music and neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and medicine and health. These events explore important topics that include the role of music in therapy and rehabilitation; musical training's role in improving brain function; how advances in cognitive neuroscience and neurotechnology can open new possibilities for musical expression; what brain structures underlie rhythm and music perception and more. MATM takes participants on an intellectual and artistic journey, with events that interweave cutting-edge scientific discourse with live musical performances and interactive installations. Each MATM presentation is paired with an interactive “Music-Brain Exposition” or a live performance, exploring relationships between music and the mind. This is followed by one of Mainly Mozart's world-class Spotlight Series classical music concerts. Our goal is to have audience members walk away from a MATM event thinking "Wow, not only did I learn something new and fascinating about the brain and its relationship to music, but I learned something useful and relevant to me, my friends, or my family. And I had fun!" Mozart and the Mind is produced by San Diego classical arts organization, Mainly Mozart, and directed by UC San Diego neuroscience researcher and Mainly Mozart Artistic Partner, Tim Mullen. For more details visit Mainly Mozart's MATM page |   Mozart and the Mind 2013 Poster |
Mozart and the Mind Presentations
Anyone who has been moved by music knows, intuitively, that music has a powerful effect on the brain. However, this relationship isn't just anecdotal – it's real and scientifically verifiable. Our mission is to bring together internationally leading experts from diverse backgrounds to communicate, to a broad audience, contemporary research and insights into how music affects the brain. We embrace the philosophy that communicating advances in interdisciplinary research and science can be as engaging, entertaining, and personally useful as it is educational and informative. A typical MATM presentation is much more like a TEDx talk than an academic lecture, and past speakers have used live musical performance, audiovisual media, and audience participation to translate important research and insights from different disciplines into a common language that everyone can relate to and apply in their lives.
Our speakers are brilliant thinkers, innovators, and leaders in their fields. Past speakers include Nina Kraus, Adam Gazzaley, Barbara Reuer, Alex Khalil, Scott Makeig, Aiyun Huang, John Iversen and Aniruddh Patel. MATM 2014 will again feature pioneers in the fields of music cognition, music therapy, and extended musical interfaces with the human nervous system, including Laurel Trainor (Founding Director, McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind), Concetta Tomaino (Founding Director, Institute for Music and Neurologic Function), and David Rosenboom (Dean and Distinguished Chair of Music, California Institute of the Arts).
Photo Credit: Katarzyna Woronowicz / Mainly Mozart
Interactive expositions and performances
The Music and the Brain Exposition is a unique and fun opportunity for participants to informally engage with scientists, musicians, and fellow music/brain aficionados around a series of interactive installations exploring connections between music and the brain. Participants can experience first-hand some of the cutting-edge neurotechnology being used both to study brain function and as new media for artistic and musical expression. Ever wondered what your brain looks like on music? Here you can strap on the latest in wearable brainwave imaging technology and within seconds see a beautiful 3D representation of your neural activity, with a guided tour from a neuroscientist! As participants explore these installations, they are invited to follow their curiosity – experiment, ask questions, explore their creativity while reasoning scientifically; but, most importantly, enjoy themselves!MATM also feature unique live performance events wherein prominent composers and musicians join with neuroscientists to show how advances in cognitive neuroscience and neurotechnology can open new possibilities for musical expression and for understanding the effect of music and the brain.
For additional details on the 2013 Music and the Brain Exposition, please visit this page.
Photo Credit: Katarzyna Woronowicz / Mainly Mozart
Venue
MATM is held at The Auditorium at The Scripps Research Institute (formerly The Neurosciences Institute) just north-east of the University of California, San Diego campus. http://auditorium.scripps.edu/.
Photo Credit: adsENGINEERS / Mainly Mozart
For more information on MATM, including event scheduling, stay tuned for updates at Mainly Mozart's MATM page
Copyright (c) 2009 Tim Mullen