Opera: RENÉE FLEMING THE SCIENCE OF SONG Renée Fleming is one of America’s bestloved sopranos – a four-time Grammy winner who has worked with greats such as André Previn and Georg Solti. Yet after a lifetime in music, it was a chance encounter with Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, that led to what was perhaps her most profound encounter with her art. Fleming, who is the artistic director-atlarge for the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, explains: ‘It began with an impromptu meeting with Dr Collins at a dinner, where I asked him whether we might create a platform for research on neuroscience and music.’ Several fruitful years later, Fleming has discussed this wide-ranging topic with leading scientists and experts, and her passion for the powerful intersection between the arts and wellness has grown exponentially. ILLUSTRATION: LAURA LJUNGKVIST; PHOTO PREVIOUS PAGE: ANDREW ECCLES 42
She has discovered how music has the ability to shape 86 billion neurons in the brain for cognitive development, healing and therapy, improving everything from anxiety to pain relief. When Covid halted her international concert schedule, Fleming took the opportunity to create the 19-episode Music and Mind LIVE video series. In the series, Fleming explores the connections between our brains and the musical beat, speaking with everyone from former US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy to Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. During their discussion on music, loneliness and isolation, Dr Murthy tells her: ‘The arts are powerful tools for social connection and healing. When we make or enjoy music together, that can boost our endorphin levels significantly. If you want to build social connections, join a choir group. Singing together in unison turbocharges our endorphins.’ Hart expands on the healing tradition of rhythm for physical and emotional wellbeing: ‘When I play a drone vibration, the frequencies affect your brain waves, your mind, the master clock – the most incredible instrument on the planet,’ he declares. ‘Music helps with cognition. When you play certain rhythms it moves people, especially those with dementia. Memories come back. Science has supported the anecdotal evidence we already knew inside: that the Earth creates a tone as it revolves around its axis. It’s B-flat.’ This event will take place in the following cities: New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Stockholm, Vienna, Tokyo. For more information and to book, please visit the CenturionLiving website using the instructions on page 19 or 53. 43
