An Evening with "This Is Your Brain on Music" Author Daniel J. Levitin

“For many years I have wondered why a bunch of frequencies organized into a piece of music has the ability, even without words, to make the listener cry and become emotional. Although I know this happens to me and many people I have often wondered how this can be. Dr. Levitin in this latest book I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine has some fascinating insights into this great phenomenon.”—Paul McCartney

Neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author of This Is Your Brain on Music Daniel J. Levitin reveals the deep connections between music and healing.
Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind.
In his latest work, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music) explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He brings together, for the first time, the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain.
Levitin is not your typical scientist—he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today’s most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history. The result is a work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and jubilant celebration. I Heard There Was a Secret Chord highlights the critical role music has played in human biology, illuminating the neuroscience of music and its profound benefits for those both young and old.

Daniel J. Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician, and the author of four New York Times best-selling books, including This Is Your Brain on Music. He is dean emeritus at Minerva University, professor emeritus at McGill University, and visiting professor at UCLA. A saxophonist, guitarist, bass player, and vocalist, he has worked as a producer and recording consultant. He lives in California.

Shannon de l’Etoile, Ph.D., is Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, and Professor of Music Therapy at the University of Miami FROST School of Music. In addition to her experience as a clinician, Dean de l’Etoile received recognition as a Fellow of the Robert F. Unkefer Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy. She currently serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Music Therapy and was previously a member of the editorial review board for Music Therapy Perspectives. Combining her clinical background and the vast knowledge she has acquired throughout her career, Dean de l’Etoile has worked with adults with mental illness, children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, adults and children with developmental disabilities, and adults and children with neurologic disorders.

Mark Hart, Community Arts Program (CAP) Executive & Artistic Director, is an avid supporter of the arts as artist, broadcaster, consultant, and presenter. With the Community Arts Program (CAP), Mark oversees the funding, programming, production, development, and administration of the acclaimed CAP Summer Concert Series and the CAP Conservatory for the Arts. The Conservatory for the Arts affords music training to all children—no matter what their circumstances—through an engaging curriculum that includes after-school music classes and performing ensembles.

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TICKETS REQUIRED: All tickets are GENERAL ADMISSION and are purchased through Eventbrite. Each ticket admits up to two (2) guests into the venue and includes one (1) copy of I HEARD THERE WAS A SECRET CHORD ($32.50 + tax).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ, 3010 De Soto Boulevard, Coral Gables, United States