RENÉE FLEMING TO PRESENT “MUSIC AND THE MIND”
ON NOV. 29 AT VANDERBILT

OZ Arts Nashville & the Program for Music, Mind, and Society at Vanderbilt
partner for free program about transformative power of music

NASHVILLE, TENN. – November 6, 2017– International superstar Renée Fleming has long believed in the power of music to heal and transform lives.

OZ Arts Nashville and Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Program for Music, Mind, and Society have partnered for a Nov. 29 presentation of Fleming’s Music and the Mind seminar where she will discuss the role of music in society, including discoveries that are changing our understanding of the brain, especially for the treatment of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The presentation will take place at 4 p.m. at the Wyatt Center Rotunda at Vanderbilt’s Peabody campus (1930 South Drive, Nashville, TN 37212). Admission is free with RSVP at ozartsnashville.org.

Chairman Cano Ozgener founded OZ Arts Nashville, in part, because of his belief in the healing power of art. He credits art with helping him through multiple bouts with cancer. The Chairman’s Choice Program at OZ Arts on Dec. 1st was created at his selection, featuring Fleming’s solo classical recital in an intimate setting.

Drs. Reyna Gordon, PhD, and Miriam Lense, PhD, from the Program for Music, Mind, and Society will join Fleming to discuss their music research and therapeutic applications of the connections between music, language and social engagement.

“This is an exciting time in the science of music,” said Dr. Lense. “Advances in scientific research and technologies are helping us understand how and why music impacts us. Collaborations between scientists, clinicians, therapists, and artists are enhancing how we harness music for therapeutic purposes. We are thrilled to partner with OZ Arts Nashville and Ms. Fleming to discuss the science and transformative power of music.”

Dr. Gordon is the Associate Director of the Program for Music, Mind, and Society at Vanderbilt; Assistant Professor in Otolaryngology and Psychology; and the Director of the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab.

Dr. Lense is a Research Instructor in the Program for Music, Mind, and Society at Vanderbilt and the Department of Otolaryngology. She directs the Music and Social Engagement group within the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab.

Fleming’s Music and the Mind began as part the Sound Health partnership, a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts. The partnership explores the connections between music, health/wellness and science.

“This new-found enthusiasm for music research shown by NIH, largely thanks to the vision put forth by Renée Fleming and NIH Director Francis Collins, marks a significant paradigm shift for our field. There has never been a better time to be a musician-scientist,” said Dr. Gordon.

The Nashville presentation is co-sponsored by:

• The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt
• Department of Otolaryngology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Program for Music, Mind, and Society at Vanderbilt (supported by Vanderbilt Trans-Institutional Programs funding)
• Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development
• Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt

About Vanderbilt’s Program for Music, Mind, and Society
The Program for Music, Mind, and Society at Vanderbilt is a collaboration of researchers, scientists, clinicians, educators, students and artists. Researchers in a campus-wide network study how music impacts the brain, therapeutic uses of music for clinical populations, the role of music in society and arts policy grounded in scientific research.

Researchers at Vanderbilt study links between music and language; music engagement in autism and other developmental disabilities; music and medicine in the intensive care unit; and music making and social behavior in children and families.

About OZ Arts Nashville
Since opening in 2014, OZ Arts Nashville, a 501(c)(3) contemporary arts center, has changed the cultural landscape of the city. Housed in the former C.A.O. cigar warehouse owned by Nashville’s Ozgener family, OZ Arts, under the artistic leadership of Lauren Snelling, brings world-class performances and art installations to the city, and gives ambitious local artists opportunities to work on a grand scale. The flexible 10,000 square-foot, column-free venue, nestled amidst five acres of artfully landscaped grounds, is continually reconfigured to serve artists’ imaginations, and to challenge and inspire a diverse range of curious audiences. OZ Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission.

For more information, please visit http://www.ozartsnashville.org/.

Media Contact
Amy A. Atkinson at Amy Atkinson Communications, call/text at 615-305-8118, or email amy@amyacommunications.com. Photos are available upon request.