Music across cultures, the relationship of music to spirituality, music’s affect on health and well-being, and music as a new tool in fighting the deterioration of the aging brain and promoting mental fitness are all themes explored in the Library of Congress’s popular Music and the Brain series. Programming continues this season with an expanded roster of thought-provoking events, including 12 lectures, a special panel on music and grief, four onstage interviews with artists, a stress reduction workshop using music therapy techniques, and a mini-series offering composer documentaries by the Dutch filmmaker Frank Scheffer.

Presented by the Library’s Music Division and Science, Technology and Business Division, this free series is made possible through the generosity of the Dana Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the American Music Therapy Association.

All events are presented at 6:15 p.m. in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C., unless otherwise noted. Tickets are not required, but seating is limited.

Friday, Oct. 16: “Beethoven’s Deafness: A Medical Mystery”; Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium: ”Music and Grief”; Friday, Oct. 30, Montpelier Room, sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E.: “Wednesday is Indigo Blue: How Synesthesia Speaks to Creativity”; Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium: “One Minute More”; Tuesday, Nov. 3: ”Trance Formation: Music, Trance, Religious Experience and the Brain”; Friday, Nov. 6 ”Dangerous Music III: Suckers, Firestarters and Cultural Anarchists, Oh My!”; Saturday, Nov. 14: ”States of Mind: Music in Islamic Sufi Rituals”; Friday, Dec. 4: ”Making Music Changes Brains”; Thursday, Jan. 21: Music, Memories, and the Brain”;Thursday, Jan. 28; ”The Icelandic Edda: Myth and the Mind--Wagner, Tolkien and Beyond”; Friday, Feb. 26: ”Why Do Listeners Enjoy Music That Makes Them Weep?”; Friday, March 12: ”The Positive Affects of Music Therapy on Health”; Friday, April 9, 2010: ”‘I’m Frozen and I Can’t Play a Thing!’: Stage Fright and the Brain"; Saturday, April 24 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center; The Musician’s Mind: Dafnis Prieto; Friday, April 30: The Musician’s Mind: Caleb Burhans; Friday, May 14: ”Wellness and Growth: Acoustic Medicine and Music Therapy”; Saturday, May 15, 2-4 p.m., Mumford Room; “Managing Stress and Enhancing Wellness with Music Therapy.” Reservations are required for this session; to reserve, call (202) 707-8432; Saturday, May 22 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center: Mind of the Musician: Uri Caine.

Composer Portraits Film Series
In conjunction with the Music and the Brain lecture series, the Library will offer a series of films by Dutch documentary filmmaker Frank Scheffer. Scheffer is internationally recognized as a master of sound and image. His films paint not only compelling portraits of major musical thinkers but also a view of the history of modernism in 20th-century music. In addition to numerous critical and festival awards, Scheffer has been honored with complete retrospectives of his films by the Holland Festival and the Mumbai Festival.

For program details and updates, see www.loc.gov/rr/perform/concert/0910-brain.html Events in the series, including 2008-2009 events, will be available as podcasts and webcasts at www.loc.gov and through iTunes and YouTube.

Source: Library of Congress