Concert and lecture explore music’s effect on emotions

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/poster edited.jpg” caption=”The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind will host a concert and lecture on Friday, Nov. 24 to examine music’s effect on the brain. “]It's an age-old mystery: How does music manage to bring us to tears one minute and to a state of euphoria the next? Does the contorted expression on a rock star's face during a searing guitar solo, or on an opera singer's face during an aria indicate to the audience a deep emotional connection with the music, or is it merely theatrics?

The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind will tackle the topic
with an integrated concert and lecture on Friday, Nov. 24.

William Thompson, communications professor at the University of Toronto, and president-elect of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition, will talk about the psychology of music performance.

Accompanying him will be an international line-up of artists: pianist David Jones, violinist Annette-Barbara Vogel, and Radha Subramanian.

The concert/lecture takes place today at 8 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Hamilton, 170 Dundurn Street S. in Hamilton. Admission is $10 ($5 for students), and tickets are available at the door.

The following day, the institute will conduct an academic workshop around some of the fascinating research being conducted internationally in this area, specifically how the central nervous system processes the musical experience.

The workshop will be held in the Council Chambers of Gilmour Hall (Room 111) at McMaster University from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Speakers from McGill University, Harvard University, Queen's University, and the Rotman Research Institute will cover such topics as the development of musical perception; the effects of musical
training across the life span; the effects of instrumental music training on cognition and neuroplasticity, and music and dementia.

For more information, please contact Laurel Trainor, director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind at href=”mailto:ljt@mcmcaster.ca”>ljt@mcmcaster.ca or 905-525-9140, ext. 23007.