Does music make you smarter?

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/music_mind.jpg” caption=”Pictured at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind event on Saturday, from left, are Valerie Tryon, David Gerry, Jane Easden, Glenn Schellenberg, Mary Lou Fallis, Laurel Trainor, Peter George and Suzanne Shulman. Click here for FULL Size“]There was standing room only as a crowd of almost 400 people attending the inaugural event of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind on Saturday evening found out that the answer to this question, in a word, is yes.

This integrated lecture and concert, the first event of its kind to bridge the science and art of music, was a success that intrigued and delighted audience members and performers alike. Lecturer Glenn Schellenberg led the audience on a journey both academic and entertaining, towards the understanding of the effect of music on intellect.

Woven throughout the lecture were the stunning musical performances and demonstrations of pianist Valerie Tryon, soprano Mary Lou Fallis, flutists Suzanne Shulman and David Gerry, the John Laing Singers, as well as educator Jane Easden.

“It's an extraordinary concept,” said McMaster University President Peter George, who, along with director Laurel Trainor, opened the inaugural event for the new institute. “The Institute for Music and the Mind will explore music's impact on our psyche, and how that impact manifests itself in human development and human behaviour.”

Saturday's event was the first in a series of integrated lecture-concerts developed by Trainor, director of the Institute for Music and the Mind and her colleagues in the sciences and the arts.

Information about the vision and future events of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind can be found on the website: http://mimm.mcmaster.ca.