On January 26, 2021, The Sound Health Network was launched to explore how music can provide insights into brain functioning, reduce social isolation, promote community solidarity, and influence health, something so many people needed after nearly a year of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and renowned soprano and Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor at Large Renée Fleming have launched a new partnership, designed to explore the connections between music, health, and wellness.
The Sound Health Network promotes research and public awareness about the impact of music on health and wellness across the lifespan. We facilitate collaborations enhancing the quality, quantity, and relevance of research into music and health, and inform the public of music’s potential to improve our lives.
This spring, Renée Fleming is hosting a series of webinars called Music and Mind Live with Renée Fleming. The online series features the acclaimed singer and National Medal of Arts honoree in conversation with scientists and practitioners working at the intersection of music, neuroscience, and healthcare. Experts in fields such as childhood development, healthy aging, pain and anxiety management, and rehabilitation share their findings, and episodes include live Q&A from viewers.
The first five webcasts are listed below. More information here.
May 19 – “Music, Loneliness, and Isolation”
Vivek H. Murthy, MD (former US Surgeon General, author)
May 26 – "Community of Voices, Sound and Music Perception, and a Resource for the Future"-
Julene Johnson, PhD and Charles Limb, MD (University of California San Francisco); Sunil Iyengar (National Endowment for the Arts)
June 2 – “At Home with Children: Musical Tool Kit”
Miriam Lense, PhD, (Vanderbilt University Music Cognition Lab); Sara Beck, PhD (Randolph College)
June 9 – "Integrated Approach to COVID-19 and the Mind"
Deepak Chopra, MD (The Chopra Foundation)
June 16 – "Using Music for Health and Wellbeing during COVID-19"
Wendy Magee, PhD (Temple University); Tom Sweitzer, MMT, MT-BC (A Place to Be)
