Famed opera singer to discuss “Sound Health – Music and the Mind”

Indianapolis, Sept. 13, 2017 – Legendary American soprano opera singer Renée Fleming will speak about the importance of music through the ages and how it affects us on Friday, September 22, at the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital. The program is being presented by Eskenazi Health and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Fleming, who has sold more than two million recordings, won four Grammy Awards and sang the national anthem at the 2014 Super Bowl, will share her insight into music and the brain during her presentation beginning at 5 p.m. in the Rapp Family Conference Center at Eskenazi Health, 720 Eskenazi Ave. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to RSVP@EskenaziHealthFoundation.org.

In collaboration with the Kennedy Center and National Institutes of Health, Fleming holds a leading role in a project called "Sound Health – Music and the Mind." Her presentation will explore the role of music, from its prehistoric origins to its role today, including discoveries that are changing our understanding of the brain, and how music therapy is changing lives.

An Artistic Advisor at Large at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Fleming believes that, through expanded public awareness, we can encourage people from all walks of life to attend performances, be creative, and appreciate the value of music and the arts beyond entertainment.

Additional speakers at the event include Sherri Robb, associate professor at the Indiana University School of Nursing and the director of Indiana CTSI KL2 Young Investigators Program (at IUSN), and Dr. Malaz Boustani, chief innovation and implementation officer of the Sandra Eskenazi Center for Brain Care innovation.

Fleming’s appearance at Eskenazi Health is in conjunction with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s (ISO) Opening Gala on Saturday, Sept. 23. Krzysztof Urbanski will conduct as Fleming performs in her ISO debut.  In addition to performing some of her favorite arias and other classical works, Fleming will be featured in Letters from Georgia — a song cycle based on the letters of artist Georgia O’Keeffe — written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts.

For more information on Fleming’s upcoming ISO performance, visit: https://www.indianapolissymphony.org/

Eskenazi Health offers a free concert series as part of the Marianne Tobias Music Program,     which brings music to patients, visitors and staff at Eskenazi Health. Tobias helped to establish the program, including donating a concert grand piano that resides in the main concourse of the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital.

To learn more about the Marianne Tobias Music Program, and to find a list of upcoming concerts, please contact the Eskenazi Health Foundation at 317.880.4900 or visit www.EskenaziHealthMusic.com.

CONTACT: Tom Surber
Phone: 317.880.4793
Cell: 317.402.9327
Pager: 317.310.6589
E-mail:  thomas.surber@eskenazihealth.edu

Photo credit: Andrew Eccles