al gardens Scheme see                                             

Forthcoming MMST events:

The National Gardens Scheme

11th and 12th September 2010

The Music Mind Spirit Trust gardens and barn are open from 11am to 5pm both days for music and light refreshments

Performances both days at 2pm and 4pm

programme includes:

Brahms violin sonata no. 1 in G major

Paul Robertson, violin

Mikhail Kazakevich, piano

(please also see 'the gardens' section of our website)

26th September

Special opening for the Holy Trinity Church Group, Rudgwick

Performance at 3pm (followed by tea)

Modern Ballads by

singer/songwriter Calista

Violin 'Classics' by

Paul & Chika Robertson

9th October 2010

'SongTrees' concerts

at the Little Missenden Festival, Berkshire at 10, 12 and 2.30.

30th October

Concert at 6 pm

Jazz evening with

Dominic Alldis

21st November

Concert at 3pm

The Harpham Quartet

Programme includes:

Ravel String Quartet

                    Selected recent events:

Sir John Tavener's
'Towards Silence'

for four string quartets and Tibetan 'singing' bowl

June 18th 2010: Concert at 'The Temple' 6.45pm

Medici String Quartet, 5th Quadrant, Finzi Quartet and Harpham Quartet
with Louisa Golden (Tibetan temple bowl)

Temple Church EC4Y 7BB

June 23rd and 24th 2010: Salisbury Cathedral - private CD recording

  For further details about this work see Tavener -Towards Silence section on our main website menu.

'Celebrating Surrey 2010 Festival'

Jonathan Willcocks' set of catchy healthy living songs, 'Good for You!' - specially commissioned by Sound Bites - were performed on 27th June at Loseley Park with a SongTrees intergenerational choir, comprising families, schools and choirs from Surrey and Sussex.

 For further deatils about this work see 'Projects/Sound Bites' on the website menu.

Autumn 2009

'The Musical Brain'

Sept 17 & 18: private conference at Oxford University hosted by

Green-Templeton College

MAPPING THE MUSICAL BRAIN

SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2009, 11.00–17.00

Curated by Professor Paul Robertson

Wellcome Collection

Saturday 19 September 2009, 11.00 – 17.00

A unique free event at Wellcome Collection invited the public to share their curiosity about the power of music with some of the world’s leading authorities on researching the relationship between music and the brain.

Mapping the Musical Brain united musicians, neuroscientists and psychologists as well as gifted young performers to explore the science of music, music and autism, music in infancy and more.  The day included a series of musical events and performances designed to provoke discussion, debate and participation between audience and experts, each of whom were keen to share their insights with a broader public.

Professor Paul Robertson, curator of the event and Director of the Music Mind Spirit Trust, comments: “For centuries humanity has created music whilst wondering at its mysterious power. By revealing the underlying neurobiological structures of music this event shows how current brain studies can offer entirely new insights into both the personal and social aspects of the Musical experience.”

Lisa Jamieson, Wellcome Collection’s Events Manager comments:

"This lively, topical event shed light on why scientists are so excited by the possibilities of studying music and its effect on the human brain and satisfied those curious to understand better the power of music."

Mapping the Brain Programme

Saturday 19 September 2009

11.00 – 17.00

• Paul Robertson Curator of the event Visiting Professor of Music and Medicine, Peninsula Medical School
• Robert Turner, Scientific Advisor to the event, Director, Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute, Leipzig.

• David Aldridge, Editor Music and Medicine
• Tim Griffiths, Professor of Cognitive Neurology, Newcastle University
• Pam Heaton, Psychologist, Goldsmiths, University of London
• Stefan Koelsch, Department of Psychology, University of Sussex
• Medici Trio: Paul Robertson, violin; Anthony Lewis, cello; Mikhail Kazakevich, piano
• Lawrence Parsons, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Sheffield
• Chika Robertson, Joint CEO, Music Mind Spirit Trust
• Colwyn Trevarthen, Emeritus Professor of Child Psychology, University of Edinburgh
• Jonathan Willcocks, international composer and conductor
• Robert Zatorre, neuropsychologist, University of McGill, Montréal

Welcome and introduction from Paul Robertson

The brain science of music

An overview by Robert Zatorre, University of McGill, Montréal

Music, performance and the musician’s brain

Performance by the Medici Piano Trio (Paul Robertson, violin; Mikhail Kazakevich, piano and Anthony Lewis, cello). Programme included: Shostakovich Piano Trio no 2 opus 67.

The musicians were joined by Robert Zatorre and Stefan Koelsch, Univeristy of Sussex for a discussion. The session invited us to consider such issues as: the meaning and ‘language’ of music, musical performance and communication, ensemble, empathy, rythmicity and entrainment, the relationship between notation and embodiment, gesture and affect.

Music making and autism

In this session musicians with Autism Spectrum performed and discussed their musical experience with Pam Heaton from Goldsmiths. The session offered a new perspective upon the nature of the musical experience, as well as an intimate and detailed insight into the particular and challenging qualities of the autistic mind and the way it interfaces with music. Tim Griffiths of Newcastle University joined the panel to explain how neurological damage can affect the musical areas of the brain and explored the science of hearing as well as feeling music. Included audience Q&A

Music in infancy

A discussion with psychologist Colwyn Trevarthen, neuroscientist Lawrence Parsons and Robert Turner of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig. The subjects covered included: the hearing foetus; mother/infant communication; and a child’s first foray into musical learning.

Music as Therapy

Presentation of a selection of short film clips by David Aldridge of music as therapy

In addition to the presentation sessions above there were workshops throughout the afternoon which were suitable for all ages and abilities:

Song Trees (13.15 – 14.00, 15.00 – 15.45, 16.45 – 17.00)

Created by Chika Robertson as part of the Music Mind Spirit Trust, this innovative music project brings children and families together to rediscover, learn and then perform music drawn from family member’s earliest musical memories. The session was facilitated by internationally renowned composer and conductor Jonathan Willcocks and was an opportunity to sing songs and share memories whilst creating family and community spirit through the celebration of music.

The event also invited us to enquire into the uniquely precocious formation of musical response, relationship and integrity, and further reflect upon the lifelong influences that such early music experience has upon our later health and wellbeing.

The Song Trees workshops were open to all ages and abilities and no booking was required.                               

The programme was arranged by Paul Robertson with scientific advice from Robert Turner.