Renée Fleming leads free talk on healing through art
Thursday’s event explores how music and the arts can ease pain, boost mental health, and aid Alzheimer’s care.
This exciting Positively Saratoga news is brought to you by our friends at the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.
The day before the great Renée Fleming’s much-anticipated SPAC performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, she’ll be hosting a much more intimate experience at the Spa Little Theater.
The 4 p.m. event — which is free to the public, see registration below — is a book festival keynote-esque discussion about the connection between art and mental health. The world-famous soprano is the author of Music and Mind with Renée Fleming: Harnessing the Arts to Heal and Connect and will serve as the event’s host.
“She will lead a panel discussion on the topics of her book Music in Mind, which looks at the exploration and connection between music and wellness,” SPAC President Christopher Shiley tells the Dispatch. “It’s going to be a really interesting exploration. The panel of experts will talk about different ways that art is being utilized to heal and rebuild and connect people.”
On stage with Fleming will be psychology and neuroscience researcher Dr. Psyche Loui, creative arts therapist Bree Beaudette, and SPAC’s VP of Education Dennis Moench. The event— during which Fleming will share personal stories and insights about these issues from her own career — will include an audience Q&A and is scheduled to wrap up by 5:15 with a book signing with Fleming.
“We want people to come out and really dig deeper into the art and the power of art and why we do what we do,” Shiley says. “And it dovetails nicely into her full performance [the next day].”
Topics are expected to include how the arts support healing from pain, treating anxiety and depression, regaining speech after stroke or brain injury, and improving mobility for individuals with conditions like Parkinson’s disease and MS — plus, the panel will discuss evolution, brain function, childhood development, and the role of technology in arts and health.
The experts will also share groundbreaking new art therapies and music-based interventions for individuals with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s.
For details or to register, visit spac.org.
