for implanting “pacemakers” in the brain to stimulate parts of the organ “blocked” by injury or diseases like Parkinson’s, plays music for his fully conscious patients to see what kind of effect it may have. “I listen to the music of the brain,” he told writer and cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht in August 2008. “There’s a steady buzz when it’s functioning normally; an angry, chaotic sound when there is damage. Therapeutically, we are skimming the surface in how music can promote recovery. There is a connection between music and the mood centers of the brain. It needs to be researched aggressively.” Boston’s Longwood Symphony Orchestra has been at the forefront of this movement as well. The entire ensemble is made up of healthcare professionals. Every concert is a collaboration with a health-oriented nonprofit, which uses the concert as a unique fundraising event. Since the inception of its Healing Art of Music program in 1991, the orchestra has helped raise awareness and more than $700,000 for 26 medical organizations. In addition, some of the organizations have used their events to galvanize their boards, launch initiatives, recognize prominent people in their field, or provide concert experiences for their own patient/ client populations. LSO on Call takes chamber music directly to healthcare facilities, performing for the benefit of both patients and staff. LSO Community Conversations is a series of lectures and symposia on the dialogue between the arts and sciences. Two recent symposia brought together musicians, doctors, researchers, and educators to share some of the most promising discoveries on the connections between neuroscience, healing, and the arts, such as how the arts develop keen assessment skills both visual and tactile. During “Crossing the Corpus Callosum” in January 2009, LSO oboist Dr. Tom Sheldon, Chairman of Radiation Oncology at Concord Hospital, spoke about how years of depressing oboe keys and making reeds further sensitized his fingers to detect hidden tumors. Neuroscientist and violinist Psyche Loui shared a process she discovered to help stroke patients recover communication skills by singing: musical passages are used to recruit neurons from the functioning right side of the brain to improve speech, a function of the language center of the left side brain. “Crossing the Corpus Callosum II,” held
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