Music and the Brain: Centre for the Creative Brain
Event
On Sunday 31 May, St Edmund Hall’s Centre for the Creative Brain will present an afternoon of neuroscience, user experience… and opera! How does your brain react when you are listening to music? Does it differ if you are attending a live performance? What methods could arts institutions and artists explore to make their performances more immersive and engaging?
During this afternoon, we will hear from Professor Pierre-Majorique Léger (HEC Montréal) about a study on the neurological activity of an opera audience during a live performance. The research, conducted in partnership between Tech3Lab, North America’s largest user experience (UX) research chair, Opéra de Montréal and vibrokynetic equipment provider D-BOX, also explored variations of the experience that could impact the audience’s engagement. Professor Léger will present the findings of the study alongside Xavier Roy, current Saïd Business School MBA Candidate and St Edmund Hall member, and former Director of Marketing of Opéra de Montréal.
Dr Pegram Harrison, Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Said Business School (University of Oxford), will offer an interactive workshop to discuss how artists are coping with performing during lockdown.
Dr James Whitbourn, Director of Music at St Edmund Hall (University of Oxford), will discuss his experience with online performances and virtual recordings, as part of the ‘Music in the Hall’ series.
Professor Paul Matthews, Fellow at St Edmund Hall (University of Oxford), will discuss with our performers from the Montreal Opera about their experience of performing to a remote audience.
Far from being a traditional lecture, this afternoon will also include opera performances where the audience will test themselves their level of immersion in various performance contexts. According to Richard Wagner, opera is the “all-embracing art form”. Let’s see if the audience agrees!
The event is free and open to all. We welcome undergraduates, postgraduates, parents, academics, scientists, synesthetes and all curious people.
The Centre for the Creative Brain is generously supported by St Edmund Hall and the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford.