Music is a powerful mnemonic: a beloved piece can launch us back into childhood, help us learn the alphabet, or bring back a lost soul from the brink of dementia. What can neuroscience tells us about music's magic? In this Piano Talk, Dr. Indre Viskontas, scientist and soprano, will take you on a musical journey through your cortex, demonstrating how clever composers and musicians can harness your brain to evoke nostalgia, empathy and a sense of connection with others. Pianist Heather Hsun Chang provides the music for analysis (and enjoyment), performing Beethoven's Sonata Op. 14, No. 1, and Chopin's Ballade No. 4.
Equally at home with neuroscience and music, Indre Viskontas has written extensively about the intersection of her two passions; her most recent book on the topic, How Music Can Make You Better, was released in 2019. As a soprano, Viskontas has collaborated with a variety of San Francisco musicians and ensembles, including the Telegraph Quartet, Keisuke Nakagoshi, Ian Scarfe, Edwin Huizinga, Meerenai Shim, Allison Lovejoy and more. She is the founder of the group Vocallective and the Creative Director of the Pasadena Opera, where she will direct Missy Mazzoli's Proving Up in January, 2020. Viskontas is an alumna of SFCM, where she currently serves on faculty.
Young artist Heather Hsun Chang has received awards in the Ross McKee piano competition, the American Beethoven competition and the San Francisco Chopin Society competition. She is currently completing an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Behavior at Columbia, while continuing her musical studies with Reiko Uchida and Magdalena Baczewska. Active in classical music outreach, she has worked with organizations that bring music to new and underserved audiences, including the Back to Bach Project, where she was Director of Global Operations. Chang is an alumna of the SFCM Precollege division, where she studied with Mack McCray and Corey McVicar.