Daniel Levitin speaks at a special Vancouver Writers Fest post-festival event, November 19

The neuroscientist, writer, and musician’s conversation with André Picard has musical interludes by Chor Leoni

By Gail Johnson

Daniel Levitin. Photo by David Livingston

Vancouver Writers Fest presents Daniel Levitin with Chor Leoni on November 19 from 7:30 pm to 9 pm at the Vancouver Playhouse

DANIEL LEVITIN IS a neuroscientist, musician, and best-selling author who may be most known for his book This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. He’s come out with a follow-up that’s just as compelling called I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine, and he’ll discuss his latest findings in a Vancouver Writers Fest post-festival presentation on November 19 at the Vancouver Playhouse. In conversation with André Picard of the Globe and Mail, he’ll be accompanied by Chor Leoni under the direction of Erick Lichte.

Levitin’s research uncovers how the deep connections between music and the human brain can be harnessed for healing and recovery. Science is proving that music can be used as an effective treatment for numerous ailments, including Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, pain, cognitive injury, and more. Levitin argues that music may be one of humanity’s oldest medicines as well as its most promising and its most universal.

As a musician (tenor saxophone, guitar, vocals, and bass), Levitin has performed with Mel Tormé, David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Sting, and Bobby McFerrin, among other luminaries. He has produced and consulted on albums by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and Joni Mitchell while also contributing to the soundtracks of Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction. He has been awarded 17 gold and platinum records. 

Currently the founding dean of arts and humanities at Minerva University in San Francisco, Levitin is the James McGill professor emeritus of psychology, neuroscience, and music at McGill University.  

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