Sound Health: Renew/Remix at the Kennedy Center

On October 2, 2022, Dessa will join the Sound Health summit designed to illustrate the importance of music to mental health and well-being.

The event will provide an intimate and personal window into the pandemic journeys of world-class musicians and artists, in performance and conversation with therapists, researchers, and scientists. The line-up includes Dr. Francis Collins, Children’s Chorus of Washington, Dessa, Renée Fleming, Howard University’s Afro Blue, Dr. Jacquelyn Kulinski, Dr. Charles Limb, Michela Marino Lerman, Maria Rivera, Caesar Sant, Dr. Indre Viskontas, and Eric Whitacre.

The concert will culminate in an interactive experience—led by esperanza spalding in collaborative design with Dr. Helena Hansen and Dr. Marisol Norris—as a preview to Monday’s workshops exploring the cultural context and practice of communal improvised music-making. The evening will explore the science behind recovery and the collectivenjourney from pandemic isolation and loneliness, to the rediscovery of resilience through community.

Sound Health: Renew/Remix continues on Monday, October 3, 2022. Free activations and performances will highlight the impact of music as a gateway to restoration and the research that plays a fundamental role. Taking place at multiple locations across the Kennedy Center’s REACH campus, the activities will build off themes of resilience and wellness. Public workshops and panel discussions will feature topics including policy, mental health, songwriting, access and equity, communal singing, and practical takeaways for implementing music’s therapeutic capacity. The day will also include a special premiere screening of MUSIC VETS, a film about the healing power of music featuring the stories of military veterans struggling with PTSD, directed by Jon Kaufman and El Sawyer.

Tickets at tkc.co/SoundHealth