The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) and UCSF Memory and Aging Center partnered in 2019 to explore the intersection of music, creativity and brain science.

Through an ongoing series of public talks and musical performances, the partnership explores key concepts of brain health equity, including dementia, through the lenses of neuroscience and music. Bringing science and music together can lead to new insights, discoveries, and understandings that neither area would be able to achieve on its own. The programs highlight novel scientific research and core principles of music and music theory, with presenters from both institutions sharing their expertise. Themes that have been examined with this lens include functional networks in the brain, language, creativity, emotion, empathy, dyslexia, improvisation, resilience, jazz and equity. Programs continue to explore topics such as the social determinants of brain health, dementia awareness, community building and the interplay of music in these areas.

To learn more about this partnership, please see the GBHI website.