Maharishi University of Management’s newest academic offering, the Creative Musical Arts Program, offers students the opportunity to approach the study of music in a way that allows them to develop a personal and artistic voice capable of making a positive effect in the world.
Ann Mortifee, singer/poet, integrating consciousness and the musical voice
In celebration of the inaugaration of the International Association of Meditating Musicians (IAMM) Maharishi University of Management’s Creative Musical Arts Program (CMA) held a
symposium last month titled Music and Consciousness.
Isabelle Matzkin, Director of the CMA program saw the symposium as a “… gathering of creative minds, diverse skills, and deep knowledge, helping to define musical study for the 21st century.”
Paul Horn sharing his thoughts and experiences of Improvisation as the Ultimate Art of Self-Expression
One of the events’ special guests was legendary flutist Paul Horn. He gave a presentation on “Improvisation: The Ultimate Art of Self-Expression.” Mr. Horn has won two Grammy Awards for his lifetime of groundbreaking musical innovation in jazz and world music, and he is also a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique.
“Improvisation gives the musician a chance for personal expression using the language of music,” said Mr. Horn. “It’s the honesty, the immediacy, the spontaneity. It allows the audience to experience the real emotion of the music by witnessing its creation.”
Eugene Brass, sharing his experience of performance as a spiritual practice
The symposium also included presentations by:
- Eugene Watts, founding member of Canadian Brass
- Ann Mortifee, award-winning singer and poet
- Ed Sarath, director of University of Michigan’s Creativity and Consciousness Studies program, professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Music, and advisor to MUM’s Creative Musical Arts program
Professor Ed Sarath, sharing a vision of consciousness in the field of musical study
There was also an open-forum discussion on Consciousness-Based approaches to creating, performing, and teaching music, as well as a talk on the relationship of music to brain development by Dr. Fred Travis, Director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition at MUM.
The weekend concluded with a Sunday evening musical performance by Paul Horn.
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Anna Bruen is a MUM alumnus who graduated with a degree in Sustainable Living. Anna is the resident blogger here at MUM. To learn more about Anna take a look at her introduction post. |
