The first event on May 14th is our first annual fundraiser Symphony Soiree, entitled Music and Mind. An exciting evening where we celebrate not only the powerful connections between the arts and health but also hear from leading advocate, Renée Fleming!
At the heart of Symphony Soiree: Music and Mind is Renée Fleming’s new anthology, Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness. A collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and physicians about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experience. Inspired by the Sound Health initiative, Renée has created a presentation called Music and Mind, designed for a general audience it explores the power of music as it relates to health and the brain. Topics include childhood development, cognitive neuroscience, evolution, music therapy and the impact on healthcare, the impact of music education, music and social cohesion, and the future of music in medicine.
The evening will also contain a panel discussion with medical professionals from Billings Clinic & Intermountain Health alongside Renée Fleming; moderating will be current Billings Symphony Board President Dr. Robert Merchant. Experts from our own healthcare community in Billings will talk alongside Fleming about this intersection of music, health, and neuroscience as well as what the future of music in medicine could be.
Partnering with This House of Books, if you are interested in reading Renée Fleming’s Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, stop in and mention this event and the Billings Symphony to receive 20% off your purchase of the book!
We are grateful for our leading sponsors, Billings Clinic and Riverstone Health, in supporting this event and the future of music in our community. We are also grateful for our supporting sponsors Dick Anderson Construction and Intermountain Health as we strive to enrich all lives through music.
The following evening, on May 15th at the Alberta Bair Theater, Renée Fleming will present a one night only recital based off her 2023 Grammy-winning album The Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene—Renée Fleming LIVE: One Night Only.
There is a profound connection between the beauty found in nature and the way it inspires us as people and artists. This evening is an exploration of this beauty—and its fragility—performed by acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming. Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene blends the music of Romantic-era composers that delighted in the imagery of nature and living contemporary composers giving voice to the current, troubling relationship with the natural world; alongside an original film created in partnership with the National Geographic Society. A recital performance of this work, it is an invitation to all to consider the rapid change in the natural world at our hands and reflect on connecting to something larger than ourselves.
Renée Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as her dedicated advocacy for the powerful impacts of the creative arts in health. Honored with five Grammy awards and the US National Medal of Arts, she has sung not only in the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls, but also for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Super Bowl. In 2023, the World Health Organization appointed her as a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health.
Renée’s anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness was published in 2024. She created a live program called Music and Mind, which she has presented in more than 70 cities around the world. She is now an advisor for major initiatives in this field, including the NeuroArts Blueprint at Johns Hopkins University. In 2024 she launched the Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards, funding interdisciplinary research projects by early career scientists in collaboration with creative artists.
Her other honors include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and honorary doctorates from 10 major universities.
Symphony Soiree: Music and Mind is scheduled for Friday, May 14, at the Northern Hotel Grand Ballroom. The evening begins at 5:30PM and ends at 8:30PM. To purchase tickets, call 406-252-6310 or visit www.billingssymphony.org.
Renée Fleming LIVE: One Night Only is scheduled for Saturday, May 15, at the Alberta Bair Theater. The performance begins at 7:30PM, doors open at 6:30PM. To purchase tickets, call 406-256-6052 or visit www.billingssymphony.org.