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Once sos
2024

Avalon Theatre Washington, DC

with

Dr. Jessica Phillips-Silver

Music Neuroscientist; CEO, Growing Brains

moderated by

Jason Dick

Editor-in-Chief, CQ Roll Call; Host, Political Theater podcast

Once— Beats, rhythm and romance: Music as humans’ connective tissue

Dr. Jessica Phillips-Silver, music neuroscientist and artistic creator, and series host Jason Dick, Editor in Chief of Roll Call, will explore the nature of the musical brain and its role in our lives, relationships, and art. Dr. Jessica will set the stage with inspiring and provocative questions about the biological origins of music and the relentless presence of rhythm in our daily experiences – questions that will awaken your musical listening sensibilities and change the way you think about the role of music in your own brain health and life.

Avalon Theatre Washington, DC

Film Synopsis

A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.

    A vacuum repairman (Glen Hansard) moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant (Marketa Irglova), who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

    Photo credit: Searchlight

    About the Speaker

    Dr. Jessica Phillips-Silver is a music neuroscientist and the CEO of Growing Brains. Dr. Jessica’s scientific research, featured in Science Magazine, Discovery Channel and NPR, explores how musical rhythm shapes brain development. Her children’s musical, Finding Rhythm, premiered at the Kennedy Center, and her music and brain curriculum is implemented in schools across DC. Dr. Jessica helps organizations in the arts, education and healthcare create or deepen their programs using music arts to promote optimal brain growth and healing—especially through rhythm. Dr. Jessica completed her Bachelor of Humanities & Arts degree in Cognitive Science & Vocal Music at Carnegie Mellon University, her Ph.D. in Auditory & Music Neuroscience from McMaster University in Ontario, and postdoctoral fellowship in Music Neuropsychology at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music & Sound in Montreal. She served as Associate Researcher in Neuroscience at Georgetown University and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Music, teaching Georgetown’s first course on Music and the Brain.

    Moderator Jason Dick is the Editor-in-Chief of CQ Roll Call and the host of the Political Theater podcast. He has also worked at National Journal and for the AmeriCorps program, and is a former English teacher at the university and high school levels. A one-time screener for the SXSW Film Festival, he is a native of Arizona and lives on Capitol Hill.