Monday, April 21, 2008

The real world

A friend of mine recently sent me a video from ted.com about a brain surgeon (or neuro-anatomist, I believe she is called) who suffered a severe stroke and lived to tell about it, in an immensely inspiring, uplifting 18-minute presentation. TED is a fascinating site that can cause one to lose more time than perhaps they can afford to, but you feel ok about it, because it's profoundly informative and fascinating!

So I was busy losing a bit of time, browsing the site and sampling bits of quantum physics here and world hunger there, etc, and up popped a name of a good friend of mine, who also happens to be a composer and inventor and overall boy-wonder-genius: Tod Machover. (I had the enormous privilege - and challenge! - of creating the deeply satisfying role of "Katerina Maslova" in his opera Resurrection a "few" years back in Houston.)

Anyway, I obviously had to click on the video, and I expected to simply find more whacky inventions and crazy ideas for bringing music to the masses which he has done with incredible projects across the globe - but instead, I was stopped dead in my tracks with tears streaming down my smiling face. It's a 20-minute presentation in which he chronicles some of his pioneering ideas and future projects, building to the crescendo of meeting Dan Ellsey, a man with cerebral palsy, who he and some of his students at MIT have engineered a device for DAN, who is essentially immobile, allowing him to conduct his own composition, enabling him to MAKE MUSIC. I don't know that I've ever witnessed a greater example of why music is essential in our world. It's 20 minutes - I invite you to grab a cup of coffee and maybe a kleenex, and CLICK HERE.

CHEERS!

6 comments:

heldensoubrette said...

oh, ms. yankeediva! i was bawling towards the last two minutes of the video. extremely touching! talk about loving the art in you! thanks again!

Operafan said...

YES, music is essential in our world and is often the only link we still have with loved ones... My dad is sinking each day more and more into Alzheimer's and when we are visiting him in his nursing home and listening together to classical music, you can still see his eyes sparkling (especially when listening to Elisabeth Schwarzkopf...but that's because he does not know you!!). It's the magic about music and voice...
Thanks for having posted this story, your blog is definitely the most positive I am reading!!

Yankeediva said...

Oh, Operafan - my heart goes out to you. It really must be true, as Tod says here, that something chemical happens in the brain that they can still recognize/respond to music. What a gift that must be to your father - and to you, to share that with him! Courage!

Chicago Usher said...

I've been reading and thinking today about some spiritual aspects of life and death, and almost lost sight of the magical creative force that is music...

Thank you all for reminding me that music IS, and doesn't need wires or electricity to communicate love into the deepest, darkest corners of hearts and minds.

I am so grateful for this special language, for the unique views of everyone who participates here, and for the beautiful photos and insights from our very special Yankeediva!

Yankeediva said...

You are most welcome - it's so much easier, in my very humble opinion, to chose to see the beauty and the magic - perhaps some will call it naive or ignorant, but honestly, I couldn't care less...

Susan said...

Wow. WOW! He has all that music in his head, and now he has a way to get it out. Wow. I'm speechless. The look of pure joy on his face... Wow. Thanks for posting this.