Contemplative Practice & Music

Focused Topics Course: The study of the
contemplative arts, as they relate to the
creation of musical experiences and musical
compositions, will be investigated by actively
privileging the concept of compassion and its
manifestations, and by the routine practice of
mindfulness. Students will become familiar with
seminal works of music written by composers who
have integrated specific spiritual disciplines
into their creative lives, and with esoteric
spiritual leaders (such as Gurdjieff, Steiner,
Krisnamurti, Rudhyar) who have actively engaged
in or written about the art of musical creation
and performance. Further readings are designed to
focus on recent investigations centering on
neuroplasticity, as they explore relationships
between neuroscience and religion and the
implications of brain-mind science for
contemplative practices and compassionate
behavior (Bulkeley, Schwartz). These explorations
will culminate in a public performance of
individual compositions included in the syllabus,
and of new original works.