Music and the Mind
MAY 08, 2008
On Wednesday 7 May the James Black Centre’s spectacular atrium was filled with a series of improvised ‘musical postcards’ inspired by Miles Davis and performed by the contemporary ensemble notes inégales. 150 staff and students were treated to a private concert by 11 internationally established players and composers, Directed by Peter Wiegold and the third in the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP) unique concert series Music and the Mind.
As a leading global educational establishment the IoP is keen to explore mental health issues in innovative ways. Music and the Mind is a challenging and stimulating concert series devised and created by Artistic Director/Promoter Kate Halsall which aims to promote contemporary British music while addressing issues surrounding mental health. The series launched in February 2007 with a performance by the critically acclaimed Elysian Quartet in the Wolfson Lecture Theatre; on World Mental Health Day October 2007, the SGDP hosted an outstanding performance by the German vocal ensemble Mosaique.
Music and the Mind 3 continued the series’ high standard with improvisation from notes inégales and The James Black Centre was an ideal venue. It exemplifies partnership working, housing colleagues from King’s College London, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College Hospital, three of the four partners who are moving toward creating the UK’s largest Academic Health Sciences Centre.
Music and the Mind 4 will see alumni from Southbank Sinfonia, a training orchestra for young professional players, performing a lunchtime chamber recital at the SGDP as part of the Camberwell Arts Festival on June 19th at 12 midday. The concert will also serve as a starting point for local arts group Cooltan Arts’ guided walk the 'Largaclyl Shuffle' (see
www.cooltanarts.org.uk for further details).
The series is currently funded by the Dean and Institute Secretary as part of the Institute of Psychiatry's ongoing programme of public engagement activities, however it is hoped these will become regular features at the IoP through external funding.