Combining live music, art, theater, and science, UnRavelled came to life at SFCM with some student talent at the bow. 

“Working and performing in this production was an incredible experience. Prior to this, I had never been involved in a theater production,” said double-bassist Lalita Perez-Acosta, one of the students who played the July 21 show at SFCM. 

SFCM students perform on stage.

Written by Jake Broder, the play examines how Canadian scientist Dr. Anne Adams developed as a painter following her frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis and became a remarkable artist. Through the story, the play also uncovers the mystery of French composer Maurice Ravel’s similar diagnosis almost 100 years earlier and explores the pair's connection. Both artists died of the same rare brain disease; Adams passed away in 2007.

Actors perform on stage in "UnRavelled."

“I found the writer's linking of Ravel and Dr. Adams particularly intriguing. It added depth and meaning to the performance, making it more intellectually stimulating and emotionally engaging,”  Perez-Acosta added. Perez-Acosta is a graduate student studying with double-bass professor Scott Pingel. 

More than a dozen SFCM students were involved in the show. “Hearing Anne's story and being able to bring her story to the masses was an absolute pleasure,” said Josh Choi. Choi is a viola graduate student working with Dimitri Murrath. “Getting to hear the work from top to bottom and listening to the stellar writing was very touching and moving,” Choi added.

The show ended with a symphonic performance of Ravel’s most famous composition, Boléro. “This has been the most significant and purposeful role I've ever played in my career. The production served an excellent purpose, and I am grateful to have contributed to something meaningful and impactful,” Perez Acosta said of the experience. 

This production was sponsored by the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD). It is the latest in a series of collaborations between SFCM, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)'s Memory and Aging Center, and the Global Brain Health Institute. The entities first joined forces in 2019 to explore the intersection of music, creativity, and brain science, most recently collaborating in 2022 for "Sleep and Dreams: Music, Neuroscience and Stories of Slumber".