June 2019:

The collaboration with SFCM was launched with “Unravelling Bolero: A Discussion Around the Brain Science of Creativity” at SFCM's Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall. Maestro Joseph Young, music director of the Berkeley Symphony, led a full orchestra in Maurice Ravel’s Boléro.

February 2020:

This was followed by “The Other Side of the Brain: Exploring Emotion and Music in Dyslexia”. Sir Franc D’Ambrosio, the longest-running phantom in Phantom of the Opera and recently knighted by the government of Italy, serenaded the audience after an in-depth interview about his music career and having dyslexia.

The musical highlights included a classical septet of students and faculty from SFCM and an original composition (Dies Irae) by an SFCM student (Anthony Carson) for voice and piano at SFCM's Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall. Sir Franc D’Ambrosio, the longest-running phantom in Phantom of the Opera also knighted by the government of Italy, then serenaded the audience following an in-depth interview about his music career and having dyslexia.

November 2020:

“The Last Dance: Music, Improvisation & the Resilient Brain” was virtual during COVID-19. It was designed and led by students from SFCM, UCSF, and GBHI together with an L.A.-based pop singer, Kimberly Cole, whose father had frontotemporal dementia. Her original song was broken down through three different styles of music – Baroque, jazz, and a modern flourish paired with dance.

Programs continue to explore topics such as resilience, the social determinants of brain health, dementia awareness, and more and the interplay of music in these areas. Additional areas of collaboration are underway.

June 2021:

"Jazz, Equity & Brain Health" explored othering and belonging through the lens of jazz music and neuroscience; building community through jazz and brain health equity; and the power of empathy, listening, and inclusion in jazz and dementia work.

October 2022:

“Sleep and Dreams: Music, Neuroscience and Stories of Slumber” was held in Hume Hall at SFCM, and hosted special guests the Global Brain Health Institute, and The Nocturnists, a community of healthcare workers celebrating humanity through storytelling. Through live music and visual art, scientific stories, studies, and original compositions, the event held a goal of stimulating ideas about sleep and the intersection of music and dreams.

Programs continue to explore topics such as resilience, the social determinants of brain health, dementia awareness, and more and the interplay of music in these areas. Additional areas of collaboration are underway.