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What Can Musicians Teach Us about Imagination?

Insights about imagination from a discussion with classical musicians

Credit:

The Imagination Institute

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


What is the nature of music? What is imagination in music? What's the role of intuition in music? What motivates musicians? What makes a great musical performance? What creates transcendence in music? What is the role of the audience? What are some recommended approaches for increasing creativity in music teachers and music students?

These are some of the fascinating questions that we discussed at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. The participants included:

  • Paul Bryan, Dean of Faculty and Students at the Curtis Institute; conductor; trombonist

  • Dan Lerner, Faculty at New York University

  • Gloria dePasquale, Cellist in the Philadelphia Orchestra

  • Yumi Kendall, Cellist in the Philadelphia Orchestra

  • Georgia Shreve, Composer and writer

  • Gene Scheer, Opera librettist

  • Ashley Robillard, Opera Student at Curtis Institute

  • Elizabeth Hyde, Research Specialist for the Imagination Institute

  • Scott Barry Kaufman, Scientific Director of the Imagination Institute

  • Martin Seligman, Executive Director of the Imagination Institute, Director of the Positive Psychology Center, and Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania


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The full report, prepared by Georgia Shreve, can be downloaded here.

Here are video highlights of the event:

Scott Barry Kaufman is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity and well-being at Columbia University, N.Y.U., the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. He hosts the Psychology Podcast and is author and/or editor of nine books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.com. In 2015 he was named one of "50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. He wrote the extremely popular Beautiful Minds blog for Scientific American for close to a decade. Follow him on X.

More by Scott Barry Kaufman