The other guest of honor, an IMNF Scientific Advisory Board member and Neurosciences Institute Ester J. Burnham Senior Fellow, Dr. Aniruddh Patel, greeted me with a sturdy, professional handshake and welcoming smile. His eyes sparkled as he enlightened me on the various effects music has on brain functions and the healing power it possess. For a moment I contemplated taking out a notepad and having him draw me illustrations but at the last minute thought against it…
As guests finished martinis, the cocktail party drew to a close and the dinner began. Gourmet plates were served while the guests enjoyed good wine and musical performances by four-time Grammy Award winning musician Michael Feinstein and two-time Tony-Award® winning actress and singer Christine Ebersol.
As he received his award, Dr. Aniruddh Patel treated the diners to an informative yet lively speech on the importance of music therapy. He boasted the various functions of music therapy: cognitive rehabilitation, attention, emotional adjustment—here his eyebrows furrowed deep in thought for a moment, during which his charming wife called out “memory” to the well-natured amusement of the audience.
“Music changed my life,” said an event attendee and supporter of the IMNF.
“This event is important, many don’t realize how valuable music can be. It helped my brother recover from his stoke. I admire Dr. Patel’s work.”
As I watched smiles spread, fingers snap and toes tap, I couldn’t help but think that none other than our self-proclaimed pop princess Madonna was really on to something when she sang “Music makes the people come together.” In this case, the people consisted of the elite New York society and they came together with reason: to honor two strong contributors and support the scientific studies in the captivating field of music therapy.
