Ithaca College

The Ithaca Music Forum's inaugural event of 2018-19 investigates the interactions of music, language, and the brain, featuring neuromusicologist Dr. Elizabeth Marvin, who holds dual appointments at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester. 

Dr. Marvin provides two case studies from her perspective as musician-collaborator. The first, with a biomedical engineer and a linguist, explores the question of whether musical training improves auditory stream segregation—the ability to separate a single voice from surrounding noise. 

In the second, with a cognitive scientist and a neurosurgeon, Dr. Marvin served as music consultant during awake brain surgery. She assisted in developing and then scoring a musical task that helped guide the surgeon’s work as he removed a tumor positioned near the right superior temporal gyrus of a professional saxophone player’s brain, in an area potentially critical for music processing.

Free to all. Reception to follow.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Deborah Rifkin at drifkin@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-3786. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.