Oliver Sacks, the best-selling author and neurologist, will appear with Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir in an exhilarating exploration of the healing power of music, titled Music and the Brain, on Saturday May 31 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

Sacks' fascinating narratives of his work with patients reveal the effects of music on the brain, and the profound role that music can have in treatment. In this program, his stories will be punctuated with performances by the Abyssinian Baptist Choir that dramatically illustrate the power of music to affect the human psyche.

Described as "the poet laureate of medicine," Sacks is the author of numerous best selling books, including Awakenings, which was made into a hit movie starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. His latest work, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, focuses on his observations on the relationship between music and the brain.

The Abyssinian Baptist Choir is the resident choir of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, which is led by the Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III. The Church is an iconic champion of spiritual empowerment, social justice and reform, and is one of the most prominent African-American institutions in America.

Music and the Brain will take place on Saturday, May 31, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at The Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 Odell Clark Place (formerly 138th St.) at Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.

The event is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation's NYC Cultural Innovation Fund.
 

More updates from the World Science Festival can be found here.  The World Science Festival is a celebration of science, held from May 28 to June 1, 2008, in New York City.

http://www.worldsciencefestival.com