On the beautiful autumn afternoon of Sunday, October 5th, a group of 45 participants gathered in the Keenan Room at BGSP for the workshop entitled “Music Hath Charms: The Psychic Soundtrack”. This event was co-sponsored by BGSP and the Vermont Society of Psychoanalysis, which presented this program last spring, and wanted to share it again in the Boston area.
Ms. Elizabeth Dorsey, who is a senior faculty member, and a training and supervising analyst at BGSP, began the program by asking the question, “When did you first hear music”? A lively exchange followed, whereby people shared memories, associations and insights stirred up in response. Many of the responses involved stories about a beloved family member, a friend, or an event or time in life with significant emotional meaning and connection.
Guest speaker Mr. Hugh Keelan is the Music Director of the Windham Orchestra; he is also a co-creator of the opera Company PANOPERA, and a widely known and respected conductor, composer and pianist. Mr. Keelan played a familiar tune on the keyboard, in order to demonstrate that the ways in which we relate to a piece of music, to the notes, scales, melodies and sounds, is a very individual experience, and one which is greatly influenced by our pre-conceived notions about different types of music, our preferences, and previous involvement with music. Listeners responded by sharing their ideas and their experiences with different genres of music; their likes and dislikes, prejudices, and expectations and a full range of feelings…. from disappointment, to joyful surprise.
Sometimes it is “just noise”; sometimes we try to stay at a concert, but we have to leave because it is not what we wanted, expected, or hoped for; other times we feel more connected to someone through a shared experience; or a particular piece of music, without any words, conveys a depth of feeling that is unexpected; sometimes we remember a father singing his daughter to sleep.
When did you first hear music?