This article is part of our online news archive

New musical composition on consciousness at the Royal Society of Medicine

Professor of Composition, Michael Zev Gordon has written a new work - Into the Dark - for mezzo-soprano, piano and electronics, as part of 'AWARE', a major event at the Royal Society of Medicine to mark the publication of a new study on consciousness and anaesthesia.

University of Birmingham Aston Webb building

Professor of Composition, Michael Zev Gordon has written a new work - Into the Dark - for mezzo-soprano, piano and electronics, in collaboration with the consultant anaesthetists, Dr Andrew Morley of St Thomas' Hospital London and Professor Jaideep Pandit of Oxford University, the poet Ruth Padel and the electroacoustic composer Dr Julien Guillamat (PhD, University of Birmingham).

The work is part of 'AWARE', an interdisciplinary project funded by the Wellcome Trust.  It marks the publication of  a major new study - NAP5 - on the subject of consciousness under anaesthesia. The event takes place on Tuesday 23 September, and includes an address by Oxford Professor of Neuroscience Susan Greenfield, a round-table discussion between scientists and artists, including Professor Gordon, and music on the subject of dreams and consciousness alongside the new work. The performers are mezzo-soprano Hilary Summers and pianist Andrew West.

  • awake: anaesthesia - music - consciousness (event)