Media Releases
Featuring Keynote Session by
Bestselling Author and Neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D.
Festival Napa Valley expands its Summer Season programming with the debut of a Music & Wellness Symposium. This one-day gathering explores the transformative impact of music on health and wellbeing. On Sunday, July 6, from 10:30 am – 4 pm at CIA at Copia in Napa, the symposium brings together leaders in neuroscience, music therapy, and the performing arts to explore music’s role in brain health, senior care, and youth mental health.
“Music’s profound effect on how we live, age, and heal is becoming increasingly understood and documented by science,” said Festival Vice President of Education & Community, Lissa Gibbs. “Our Music & Wellness Symposium is a natural extension of the Festival’s longstanding commitment to enrich lives and support a healthy, thriving community through the arts and education.”
The day’s keynote address will be given by Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, an internationally acclaimed neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, musician, and New York Times bestselling author of This is Your Brain on Music, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine, The Organized Brain, and Successful Aging.
The day begins with a Festival Live! concert featuring students and faculty from the Frost School at Festival Napa Valley’s Blackburn Music Academy, followed by interactive presentations and panel discussions led by Dr. Shannon de l’Etoile (University of Miami), Dr. Courtney Chiarella (Kaiser Permanente Napa), Jeni Olsen (Mentis Napa), and Dr. Alexander Kahn (Sonoma State University), author of Caring for the Whole Musician. Highlights include a workshop on music and mindfulness for stress reduction and case study presentations on music therapy best practices in clinical and community-based settings.
Symposium registration is $50 and includes full access to all sessions, as well as a complimentary ticket to the 4:30 pm screening of Ennio, a documentary chronicling the career of legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who benefited from a life full of music and music making until the age of 93.
Lunch from CIA at Copia is available by pre-order until July 1 for an additional $35. The complete event schedule will be shared with registered participants on June 1.
The Music & Wellness Symposium is part of Festival Napa Valley’s Summer Season, July 5-20, 2025. The Festival presents programs for every taste and budget at venues throughout Napa Valley. Daytime concerts are free. A new Choose Your Price ticketing model for select concerts allows attendees to choose a price that fits their personal budgets, furthering the Festival’s mission to make the arts accessible to all. Vintner’s Luncheons and Patron Dinners are held at leading wineries and estates as part of the Patron Experience.
To register for the Music & Wellness Symposium, purchase tickets to Festival Napa Valley events, or for more information, visit www.festivalnapavalley.org.