Today’s Forum on the Future of Health, Wellness and Medicine offered numerous interesting talks, including one with Ruth Pointer and Panos Panay, VP for Innovation and Strategy, Berklee College of Music.
They kicked off their conversation discussing the remake of “A Star is Born,” a movie Ruth recently saw that resonated with her. Having just read her autobiography, Panos said he was struck by her resiliency and asked what it is about music that cultivates resilience within us. Likening it to a baby hearing its mothers’ heartbeat in utero, they agreed that the vibration and rhythm is what draws people to music and impacts our moods for the better.
Ruth said she has “always been emotionally moved by music” and can recall countless times where she felt healed by performing—including her first appearance on the Johnny Carson show, which she did just days after undergoing surgery.
She feels that music is the world’s heartbeat, and it’s as integral to our wealth and wellbeing as the air that we breathe. When asked if she could imagine a world without music, her answer was an unequivocal no—and the audience agreed.
