Performance Music at The University of Scranton, recently hosted its 16th Isolation ‘Informance,’ which focused on synesthesia and the artist. The department has presented virtual ‘Informances’ over the past year, which have connected the University community with experts and musicians during the pandemic.
Cheryl Boga, conductor and director of Performance music, was joined by Greta Berman, Ph.D., arts historian, educator, curator, author, singer and liberal arts faculty at The Juilliard School, Christian S. Adonizio, M.D. '92, a physician, author, researcher and pianist, and Elise Massuet '22, a psychology major and cellist.
Dr. Berman’s special interests are synesthesia and the interrelationship between music and visual art, more specifically how certain musicians and visual artists use their synesthesia in creating and processing art.
“Synesthesia is typically defined as the involuntary joining of the senses. The one that is most common is a lot of musicians see the color of the notes that they play or that they hear. A lot of artists also hear the colors,” said Dr. Berman.
Berman also made note of the fact that synesthesia can involve any of the five senses.
“We’ve gotten better at studying this, which at one time was un-studiable,” said Adonizio. “We think that about 4 percent of the population has the blueprint for the proteins in the nervous system that result in this way of perceiving, but that doesn’t mean that all of those people perceive the same way.”
Learn about all “Informances” here.