This symposium is part of a programme of events around the world premiere performances of Lost in Thought – the world’s first ‘mindfulness opera’ by Guildhall School professor Rolf Hind, co-produced by Mahogany Opera Group and the Barbican. The symposium will bring together artists, researchers and those with an interest in mindfulness and its relationship to the arts to explore its practice and potential.

Building on the Guildhall School’s pioneering development and research on mindfulness, the day will include contribution from the creative team of Lost in Thought, a roundtable of mindfulness practitioners and a focus on audience experience and engagement in the opera. The event will be of particular interest to both those who are interested in the practice and for those who participated in a performance of Lost in Thought and want to find out more.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Chair: Jonathan Vaughan, Director of Music, Guildhall School
Rolf Hind, Lost in Thought composer and Guildhall School professor
Frederic Wake-Walker, Lost in Thought Director, Artistic Director of Mahogany Opera Group
Professor John Sloboda, Guildhall School Research Professor
Paul Burrows, Mindfulness Leader
Paul Keane, Classical Music Programming, Barbican Centre
Dr Tamara Russell, Director, Mindfulness Centre of Excellence
Stuart King, Clarinettist and Artistic Director of CHROMA
Siwan Rhys, Pianist
Sam Redford, Actor
Eliza McCarthy, Pianist
Ben Shaffrey, Pianist