Music of Today: Performing with the Brain

Using only their brain waves, quadriplegic artists improvise with professional musicians in this collaboration between DXARTS Art+Brain Lab and Swedish Neuroscience Institute. In a research project hosted at DXARTS' Art + Brain lab in collaboration with Swedish Neuroscience Institute, the patients learned to perform the Encephalophone, a novel Brain Computer Music Interface allowing the creation of music without movement. Made possible with funding from a Creativity Connects grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

 PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Performing with the Brain: A musical performance by patients with motor disabilities.

Project directors: Thomas Deuel, Juan Pampin and Richard Karpen

The Encephalophone is a music prosthetic which uses EEG signal ('brain waves') from paralyzed individuals to play musical instruments hands-free, thus re-enabling musical expression in those who have lost this from neurological injury.  In conjunction with DXARTS at U.W., clinical trials are being completed at Swedish Neuroscience Institute under a Creativity Connects grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, culminating in this unique event. This workshop-style experimental concert features two quadraplegic artists from the clinical trial - Jeremy Best and Jonathan Sari - improvising with the Encephalophone with an ensemble of professional jazz musicians (Chris Icasiano - drums, Evan Flory-Barnes - bass, Alex Guilbert - piano, Ray Larsen - trumpet). They will play original compositions written specifically for the instrumentation of the Encephalophone by composer Allan Loucks. The experimental nature of this performance and its musical and technological challenges will make for an unprecedented musical event.

PROGRAM
Introduction and background of the Encephalophone, clinical trials, and performance preparation by Dr. Thomas Duel 

Jeremy's Changes, a rearrangement by Allan Louks of Sue's Changes by Charles Mingus
 Jeremy Best, Encephalophone 

Motor Neuron, original composition by Allan Louks
Jonathan Sari, Encephalophone

Epilogue, original composition by Allan Louks
Disklavier duet for Encephalophone with Jonathan Sari and Jeremy Best

Open improvisation over So What by Miles Davis

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Artist Bios

Thomas Deuel

Thomas Deuel received his B.A. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, after initially concentrating in Music Composition.   He received both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard University, where his doctoral dissertation focused on genetics and neurophysiology of cortical development.  In parallel, he studied jazz composition and performance at New England Conservatory in Boston. He did a residency in Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and fellowships in Neurophysiology at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and the University of Washington.  His post-doctoral research focused on complex sound and music processing in the human cortex. 

He also brings several years of practice as a sound artist, making site-specific sound installations, interactive music devices, and sound sculptures.  His current work involves development of a brain-music interface, using thought control of the subject to create music compositions without movement.  He is currently on medical staff at Swedish Hospital as a practicing neurologist, and an epilepsy and EEG specialist.