Bistro Bookers
Next meeting: March 10, 2026
Book title: I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine
Author: Daniel J. Levitin
Discussed by: Kailea Lalka, MS (Education Program Manager, Alzheimer’s Association WNY Chapter)
Book summary from the publisher:
Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind.
In his latest work, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music) explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He brings together, for the first time, the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain.
Levitin is not your typical scientist—he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today’s most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history. The result is a work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and jubilant celebration. I Heard There Was a Secret Chord highlights the critical role music has played in human biology, illuminating the neuroscience of music and its profound benefits for those both young and old.
Event details
Date and time: Tuesday, March 10 @ 4:00 pm
Venue: Amherst Center for Senior Services (370 John James Audubon Parkway, Amherst, NY 14228)
Suggested donation of $2 per person is greatly appreciated. Your donation helps Bistro Bookers to continue to hold these reviews and donate back to our community literacy programs. Your donation also allows us to purchase the featured book if necessary and give the reviewer a gift for their time.
You MUST reserve your seat by 3:00 pm on Friday, March 6 for this event by calling 716-636-3051 and providing your name and phone number. If you call to reserve for more than one person, you must provide each person’s name and phone number.
Coming up
Tuesday, April 14: Cyrenius Chapin: Buffalo’s First Physician and War of 1812 Hero by Thomas C. Rosenthal, reviewed by the author
Tuesday, May 19: Double feature of The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, both reviewed by Carol Ann Sackett
Tuesday, June 9: Double feature of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson and Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King, both reviewed by Robert Poczik
See you at the next review!