Hey everybody, this is Paula Phelps, and you are listening to on a positive note.

Renowned soprano Renee Fleming has performed on some of the world's biggest stages,

performing in operas, concerts, theater, and film, and she was the first classical artist

ever to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

But now the five-time Grammy Award winner is using her voice to help improve our well-being.

For her new book, Music and Mind, Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness,

Renee has curated a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, musicians, creative arts therapists,

educators, and health care providers about the powerful impact of music and arts on health

and the human experience. She's here to talk about how this project came about and why she is so

committed to sharing this message. Renee, thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you, Paul.

It's great to be with you.

Oh, it's such an honor to have you on the show.

And, you know, most of us know you as an acclaimed and accomplished performer, but what our

listeners may not know is that you are also an incredible advocate for the healing power of

music.

So I was curious to know how you began discovering that.

You know, it was basically, I'm a performing artist, so I've known my whole career that it has a

powerful effect on people, the music. I've gotten so many letters and met so many people who have said,

you know, your music got me through cancer

or loss or any number of things. But I was surprised to find that researchers were studying

music in the brain. And I was following all of that kind of armchair newspaper reading

...