When Words Fail, Music Speaks, feat. Meklit & Kronos Quartet

What do karaoke bars, a Berkeley lab and Barack Obama have in common? They all recognize the potent curative of music for the human soul.

Join KQED arts and culture reporter Chloe Veltman and special guests to better understand and appreciate those moments in human experience when the spoken word doesn’t quite do it..and the best and sometimes only thing to do is…break into song. Featuring an evening of story and song, including live performance by singer Meklit Hadero and the Kronos Quartet, who will breakdown the cultural significance of “Amazing Grace” and the impact of President Obama’s singing of this hymn at a moment of national crisis; demonstration and discussion with Bay Area neuroscientists Dr. Nina Dronkers and Alexis Pracar about the role singing can play in treating aphasia and other speech disorders; and conversation about the bonds of community that can flourish through other acts of collective public singing with culture writer and karaoke fanatic Alyse Whitney.

Warm-up your vocal cords and sing along throughout the night!