Join us for the Dr. Saul Green Memorial Lecture on November 20, 2025 in Alumni Hall.
Special guest lecturer Dr. Wendy A. Stewart, MD, MMEd, PhD will present her lecture “The Soundtrack of Our Lives: Music, the Brain and Wellness.”
Abstract:
Music is woven into every stage of life, from the lullabies that calm infants to the songs that stir our deepest memories. In this presentation, Dr. Stewart will explain how music engages the brain—activating networks for emotion, memory, movement, and reward. Drawing on neuroscience and lived experience, she will take you on an experiential journey from early development through adulthood and aging, showing how music enhances learning, fosters social connection, and promotes healing and wellness. Participants will leave with a deeper appreciation for the ways in which music not only reflects the human experience but helps shape and sustain it.
Dr. Wendy Stewart is a paediatric neurologist and medical educator whose work centers on the health humanities, especially the transformative role of music and visual art in care, learning and wellbeing. As Assistant Dean Preclerkship, Director of Faculty Development and Director of Humanities at Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, she integrates arts-based methods into curricula, leading initiatives that use music and visual arts to strengthen clinical reasoning, teamwork and professional identity. Her scholarly work focuses on the use of the arts to promote health and well-being and advance humanities-informed education and equity. She is classically trained in accordion and can personally attest to the power of music in her own life. She is passionate about teaching and has been recognized with multiple teaching honours—including the DMNB Silver Shovel and Best in Class awards.
The Dr. Saul Green Memorial Lecture is presented by the University of King’s College in partnership with the Shaar Shalom Synagogue. The lecture is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a short question and answer period.
