Internationally celebrated soprano Renée Fleming, author, leading advocate for arts in health and a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health, joins baritone Rod Gilfry and the Nashville Symphony for “The Brightness of Light,” a powerful concert work written for them by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. Inspired by the deeply personal letters between acclaimed painter Georgia O’Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, the piece traces a relationship shaped by love and art.
This multimedia concert features vivid projections of their artwork and correspondence, providing a visual backdrop for two extraordinary voices and the majesty of the Nashville Symphony, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. One night only, The Brightness of Light with Renée Fleming: Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Laura Turner Hall of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Tickets on sale now on the Symphony website: nashvillesymphony.org.
“Music and Mind: Healing, Social Connection, and the Power of Song,” on Monday, May 18, join world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming for an inspiring evening exploring the powerful connection between music, health, and human connection. “Music and Mind” brings together leading voices from medicine, research, and the arts to examine how music can foster wellness, strengthen community, and support healing across all stages of life. Through a series of brief presentations and panel discussion, featured guests, including clinicians, researchers, and artists, will share insights on music and social connection, songwriting as a tool for healing, and the role of live music experiences in enhancing well-being. The program will also include live musical performances that offer reflection and showcase the restorative power of song.
This program is presented in partnership with the Music Cognition Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The Panelists are Andy Wooldridge, MD, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a Palliative Care Physician and Program Director, Arts and Humanities in Healthcare, Department of Medicine; Kyshona, a Singer / Songwriter / Music Therapist; and Miriam Lense, PhD, Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Co-Director, Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab.
Kyshona is an artist ignited by untold stories, and the capacity of those stories to thread connection in every community. With the background of a licensed music therapist, the curiosity of a writer, the patience of a friend, the vision of a social entrepreneur, the resolve of an activist, and the voice of a singer, Kyshona is unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song. She lends her voice and music to those that feel they have been lost, silenced, forgotten or alone. Through her organization Your Song, she facilitates therapeutic songwriting sessions with groups and individuals in hopes of reconnecting those who are divided. Of her past releases, one fan reviewer wrote: “Amidst these hard, divisive times this set of songs is a salve for the grief many of us are feeling about resulting loss of family, friends, and community.” Free tickets for” Music and Mind” on the website: nashvillesymphony.org
The Nashville Symphony’s June 2026 schedule features Guest Conductor JoAnn Falletta conducting an evening of American music from composers Gould, Copland, Barber, and Gershwin; a one-night-only outdoor concert featuring the Nashville Symphony performing alongside Yacht Rock heavy hitters; a limited summer series of Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony; a spring recital celebrating 10 years of Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program; and a special symphonic yoga event on International Yoga Day.
