Michael Feinstein Headlines the IMNF 2010 Music Has Power TM Awards Benefit 9/14

The healing power of music and the helping power of musicians will come together on September 14th when acclaimed four-time Grammy®Award winning musician Michael Feinstein headlines the 10th Annual Music Has PowerTM Awards benefit at Feinstein's at Loews Regency - The Nightclub of New York. Widely recognized as one of the most beloved interpreters of American popular songs, Michael Feinstein has dedicated his career to reviving and promoting the works of legendary singers and songwriters, including Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Frank Sinatra.

The Music Has Power Awards are presented annually by the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF) to honor those individuals in the arts, sciences and business communities whose work contributes to the advancement of vital, often groundbreaking music therapy research, development and programs. This year, the IMNF will honor Shelley and Donald Rubin as well as Petr Janata.

"We are pleased to honor Shelley and Donald Rubin along with Petr Janata for their commitment to the incredible power of music to improve the quality of life for people who suffer with dementia and other neurological disorders," states IMNF Executive Director Dr. Concetta Tomaino. "The Music Has Power Awards fundraising benefit allows us the opportunity to thank and recognize the people who believe in and support our mission to develop effective therapies which awaken, stimulate and heal through the extraordinary power of music."

Shelley and Donald Rubin have a strong belief in the power of music to heal. As a result, Music and Memory, which began as a project of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, is now an independent philanthropic organization that has brought personalized music to people with Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders, enriching their lives.

A collaboration between Music and Memory and the IMNF resulted in Well-Tuned: Music Players for Health, a program that gives people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia the opportunity to access therapeutic music remotely. Through the Well-Tuned: Music Players for Health program, IMNF music therapists work with family members and caregivers to create a customized list of music, specifically tailored for the individual with dementia. The music is then loaded onto an iPod and listened to in order to stabilize mood, reduce tension and improve overall quality of life.

Petr Janata, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California Davis campus, is researching why music is a force so compelling that it can bind people together, stir memories and lift depression. Among his current projects is a study on the efficacy of a program involving patients who hear custom-tailored, individually selected music over the course of the day to help reduce negative behaviors that occur in residential care facilities.

A member of the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, the IMNF's groundbreaking and internationally recognized programs use music therapy to assist in the "awakening and healing" of individuals with a wide-range of neurological conditions including strokes, trauma, dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's diseases.

The 2010 Music Has Power Awards event will begin at 6p.m. The event is sponsored by The Bank of New York Mellon Wealth Management with additional support from the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation and Feinstein's at Loews Regency. Funds raised will support music therapy programs, along with clinical and scientific research. Previous recipients include Dr. Oliver Sacks, Mickey Hart, Remo Belli, moby, and Henry Z. Steinway.

For tickets or sponsorship information, please contact the IMNF at (718) 519-5840, fax (718) 519-4240 or e-mail imnf@bethabe.org

About the IMNF:
The IMNF is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and a member of Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, a national leader in providing residential, home and community-based long term care for chronically ill and disabled adults throughout the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1995, the IMNF is driven by 35 years of clinical observations on the actual effects of music on different types of physical and neurological trauma. Directed by renowned music therapist Dr. Concetta M. Tomaino, with medical guidance from distinguished neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, its distinctive setting allows researchers to not only apply their theories, but to follow patient rehabilitation in the long term.

The Institute actively collaborates with researchers and practitioners at other leading organizations to advance world progress in understanding and applying the power of music to promote healing and wellness. Some of the Institute's most promising research has been in the areas of music and language, memory, and recovery from nerve injury - leading to groundbreaking discoveries as to how music therapy can heal.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi

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