About Beginner’s Ear. No musician would dream of starting a concert without first tuning their instrument. What if we helped listeners tune theirs? That question is at the heart of Beginner’s Ear, a series of transformational listening experiences designed to open the mind to both silence and sound to bring audiences closer to the music. The series is named after the Buddhist ideal of Beginner’s Mind, denoting a state of mental openness that is free from preconceptions and alive to the present moment. I created Beginner’s Ear as a way to dissolve the mental static that so often gets in the way of a clear connection to a musical performance. Each session begins with a brief guided meditation. Out of the resulting deep stillness, a live musical performance will emerge, unfold in the space, and recede back into the rich calm. A short moderated conversation with performers and participants will close the event. — Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim (Founder, Beginner’s Ear)
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, moderator Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim is a music critic and cultural entrepreneur dedicated to elevating the art of listening. Since 2012, she has contributed hundreds of reviews, features and essays about classical music to The New York Times. Her writings on music have also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Classical Review, Symphony Magazine, The Strad, The Daily, The New York Sun, The Times of Israel, and The Jerusalem Post. Her work as a critic has been honored with the 2015 Cremona Mondomusica Communication Award and a 2018 residency at the American Academy in Rome. In 2019 she founded Beginner’s Ear, a program of transformative listening experiences centered on meditation and live music. Since then, she has brought music meditations to diverse audiences and spaces, including a yoga loft, a sunken garden, a federal detention center, a dance studio, an independent high school, as well as more traditional music venues.
Caramoor
