Biography
Dr. Daniel Levitin is James McGill Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University, and Founding Dean of Minerva University in San Francisco. His research addresses fundamental questions in auditory memory, musical structure, and the neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of musical experience. He has published 75 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Science, Nature, PNAS, Neuron, and Cognition.
He earned his B.A. from Stanford University, and his Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Oregon. He completed post-doctoral training at the Stanford University Medical School and at UC Berkeley.
He writes about health, science and medicine for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times , and appears regularly on NPR . He is the author of five consecutive bestselling books: This Is Your Brain On Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, Successful Aging, and A Field Guide to Lies. His newest book, I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music As Medicine, hit the best seller lists in its first week of release, debuting at #4 in Canada and #9 in the US. This makes it his sixth consecutive international best-seller.
As a musician (saxophone, guitar, vocals, and bass), he has performed with Mel Tormé, Bobby McFerrin, Rosanne Cash, Sting, Renée Fleming, Victor Wooten, Neil Young, and David Byrne. He has produced and consulted on albums by Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, and has been awarded 17 gold and platinum records.