Listening to the Body, Healing the World
2 days – Spring 2026 – Los Angeles, United States

Organizing committee: Solenn Thircuir, Claire Goudrain, Nathalie Bonin, David Schafer

General presentation

Listening to the Body, Healing the World

The UNESCO Week of Sound – Los Angeles 2026 explores a simple yet profoundly contemporary idea: sound is a language of the living.

A language that cuts across the body, health, cognition, culture and the environments we inhabit. In a world saturated with signals but impoverished in listening, this edition aims to put the act of listening back at the heart of human, scientific and societal issues.

The program revolves around a continuum: from the individual body to the collective world.
The sonification of biometric data (heart rate, breathing, brain activity) opens the way to an embodied listening of the living, where the body becomes at once the source, medium and receiver of sound. These practices interact with research into music and health, which shows how sound influences brain development, emotional regulation, neuroplasticity and care pathways throughout life.

This exploration would be incomplete without a reflection on hearing health and accessibility: listening implies preserving hearing, but also designing inclusive environments capable of accommodating all forms of listening. This dimension is complemented by the sciences of multisensory perception, which remind us that listening is never isolated, but always linked to the body, vision, movement and context.

Finally, UNESCO’s Week of Sound broadens the focus to include soundscapes, sound ecology and the cultural and social dimensions of sound. The soundscape thus becomes a mirror of our societies, our lifestyles and our relationship with the living world. Deep listening is no longer just an artistic or meditative practice: it becomes an act of collective responsibility.

In this way, all the themes of UNESCO Los Angeles Sound Week revolve around the same thread: learning to listen better in order to care for, understand and live together better.
Sound is not an object. It is a relationship.

AXIS 1 – The living body : Biometry, respiration & sonification

Exploration of physiological signals (heartbeat, breathing, EEG) transformed into embodied sound experiences.
Speakers: Nathalie Bonin ; Dr. Mitch Abrams ; Armand Ledanois ; Mikey Siegel ; Nicco Reggente ; Mark Laisure.

AXIS 2: Music, care & health

Music and neuroplasticity across the lifespan.
Speakers: Frank Fitzpatrick; Assal Habibi (USC); Jenna Bollard-Marcovitz (UCLA Health).

AXIS 3: Hearing health & accessibility

Hearing preservation and cultural accessibility.
Speakers: Prof. Raymond Goldsworthy (USC) ; Chrysa Kovach ; Julianne Papadopoulos.

AXIS 4: Multisensory perception & listening sciences

Cultural, cognitive and neuroscientific foundations of listening.
Speakers: Prof. Ladan Shams (UCLA); Prof. Josh Kun (USC).

AXIS 5: Soundscape, society & culture

Sound ecology, deep listening and collective imaginaries.
Speakers: Michael Ned Holte; Mark Mangini; Brandon Young.
Moderated by David Schafer.

Peripheral exposure

Ivana Dama – Sound and space installation on the periphery of the main program.

Program formats

The Week of Sound – Los Angeles is based on a combination of experiential workshops, roundtables and keynotes, designed to foster knowledge transfer, sensitive experience and interdisciplinary dialogue. Workshops offer spaces for embodied exploration, enabling participants to directly experience the links between sound, body, perception and regulation. Roundtables provide a forum for collective perspective, where artists, researchers and practitioners confront their approaches, cross disciplines and question the ethical, cultural and societal challenges of listening. Finally, the keynotes offer a chance to take stock, combining cutting-edge research, feedback and forward-looking vision, to provide a common intellectual framework for the entire program.

Speakers

Nathalie Bonin
Composer and violinist, Nathalie Bonin develops biometric music devices integrating breathing, heartbeat and movement. Her work explores sound as a sensitive extension of the living body.

Dr. Mitch Abrams
A physician and researcher, Mitch Abrams specializes in cardiac coherence and compassionate approaches to health. He studies the link between physiology, emotions and sound regulation.

Armand Ledanois
Artist and engineer, Armand Ledanois transforms brain activity (EEG) into real-time soundscapes. His work links art, neuroscience and perception.

Mikey Siegel
Independent entrepreneur and researcher, Mikey Siegel develops biometric synchronization technologies designed to strengthen human connection and collective intelligence.

Nicco Reggente
A neuroscientist, Nicco Reggente is interested in states of consciousness, meditation and the interaction between biological data and subjective experience.

Frank Fitzpatrick
An international pioneer in the links between music and well-being, Frank Fitzpatrick has been working for several decades to integrate music into health and education policies.

Assal Habibi
Professor and neuroscientist, Assal Habibi studies the impact of music on brain development, learning and aging through longitudinal studies.

Jenna Bollard-Marcovitz
Clinical music therapy manager at UCLA Health, Jenna Bollard-Marcovitz develops music programs integrated into care pathways, from the prenatal period to the end of life.

Raymond L. Goldsworthy
Professor and researcher in hearing sciences, Raymond Goldsworthy is a specialist in psychoacoustics and cochlear implants, with a strong commitment to accessibility.

Chrysa Kovach
A specialist in hearing rehabilitation, Chrysa Kovach works to improve clinical practice and support for people with hearing loss.

Julianne Papadopoulos
A researcher in hearing health and psychoacoustics, Julianne Papadopoulos is interested in the mechanisms of sound perception and their clinical implications.

Ladan Shams
Professor at UCLA, Ladan Shams is a world authority on multisensory perception. Her work shows how the brain integrates sound with other sensory modalities.

Josh Kun
Researcher and thinker on sound cultures, Josh Kun explores the links between sound, identity, citizenship and public space through an interdisciplinary approach.

Michael Ned Holte
Curator and author, Michael Ned Holte works at the intersection of sound art, space and contemporary experimentation, in close dialogue with artists.

Mark Mangini
Oscar-winning sound designer Mark Mangini is renowned for his work on cinematic sound storytelling and the emotional impact of sound in audiovisual narratives.

Brandon Young
Immersive sound designer, Brandon Young creates sound worlds for media, video games and interactive experiences.

Ivana Dama
A multimedia artist, Ivana Dama creates installations exploring the relationship between sound, space, matter and perception, translating invisible phenomena into sensitive experiences.

David Schafer
Researcher and practitioner of sound studies, David Schafer moderates panels and round tables, facilitating dialogue between science, art and society.

Mark Laisure
Researcher-practitioner and educator, Mark Laisure explores the use of sound, attention and body awareness to regulate physiological and emotional states. His work lies at the interface between embodied listening, states of consciousness and contemporary healing practices.