Music & the Psyche

Music & the Psyche was formed by Maxwell Steer in 1995 and started life in the form of large conferences with lecturers/speakers from a wide variety of interests in the way that music effects us.  Since then the conferences have taken on a more intimate nature and are currently held bi-annually, once at their base at University College [Chichester], and once in the form of a weekend retreat at Roscolyn on Holy Island [Anglesey].  In 2000 there are plans for a wider range of events.

Rod Paton   Sarah Caird  Clement Jewitt  Susan Nares  Maxwell Steer

More information about Music & the Psyche can be found at http://www.musicpsyche.org

 Their manifesto follows.

Music & the Psyche was founded in the belief that sound can be a vessel for experience which transcends the notion of music as entertainment. It seeks to re-affirm and make explicit those properties in music which can heal, transform and empower the individual and it seeks to explore the power of music to bind, strengthen and deepen communities.

Coming from a variety of backgrounds we respect diversity in musical activity whilst seeking that which is universal and unchanging in musical experience. We believe that music provides direct access to the archetypes, to the unconscious, to the dreamlife.

We aim to build a container within which we can promote self-discovery, shared understanding and mutual support.

We recognize and wish to rediscover the dynamic function of music which provides a bridge between inner and outer states and which can have a profound effect on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being.

Music and the Psyche is about giving back to people the music that belongs to them, recognizing that each of us has the capacity, the wit and the wisdom to make music.

Music and the Psyche is about…

Creating a vessel for experience which transcends entertainment
Healing, transformation and empowerment of individuals
Bonding, deepening and making strong communities
Exploring the archetypal and universal qualities of music
Building a container for shared understanding and mutual support
Physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being
Sharing, attunement and communication through sound
Recognizing that everybody can create music

Music and the Psyche aims…

To organize experiential gatherings for people from diverse backgrounds
To provide a forum for discussion
To provide a focus for the sharing and dissemination of information
To serve as a base for research and publication
To provide a website as a focus for its aims and principles
To explore new forms of music-making through improvisation and composition
To promote understanding of the healing, therapeutic and transformational qualities of music
To open up the potential of music for everyone and to widen participation

The core members can each be contacted by email:

Maxwell Steer   Sarah Caird   Susan Nares   Rod Paton   Clement Jewitt