Dr. Žak Ozmo is an internationally recognized pioneer in Neuroaesthetics and a distinguished music director, conductor, and scholar currently serving on the faculty of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Radiation Oncology. He is also a member of the UTHSC Neuroscience Institute.
Dr. Ozmo is the CEO of the Ozmo Institute for Neuroaesthetics. This institute serves as the focal point for a city-wide, inter-departmental, and inter-institutional effort in Memphis dedicated to advancing the application of arts in healing. Neuroaesthetics, an emerging discipline, explores the profound impact of music, visual arts, and architecture on the human brain, health, and behavior.
Dr. Ozmo is the founder-director of the British period-instrument ensemble L'Avventura London and has been praised in the press for ‘excellent musicianship’ and ‘an admirable understanding of Baroque performance conventions' (Gramophone). His performances with L’Avventura London have been featured on most major radio stations in Europe and North America, including live concert broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. They include major festivals across the United Kingdom, and international performances in some of the world’s best-known venues, including the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, Grande Auditório Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, and the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, among others.
A sought-after guest director internationally, his work extends to theatre, opera companies, and orchestras.
His expertise as a performer-scholar includes cross-cultural influences on Western music-making, including African-derived influences before 1800. He holds a Canada Council for the Arts grant for research in this area, including creating new concert programs and writing a documentary series for BBC Television.
Dr. Ozmo frequently presents his research at conferences in Europe and North America and speaks on various related topics on BBC Radio 3 and NPR. In 2019, he also gave his first TEDx Talk. His writings have been translated into French, German, Spanish, and Korean and appear in some of the leading scholarly journals and magazines.
You can read more at: www.zakozmo.com
Ozmo Institute for Neuroaesthetics
