Presented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Storytelling and Memory will be performed by the Tanglewood Music Center’s Fromm Quartet at the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Music and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer on Friday, August 2 at 7 p.m.  Free admission is available by registering at https://webforms.rpi.edu/storytelling-memory-tanglewood-music-center.

Storytelling and Memory will feature a performance of Cuarteto no. 2 composed by Tania León, a highly-regarded and award-winning composer, conductor, educator, and advisor to arts organizations. Cuarteto no. 2 features three parts: Soy (I am), De vez en cuando (Once in a while), and Son retazos (They are fragments). It was inspired by León’s mother’s experience with Alzheimer’s Disease.

“Cuarteto number two is the last cuarteto I wrote while my mother was actually alive,” said León. “It has a process that gets into a very mysterious terrain of sound sometimes… and it breaks into episodes of dancing because my mother was a wonderful dancer. That was the only way I could connect with her while she was going through the process of contracting dementia and seeing the dementia progress. The only way I could bring her back for moments was when I would put on some dance (music) and tell her, Mee-ma, vamos a bailar!”

Next, Chunyu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., RPI professor of biological sciences and chemistry and chemical biology, will give a special presentation on his research on Alzheimer’s Disease. Wang has about 20 years of experience applying nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study the structural biology of proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. 

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in nine people age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s. That’s 6.9 million Americans living with the disease, and millions more who are caring for them. What is already a startling number is projected to grow as our aging population does, and by 2050, 12.7 million Americans age 65 and older will have Alzheimer’s.

“At first, my research was motivated by my curiosity of how the brain and memory work,” said Wang. “However, over the years, I have known many people affected by Alzheimer’s disease, so I am more motivated by the urgent need for discovering more effective, safer, and affordable drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.”

Following Wang’s presentation will be a performance of One Red Rose composed by Steven Mackey, a GRAMMY-winning composer of works for chamber ensemble, orchestra, dance, and opera, commissioned by the greatest orchestras around the world, and winner of several awards. One Red Rose also features three parts: Five Short Studies, Fugue and Fantasy, and Anthem and Aria.

Both of the Tanglewood Music Center’s performances will be performed by the Fromm Quartet featuring James Gikas on violin, Tiffany Wee on violin, James Cunningham IV on viola, and Benjamin Lanners on cello.