The Creator of Finding Rhythm:
Jessica Phillips-Silver, Ph.D. is a music neuroscience scholar and international speaker, founder of Growing Brains, and the creator of the Finding Rhythm music project and educational curriculum.
Dr. Jessica’s work explores how musical rhythm shapes brain growth from infancy, supports healing, and provides the brain basis for human connection. Her research has been featured in top scientific journals including Science Magazine, and in media including The Discovery Channel, NPR, NBC4, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, USA Today, MSNBC, Men’s Health, and The Atlantic.
Dr. Jessica was formerly an Associate Researcher in Neuroscience at Georgetown University, where she used neuroimaging to investigate the neural network for feeling rhythm in music. She served as Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Music, where she developed Georgetown's first course on Music and the Brain. Prior to that Dr. Jessica was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound in Montreal, after completing her Ph.D. in Auditory and Music Neuroscience at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind in Ontario, and a Bachelor of Humanities & Arts degree in Cognitive Science & Vocal Music from Carnegie Mellon University.
The show Finding Rhythm, supported by multiple grants from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and other community partners, is a culmination of Dr. Jessica’s research and arts advocacy, and is a tribute to the power of the rhythms of DC's go-go music to grow children's brains, build connection, and find the source of their power.
As Featured In:
The Arranger, Producer & Music Director of Finding Rhythm:
Dante' Pope is a multi-genre drummer-vocalist and a native of Chicago, and member of the Grammy award-winning band Old Crow Medicine Show. He blends his gospel roots with a soulful swing that has been showcased around the world. Dante' is a Grammy Board Member of the D.C. Chapter. His passion for arts in education connected him with The Musicianship, DC Public Schools, The Mayor's Youth Employment Program, and Levine School of Music as a percussion instructor.
Dante' released his debut soul project, 'After Five Music,' as a Strathmore Artist in Residence in 2019. He toured with Kenny Wesley and the Soulful Nerd Band, served as Music Director for Grammy-nominated soul artist Raheem Devaughn and the CrossRhodes, toured the country with Grammy Award-winning artist Dom Flemons' Old Crow Medicine Show, and has collaborated with a host of artists in genres from jazz to afrobeat. Dante' collaborated on the 2019 Grammy-nominated album 'Black Cowboys', a project with Dom Flemons and Smithsonian Folkways.
As Music Director, arranger, percussionist, and lead vocalist in the role of Father Rhythm, Dante' shares not only his vast musical skills, but a deep well of inspiration, cultural compassion, and thoughtful partnership in the musical Finding Rhythm.
BOOK THE POWERHOUSE PACKAGE
BOOK THE POWERHOUSE PACKAGE
For high-performance organizations that are serious about diving deep into the power of rhythm to optimize brain growth and transform organizational dynamics, we offer our Powerhouse Package led by renowned music neuroscientist and speaker Dr. Jessica, and Grammy-nominated musician and producer Dante' Pope.
The Music Project
Sample Talk
You’re In Great Company
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“Jessica is a pioneer who operates in authentic relationship with her fellow researchers, community members, and system actors. She is truly interested and committed to their professional, personal, and organizational well-being and has helped build bridges of collaboration that are rooted in a fundamental belief in shared humanity and love.”
Allison Brown, Esq. - Late Executive Director of Communities for Just Schools Fund, freedom fighter for Black & Brown children
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"Working with Dr. Jessica has transformed my arts education non-profit. She combines a rigorous scientific background with the creativity and skill of an artist—an exquisitely unique combination."
Ingrid Zimmer - Executive Director, Dumbarton Arts & Education—Inspired Child
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"As an arts educator invested in providing my students with authentic cultural experiences, I really loved how your residency used Go-Go music as a way to ground children through an artistic connection to time, place, and local history. Exploring the neuroscience of music with these students also allowed them to better understand how art connects to the human brain on a deeper level, and how engaging in the artistic process - such as through music making - contributes to both creative and intellectual growth. Beyond the content, involving students in decision-making such as which instruments they played, how the music was arranged, and how to perform for the larger community gave them an invaluable sense of personal agency that can sometimes get lost in the rigidity of educational curricula."
Mindy - Elementary music teacher in Southeast DC
Our Partners
With these valued partners in the arts, education, and health care, we are supporting Optimal Brain Growth + Healing through Rhythm in communities across Washington DC and beyond.
