DESCRIPTION:
Moira Smiley & VOCO performers: Debra Dobkin (percussion/vocals), Jody Redhage (cello/vocals), Moira Smiley (banjo,vocals), Inga Swearingen (vocals), Kristen Toedtman (vocals). Audio mix provided by Bob Rice.

"Music For A Three-Layer Brain"
1. REPTILE BRAIN:Self-Interest, Movement, Territorialism,Sex, Lust, Autonomic Functions...Breath, Temperature, Instinctual, Compulsion
"Steamplant Foundation Step" (by Moira Smiley)
"I Mor Fe" (traditional Bulgaria, arr. Moira Smiley)
"Bring Me Little Water, Silvy" (by Leadbelly, arr. Moira Smiley)

2. MAMMALIAN or LIMBIC BRAIN:Longing, Relationship, Loyalty, Attachment, Emotions, Parenting, Tenderness
"Makedonska" (by Moira Smiley)
"Wondrous Love" (traditional U.S., arr. moira smiley & VOCO)

3. NEO-CORTEX:Math, Music, Language, Politics, Abstraction, Racism, Thinking, Planning, Perception
"Silverlake" (by Moira Smiley)

Moira Smiley is a Singer / Composer who travels the world as a soloist and musical director, and creates new work for vocal ensembles, dance, theater and film. Her voice is heard on feature films, BBC & PBS television programs, frequently on NPR, and on more than 60 commercially released albums. Recent performances include TED, Stravinsky's Les Noces, the London Proms Festival and features on KPCC's Off Ramp and ABC Australia's Books & Arts programs. Moira's recordings feature spare, vocally driven collections of warped traditional songs, original polyphony and the playful energy of body percussion. She tours regularly with her group VOCO and has sung with leading vocal artists around the world -- including Paul Hillier's Theater of Voices, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, KITKA and New World Symphony. While studying piano performance and Early Music at Indiana University, Moira was represented by IMG Artists Agency and toured nationally with her vocal group, VIDA. VIDA and (currently) VOCO have been featured at Lincoln Center, UCLA Live, Royal Festival Hall and music festivals across the U.S., Canada and Australia. Moira is in high demand as a vocal clinician and receives commissions to write for vocal ensembles around the world.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

On January 18, 2013, Caltech hosted TEDxCaltech: The Brain, a forward-looking celebration of humankind's quest to understand the brain, by exploring the past, present and future of neuroscience. Visit TEDxCaltech.com for more details.