Conducting Parkinson's: Thomas Verrier

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:03]For many of us with Parkinson's, the first sign is actually not physical sign. Um, it's a problems with depression and anxiety. And really about 20 years ago, uh, I started to out of the blue start having some issues of anxiety and depression, [music] which now in hindsight I can tell that well that probably was the first sign.

[00:00:29]Parkinson's is a disease that has no test. It's a what you call a clinical diagnosis. The first time that I felt [music] that something was wrong was conducting about five years ago uh when I was having a hard time kind of connecting with the music as a conductor. I kind of felt rusty um like I had taken time off but I had been conducting every day and and uh eventually I went to several doctors and it took a couple of years to finally determine uh exactly what was happening for me. The more physical signs again uh started to occur before I was really aware of them. They started to occur in problems [music] maintaining tempos uh and being unaware of those tempo changes or not hitting the same tempos.

[00:01:12]Parkinson's normally affects one side or the other.

[00:01:16]Uh, and for me, [music] Parkinson's affects my right side, which is the side, well, I'm right-handed first of all, but also as a conductor, we hold the baton in our right hand.

[00:01:26]And, and the the role of the right hand is to maintain pulse. What I deal with is called brady. Brady is slow motion.

[00:01:35]You're not able to move quickly. And and I can show you very easily like with my left hand I can move my hand [music] quickly uh in and out but with my right hand if I really hold on I'll really really try that's about all I can do now normally uh you know with medication and with exercise I can get that working a little bit quicker but it also affects as a conductor it affects my ability to keep [music] a pulse in this sort of fashion.

[00:02:04]The best way I can explain it is if you imagine someone [music] someone taking you by the elbow like here and then writing their name from with your hand from your elbow like controlling your that that's almost exactly the feeling that I have.

[00:02:24]It was last year with our wind symphony here at Vanderbilt and we were we were performing a very uh emotional piece, the fourth symphony of David Mlanka um which is a really emotional piece, a beautiful piece with a very glorious last movement. Uh, and we were in rehearsal and the ensemble was playing really well and really connected and I noticed suddenly uh in the middle of rehearsal that that all of my um symptoms of brady um stiffness were gone and I hadn't exercised that day so I couldn't I couldn't say it was a dopamine dump from exercise. This was definitely a a a result of the moment that was happening, that moment in the rehearsal of of of just beautiful music and being part of the creation of that of that beautiful music. Uh and that really uh inspired me to to to pursue [music] what was happening at that moment. How can I recreate that moment?

[00:03:34]For people with Parkinson's disease, your brain releases less dopamine than normal. my relationship to music as as a performer, as a producer of music, even as a conductor, I am actively involved in the creation of the music and I have discovered a very powerful connection between that process of creativity. Uh that what I would call an aesthetic experience of being part of that process uh a very powerful connection between that and whether it be a release of dopamine or what have you, a a diminishing of my symptoms. the more the more convinced I am or the more determined um or confident I am with the sound that I'm hoping to produce together with the musicians, uh the more powerful the effect is of the aesthetic experience and the more powerful it is in diminishing my symptoms. For me, it's always been more than the music. I I certainly love the musical experience very much, but there's something about working with a group of people and that whole group of people unified in one goal. Uh that's not a competitive goal, but it's a goal of us working together and supporting each other. Uh that really drives me. Um and that's what I what I love most about my job is is, you know, bringing people together and sharing an experience.

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