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As artistic advisor-at-large for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, acclaimed opera singer Renée Fleming, 65, spearheads the Sound Health Network, a collaboration with the

National Institutes of Health that explores how music and the arts affect the brain. To highlight the music-brain connection, Fleming has edited _Music_ _and_ _Mind:_ _Harnessing_ _the_

_Arts_ _for_ _Health_ _and_ _Wellness,_ which features essays from leading scientists, artists, educators and health care providers. Here, she shares with AARP the music that resonates with

her, how she quiets her mind for sleep and the goals she wants to accomplish before she retires. _This interview has been edited for length and clarity._ Courtesy Viking/Penguin WHEN DID YOU

FIRST BECOME AWARE OF THE POWERFUL MUSIC-BRAIN CONNECTION? It was [when I first met] Deepak Chopra. He said, “You’re so fortunate, because every time you sing, you’re stimulating the vagus

nerve.” Of course I had to go and look up “What’s the vagus nerve?” [Vagus nerves carry signals between the brain, heart and digestive system.] But it made me realize that when I sing and

I’m singing well, I feel wonderful. I’m in the zone. I am in a flow state, and the communication with the audience is something that I really treasure, and it’s powerful. WHAT MUSIC HAVE YOU

NOTICED GIVES YOU THAT MIND-BODY CONNECTION? Well, I’ve always found folk music to be extremely powerful. I have often wondered, What are the elements in folk music? I’m talking about

Appalachian folk music and music that’s been around for a long time. Sometimes I think it’s the [unique musical] instruments that have that power, because of the vibration that they send out

to us. YOU’VE PERFORMED IN VENUES AROUND THE WORLD. IS THERE ONE SPECIAL PLACE WHERE YOU’VE LOVED SINGING? Oh gosh, there are so many. I love my travel life, and I’m still touring like

crazy. I enjoy that. There’s no favorite place. I would say over time it has something to do with the quality of the concert halls or the opera houses that I’ve performed in. Sometimes it’s

the history; sometimes it’s the acoustical quality. For many years, I said my favorite place is the Metropolitan Opera because I could be home with my children. To do what I do and have

children is always a challenge … but now they’re adults on opposite ends of the country — one’s in New York and one’s in L.A.