The fact that attending a live concert is not only enjoyable but also good for your well-being can certainly be called encouraging news. Not just for the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, but for musicians in general. Research from the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, the 'Music as Medicine' research group (Erasmus MC), and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra shows that the presence of musicians in a hall makes the audience's experience more intense. The 'Music as Medicine' research group (Erasmus MC) has been studying the medical benefits of listening to music before, during, and after surgeries for years, and it has been proven that this can reduce stress and pain. Regarding the effect of live music, there were, at most, hunches. Hunches that stimulated the imagination to such an extent that it was decided to investigate the phenomenon. The outcome seems to provide every reason to proclaim loudly that live music has a greater impact on our well-being than listening via livestreams, for example. Sociologist Julia Peters, the lead researcher, adds a friendly but firm caveat to that claim, which she feels is perhaps a bit too bold. “There is still a lot to investigate before we can be that definitive, but the findings are very interesting.”

What did the research entail exactly?
“The project consisted of two studies. In the first study, 130 students were randomly assigned to either a live concert or a simultaneous livestream of exactly the same classical and pop performances. In the larger follow-up study, 506 participants from diverse backgrounds listened live to both classical and pop music, which varied in accessibility and familiarity. After every piece of music, they filled out questionnaires. In addition, their heart rate and heart rate variability were measured using heart rate monitors.”

What exactly did you want to uncover?
“We wanted to know how the concert format, the music, and the characteristics of the listeners correlate with emotional and physical reactions. Using heart rate monitors, we also investigated what happened in the body during listening. In the first study, the average heart rate of the live audience was higher than that of the livestream group. In the larger live study, being more strongly moved was associated with a higher heart rate and lower heart rate variability. That is a physical pattern often associated with stress. But such physical activation does not automatically mean something is alarming or unhealthy; it can also express positive excitement and emotional intensity. A meaningful aesthetic experience doesn't just have to make you calm. You are allowed to be moved or even a little shaken up.”

Kama muta 

The research showed that subjects at the live concert experienced more so-called kama muta than people who followed the same concert via a large screen in a different concert hall. Kama muta is a concept from Sanskrit; it stands for deep emotion, for being touched. This intense emotion gives people a sense of connection and can be accompanied by goosebumps or an accelerated heart rate. Kama muta also has a physical component; people get a warm feeling inside, a lump in their throat, tears in their eyes.

What was the most surprising outcome?
“What was striking is that there is no difference in experience when it comes to musical styles. The live performances of George Michael’s Faith and Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy evoked the same positive reactions as Mozart’s Fortieth. Knowing a certain piece beforehand, the data shows, does contribute to the positive experience of it. Accessible and well-known pieces yielded more appreciation and kama muta on average than less accessible and unknown music. As a sociologist, I had expected that the genre wouldn't matter, but for many people, that is still surprising.”

Julia Peters joined forces for the experiment with musician and theater director Norman van Dartel, who was then interim project and production manager at the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Together, they gave substance to the exciting experiment, the results of which were published earlier this year in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.
As a cultural sociologist, Julia had already conducted many research projects. “My first research was about karaoke, and my dissertation was about subsidies for visual artists. At a certain point, I wanted to move more toward the overlap of art, culture, and well-being. This research was exactly what I was looking for.”

While Julia was on familiar ground, for Norman van Dartel, the world of research was completely new. “I remember that there was an immediate connection during the first meetings with Julia,” he says. “But I didn't understand much of the content yet. I sometimes found things needlessly complicated. Because it was my job to make the orchestra's exceptional projects successful, both artistically and production-wise, I was also assigned to this research.”
Julia: “I hadn't done an experiment on this scale before. I hadn't experienced working with medical professionals, nor working within a cultural institution. I expected a lot of dynamics, friction too, but above all, adventure.”

Militairy precision 

It was an adventure, an adventure in which Julia and Norman increasingly complemented each other; the orchestra's musicians were also included in the research. They were enthusiastic and followed the project with great interest. Norman grew into his role: “If you aren't in that field, you aren't aware of all the considerations that have to be made. How are you going to set up such research? It had to be measured, but are you really measuring what you want to measure, or are you just filling in the blanks, directing the outcome? Julia is very critical about that from her professional background. For me, that material was new, but it got under my skin, and eventually, I was able to contribute ideas.”

“At a certain point, Norman was contributing ideas so well that I thought for a moment: ‘Shoemaker, stick to your last,’” Julia says with a laugh, “but,” she adds, “I found it very nice that Norman didn't come from the research world but did think about how such research is put together. He asked very relevant questions, just as students do. The practical side of this experiment would have been impossible without him.”

Norman: “We had interesting discussions about how to get the experiment as close as possible to the real concert experience while maintaining the conditions required for scientific research. With so many people entering the building at the same time, coupling the heart rate monitors to the correct measurement app; there were so many elements to think about that, production-wise, it required almost military precision.” Julia adds: “It was a tightrope walk every time between obtaining data and maintaining the natural flow of a concert visit. At what moment do we let people go to the restroom, for example.” Concessions sometimes had to be made during the research.
Julia: “For a pop band, it's often about authenticity and atmosphere; they play their own songs, visitors often stand, drink a beer—we didn't measure that; that was a concession.”
Norman: “Well, the Rotterdam Philharmonic plays other people's work and is therefore actually a cover band—a very good one, of course.”

With the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication and the 'Music as Medicine' research group, the Rotterdam Philharmonic is now working on initiatives to maximize the healing effect of live concerts in practice. There is still a lot to happen in that area.

Dreams

Julia doesn't want to get ahead of herself, but she does say: “I'm all for dreaming a little about what the implications could be; after all, you have to be able to do something with the outcome of the research.” There is no doubt about how much the experiment resonates, including among the people in and around the orchestra.
Norman: “It’s funny how a few musicians asked about the results the very morning after the experiment. Like: ‘And? And?’” Julia laughs: “If only it were that simple.” For her, a period of hard labor began after the experiment: writing scientific articles about the findings.
The research has produced a wonderful outcome for the concert world so far, but it has also yielded something personal for Julia and Norman.

Norman van Dartel, an enthusiast and practitioner of very diverse musical styles, sees all the more importance in diverse programming as director of De Regentes in The Hague. “The research confirms for me that no single genre automatically moves everyone more than another. The reaction depends partly on what someone likes and is already familiar with. As a theater, you are therefore always looking for the encounter between a specific performance and the audience that can be moved by it. That, for me, is where the magic lies.”

Julia Peters, mother of an eighteen-month-old son, lover of many types of music, and "not averse to a bit of heavy metal," is even thinking about playing the accordion again. “I regret that I ever stopped. Furthermore, I sincerely miss the dynamics and the collaboration with Norman and the orchestra. It was a wonderful thing to do.”

Text: Marion Florusse      Image: Annabel Oosteweeghel

This article was previously published in Intrada, Sept–Nov 2026, no. 1.