The harmonic series in music | Assaff Weisman | TEDxNYIT

This talk refers to a Bobby Mcferrin demonstration called “Watch me play the audience“(), and explores the universality of music by examining the naturally--occurring phenomenon of the harmonic series. It makes use of a demonstration of the principles of the harmonic series, presented by Leonard Bernstein as part of his Norton Lectures at Harvard University in 1973. Pianist Assaff Weisman’s solo and chamber music performances have taken him to some of the major venues in Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas; from Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, to the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, and Rudolfinum in Prague. He is frequently heard on radio stations across the United States, in music ranging from Bach to the present day. His 2002 release of an all-Schubert recording for Yamaha’s “NYC Rising Star” series quickly became one of its best sellers. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Weisman has collaborated with Isidore Cohen, Michael Tree, Samuel Rhodes, and Peter Wiley, among others, and has taken part in the Aspen Music Festival, Campos do Jordão (Brazil), Lima Chamber Music Festival (Peru), The Music Festival of the Hamptons, and Verbier (Switzerland). He is a founding member, and the Executive Director of the award-winning Israeli Chamber Project, with which he has toured and recorded since 2008. Mr. Weisman is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as a student of Herbert Stessin, and where he now is a member of the Evening Division piano faculty. Prior to his studies in New York, Mr. Weisman worked with Professor Victor Derevianko in Israel, where he was a winner of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships. Mr. Weisman is a Yamaha Artist. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at