Renée Fleming, host Dr. Erik Hiester, panelist Jaley A. Montgomery, MM, MT-BC, panelist Reina Lombardi, panelist
Join Renée Fleming for Music and Mind, an enlightening discussion exploring the profound connections between music, the arts and wellness. Drawing on her groundbreaking work as an advocate for arts in health — including her collaborations with the National Institutes of Health and the Kennedy Center — Fleming shares insights into how music impacts brain health, aging and the human experience. Joined by visual art and music therapists, this conversation offers a unique perspective on the transformative power of the arts.
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renée Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry and compelling stage presence as she continues to grace the world’s leading opera stages and concert halls, now extending her reach to include other musical forms and media. She has appeared with all the major orchestras of Europe and North America and collaborated with such renowned conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Antonio Pappano, André Previn, the late Sir Georg Solti and many others.
In addition to her extraordinary musical achievements, Fleming is a leading advocate for the powerful connections between music and wellness. She has spearheaded initiatives such as the Sound Health collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the Kennedy Center, launched the Music and Mind LIVE series and established the Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards to advance research on the intersection of the arts and health. Her anthology, Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, further amplifies her mission, exploring the transformative impact of the arts on health and human experience.
Erik Hiester
Erik Hiester
Dr. Erik Hiester is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and by the American Board of Family Medicine. He received a Bachelor and Master of Science in biomedical engineering at the University of Miami and a Doctor of Osteopathic medicine degree at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Dr. Hiester completed a family medicine residency in Binghamton, New York, and an interventional pain medicine fellowship at Emory Medical School, Atlanta. He also has a minor in classical piano performance from the University of Miami and was a co-producer of the 2023 Physician’s Community Talent Show, which brought together local health care providers who are musicians/artists to perform in a charity concert for the community. He is a member of the Naples Community Hospital Wellness Committee and of the Collier County Medical Society Wellness Committee, promoting wellness initiatives for health care providers. He is also chair of the Reaching Higher life skills program, using the arts to support adults in recovery from addiction, trauma and mental illness as they rebuild their lives. He is a currently concierge physician at NCH working with his wife, Karen Hiester, DO.
Jaley A. Montgomery
Jaley A. Montgomery
Jaley A. Montgomery, MM, MT-BC, began her music therapy clinical experience in private practice to serve children and adults with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities in Southwest Indiana. Following that time, she was a music therapist at an autism center in Southeast Missouri. While working at the autism center, she earned her master’s degree in music therapy through Colorado State University. Montgomery served as an internship supervisor at the autism center and, during this time, realized her passion to teach music therapy students. Following this passion, she became a clinical assistant professor of music therapy and clinical practicum coordinator at the University of Evansville in Southern Indiana. In 2021, Montgomery moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, to pursue a Ph.D. in music therapy at Colorado State University. Her ongoing research investigates utilizing supports in music therapy for neurodivergent individuals. Now a resident of Fort Myers, Florida, she is an assistant professor of music therapy at Florida Gulf Coast University and a part of the core faculty with FGCU’s Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging.
Reina Lombardi
Reina Lombardi
Reina Lombardi is a registered board-certified art therapist, art therapy-credentialed supervisor, licensed mental health counselor and the owner for Florida Art Therapy Services LLC, located in Fort Myers. She is a contributing author in multiple texts on the topic of art therapy, including co-authoring a chapter titled Arts-Based Approaches to Fostering Adolescent Affect Regulation in Routledge’s Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents, which drew from a museum-based art therapy group she and co-author Angel Duncan facilitated with Artis—Naples from 2015 to 2020. Lombardi is a frequent presenter at local and national conferences, speaking on the topics of mental health and art therapy. She and her team of therapists provide experiential focused individual and group psychotherapy services, clinician supervision, continuing education and mental health training opportunities for parents and human services providers. Lombardi is also the host of a podcast, The Creative Psychotherapist.
Program Book
Program Book
View this month's program book to get general information about Artis—Naples and to read articles about this month’s activities.
Enrich your experience of the arts by joining Friends of Artis—Naples and/or Leadership Circle. You’ll enjoy private previews of new exhibitions, invitations to exclusive social events, discounts and more.
Artis—Naples is Southwest Florida’s leading cultural resource, thanks to the generous support of loyal donors like you. Help us continue to provide art and educational opportunities for all ages.
Whether you’re enjoying our cultural campus during our free Community Days, or making new friends in a Lifelong Learning class, or attending an off-campus music performance, we hope to see you soon.
