# Elizabeth Margulis at Harvard Book Store ![Elizabeth Margulis in conversation with Psyche Loui](/sites/g/files/omnuum12086/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2026-05/elizabeth-margulis-harvard-book-store.png?h=a57e3fcb&itok=9sQCIPpz) #### calendar\_today Date and Time **July 1, 2026** 07:00PM - 08:00PM EDT #### pin\_drop Location **Harvard Book Store** 1256 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138 [ Learn More arrow\_circle\_right ](https://www.harvard.com/event/elizabeth-margulis) Harvard Book Store welcomes **Elizabeth Margulis**—Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Music at Princeton University, where she directs the Music Cognition Lab—for a discussion of her new book, *Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams.* She will be joined in conversation by **Psyche Loui**—Associate Professor of Creativity and Creative Practice in the Department of Music at Northeastern University, where she directs the MIND (Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics) Lab. Free event. Visit the [Harvard Book Store website](https://www.harvard.com/event/elizabeth-margulis) to learn more. ### **About** ***Transported*** **A song comes on—and suddenly, you’re somewhere else.** Reliving past heartbreak. Picturing a serene future. Imagining a fantastical scene. Across genres, music has an uncanny ability to carry us into distinct inner worlds. In *Transported*, acclaimed music cognition researcher Elizabeth Margulis explores the phenomenon of *musical daydreams*—the vivid, spontaneous, emotionally charged images, stories, and memories we lapse into while listening to music—and argues that these everyday reveries offer a powerful and underappreciated window into how we think, feel, and connect. Combining cutting-edge neuroscience, psychology, ethnography, and revelations from her own teaching and pathbreaking research, Margulis shows not only that musical imaginings are widespread and meaningful—but also that daydreams which seem deeply personal are often widely shared. Music can alleviate anxiety, ignite creativity, and foster connection in our increasingly fragmented era. At a time when attention is perpetually under siege, *Transported* makes a powerful case for music as one of the last spaces where the mind is still free to wander—and reminds us that these wanderings are more meaningful and more important to our individual and collective well-being than we’ve ever realized. ### **Praise for** ***Transported*** "Margulis writes in an easy, conversational style, never solemnly scholarly, and raises as many enticing questions as she answers. Moving deftly between the subjective experience of those listening to music and the brain activity of those same subjects, she considers how the mind makes metaphors and how various senses influence each other. The book is sure to make readers ponder their own encounters with music. A refreshingly original look at an ordinary phenomenon."—*Kirkus Reviews* "\[A\]n eminently readable book on the prominent psychological role of music … Readers will savor this meeting of carefully controlled scientific exploration with humanistic ideas and relish the opportunity to rethink what constitutes a daydream."—Ellen Gilbert, *Library Journal* "*Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams* is fascinating and timely. In today’s landscape of screens, algorithms, and anxiety, there couldn’t be a better moment to explore the power of music to free our minds, inspire our imaginations, and awaken lost memories. The science behind these effects, explained so coherently in the book, has huge implications for healthcare; and it is woven seamlessly into real-world accounts with feeling and humor."—Renée Fleming "*Transported* pushes forward how we understand the nexus between music and humans. And by ‘we,’ I mean academics, musicians, music listeners, and even those people scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss is about. Even better, Margulis’s writing is at the same time elegant and accessible."—Daniel Levitin, author of *I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine* ### **Bios** **Elizabeth Margulis** is Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Music at Princeton University, where she directs the Music Cognition Lab. She is the author of *On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind* (Oxford), which won the Wallace Berry Award from the Society for Music Theory and the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award, and *The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction* (Oxford), which has been translated into seven languages. Her co-edited volume *The Science-Music Borderlands* (MIT) won the Ruth A. Solie Award from the American Musicological Society. *Transported* is her first book for general audiences. **Psyche Loui** is Associate Professor of Creativity and Creative Practice in the Department of Music at Northeastern University, where she directs the MIND (Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics) Lab. She also serves as Associate Dean of Research in the College of Arts, Media and Design and as Associate Director of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health. Dr. Loui earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed her undergraduate studies at Duke University, where she had dual degrees in Psychology and Music. Her research explores the neuroscience of music perception and cognition, addressing questions such as what gives rise to musical chills, how brain connectivity shapes our experience of music, and how music can be harnessed to support individuals with neurological and psychiatric conditions.She is currently President of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and has been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, a Young Investigator Award from the Positive Neuroscience Institute, and an NSF CAREER Award. Her research has been featured in outlets including th*e Associated Press, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, BBC, CNN, The New Yorker, The Atlantic,* and *The Scientist.* Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://music.fas.harvard.edu/node/2331/event-feed.ics) Copy link link