Ravinia 2026 Issue 1

Kygo at Ravinia July 6, 2025 The Lawn at Ravinia during Maren Morris August 23, 2025 HowToday’s Performance Might Boost Your Mood Without You Even Knowing It BY KATE HOGAN BERGER Dr. Shira Gabriel YOU’VE PROBABLY FELT IT BEFORE: that burst of joy that comes with a particularly poignant moment in a concert. You’re not alone, and you’re not experiencing it alone, either. That lingering high you experience throughout a live perfor- mance is called ‘collective effervescence,’ a concept coined by sociologist Émile Durkheim in the 1900s that psychologists still study today. “It’s what happens when we’re with other people, and a moment transcends the ordinary, and we feel something really special,” says Dr. Shira Gabriel, PhD, professor in the Depart- ment of Psychology at the University at Buffalo, “and live music is one of the drivers of that.” According to Dr. Gabriel, seeing and hearing live music with others is “one of the most effective and potent” ways to attain this euphoria. “It’s a combination of feeling a connection to the other people who are there, and a feeling that something sacred is happening,” she explains. “If we’re with other people and, for exam- ple, music is playing, it gives us a joint focus, fills our attention, and unites us with people who may be complete strangers. But we feel that connection because we’re in this moment together, experiencing it togeth- er, and all focused in on the same thing.” You don’t even have to be trying to achieve effervescence, Dr. Gabriel adds: if you’re zeroed in on what’s happening on stage, “that’s how you unlock the willingness to feel it,” she says. “Most people aren’t even aware that it’s happening to them.” That means, in part, you should stop scrolling and start lis- tening. “I believe that being in the moment and letting yourself go is going to increase the collective effervescence,” she says. “I know we all want that perfect picture and want to record something cool that’s happening, but how often do we actually watch those recordings? My advice to people is to try to do less of that, because it does take you away from the moment.” However, the memories themselves, whether cap- tured on your phone or not, can bring you joy for weeks and even months following an effervescent experience, according to Dr. Gabriel’s studies. “We’ve found evidence that we have this sort of ‘mental toolbox’ where we keep our memories of these events, and what we’ve found is that people are able to make them- selves feel better just for being nostalgic for them, for reliving them in their minds,” she says. “So you remember that amazing concert, and you think about it, and it actually brings to mind the same sort of emotions and the same type of effervescence that you had when you were there. It serves for you as a reminder that you’re connected to other people, and that life is sometimes special and sacred. And we all need that feeling.” RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JULY 11 – JULY 19 , 2026 16 COURTESYSHIRAGABRIEL(SELF) TES S I A A IEL(SELF)