The lights are bright. The audience is waiting. You step onto the podium, baton in hand, ready to use the sheet music in front of you to lead the orchestra. However, as the music progresses, some notes shimmer in the air; others vanish, leaving only empty bars on the page. For a moment, your fear of the unknown is paralyzing. Then you realize that this is your orchestra, your performance. Even if mistakes are made, you can keep playing. You can shape the music as you go, trusting that the melody will emerge in its own time.
This sense of initial uncertainty and eventual self-confidence was what Amulek Brenes (NEURO, BIO ’25) sought to capture in Melody of the Mind: Life in Double Speed, the first-place winner of BYU’s annual neuroscience art contest. The 2025 theme, Neural Symphony, challenged students to explore the musicality of the brain. The resulting works included whimsical illusions playing tricks on the eyes, depictions of neuron-constructed jazz musicians, and vibrant portrayals of neural connections as divine symphonies. Among these varied interpretations, Brenes’ piece stood out not only for its striking 3D effect but also for the deeply personal story woven into its composition.
Nearing graduation, Brenes felt compelled to explore the interplay between the control and uncertainty he felt as he prepared to leave school and enter the workforce. “My goal was to make something that feels uncomfortable,” Brenes explained. “You’re meant to view the work through 3D glasses, and that sort of tight, tunnel-vision feeling—that’s the sensation I wanted to capture. It mirrors the anxiety of stepping into the unknown.”
The sheet music included in the piece furthers this theme. Brenes chose Joe Hisaishi’s “Merry-Go-Round of Life” because its cyclical, whimsical tone underscores the evolving stages of life. “Life isn’t always going to be happy,” Brenes admits, “but when you approach it with curiosity or joy, there’s this sense of wonder to it.” Ultimately, Brenes’ work is a homage to the role of the human brain not as a passive observer, but an active reconstructor of what we see and feel. It is the viewer who completes the artwork, bringing their own neural ‘performance’ to the piece.
While Brenes’ piece invites viewers to conduct their own uncertain yet hopeful symphony, people’s choice award winner Isaac Stubbs’ (NEURO ’25) Bill’s Brain offers a different take on cerebral musicality. Featuring a jazz trio composed of neurons, the work was inspired by Bill Evans, a jazz pianist from the 1960s whom Stubbs has long admired. “Listening to Bill Evans makes you realize what a cerebral art form jazz really is,” Stubbs enthuses. “Just like the instruments in a jazz trio complement each other and communicate with each other, the different types of neurons in our brains collaborate in an improvised fashion.”
The idea for the art piece took shape while Stubbs was taking a cellular neuroscience class. “I was thinking a lot about how neurons look,” he recalls with a chuckle. “So, I tried to be semi-accurate.” In his piece, the musicians are neurons, each one playing its part in the ensemble. “The little pieces of colored paper coming out of the axon are the neurotransmitters leaving the axon and connecting to the dendrite,” Stubbs says.
Where Stubbs’ neurons improvise together like a jazz trio, honorable mention winner Kierra Oyler’s (NEURO ’26) Cognitive Sonata draws on the structure and unity of a classical orchestra. Depicting sinuous, multi-colored neurons intertwining together, her work was inspired by her experience as a young violinist. “When I joined the orchestra in 6th grade, I didn’t feel like I was contributing much,” Oyler says, “but as I practiced my part every day, I became an integral part of the group. One neuron alone may not seem impactful, but when combined with other neurons, a neural symphony is created that transforms individual potential into a powerful, harmonious force.” Through Cognitive Sonata, Oyler translates that lesson from the orchestra pit to the neural network.
Solei Paget (NEURO ’26), the 2nd place winner, rounds out the group’s inspired collection with Neuron Doctrine: a hand-crafted drawing that reflects the divine harmony of Heavenly Father’s plan. Fanned out like the branches in an ancestral tree, golden-colored neurons stretch out and connect with one another. “They represent notes in a symphony,” Paget explains. “Each neural connection represents the inherited knowledge and purpose that has been handed down for generations and creates the beautiful synchronicity and symphonic nature of life.” Paget’s piece captures not only the elegance of the brain’s design but also the spiritual truth she sees woven into it.
The 2025 Neuroscience Art Contest winners each offer a powerful reminder that life’s intricate connections are part of a design far greater than us. “Most of the early scientists were religious people who just wanted to understand God’s creation,” Brenes points out. “I don’t think science and religion have to be at odds. To me, science is a way of learning more about what God has made. In fact, I feel certain that God left a lot of things raw so that we could use our creative powers to be like Him—to create, to discover, and to build.” In the hands of these artists, the brain becomes more than a subject of study. It becomes a symphonic testament to both human ingenuity and divine design.