Vera Brandes Member of the Board   CEO, Sanoson GesmbH Vienna, Austria

Vera Brandes introduced herself to music lovers at the age of 17 as Germany’s youngest concert promoter presenting her concert series "New Jazz In Cologne", with Keith Jarrett's "The Köln Concert" on January 24th, 1975 as the headlining event.

Since then, she managed artists, promoted tours, organized festivals, and produced & published music and founded several companies including the veraBra music group in Europe and INTUITION Records in the USA. In 1984 veraBra was awarded for being Germany’s most creative and innovative company in the field of music and media. Focusing on jazz, world, new contemporary and crossover music, the group consisted of nine different labels, with distribution in 27 countries and released over 350 albums, encompassing artists such as Andreas Vollweider, Astor Piazzolla, Mikis Theodorakis, Steps Ahead, Jon Hassell, Eddie Palmieri, Charlie Mariano, Barbara Thompson and many more.

Brandes was committed to the peace movement of the 80's. She was a member of the board of directors of "Künstler In Action" ("Artists In Action") and helped organize campaigns for all kinds of social and environmental issues. She initiated and produced numerous international festivals, including the original "ONE WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL" in 1990, which was broadcasted worldwide.

In 1998, she decided to focus her knowledge and expertise into the research of the effects and the experience of music on the human body & psyche and the application of music in medicine, and began to develop audio programs and cultural projects for hospitals. She is co-founder of saludArt e.V., of I.M.A.R.A.A., the International Music & Art Research Association Austria, and Dynamic Life Arts, and is director of the MusicMedicine Research Program at the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria.

Vera was facilitator and co-director of "in:fusion – New Qualities in the Health Industry“ in 2004 and of the international conference „MOZART & SCIENCE“ in 2006, as well as the author of numerous articles and publications including the book “Life in Rhythm – The healing power of sounds, vibrations and emotions”.

Why I Joined Open World Foundation

“I have always believed that when people come together, who not only have knowledge, but can also really listen; people who are open and willing to absorb the knowledge of others, people who can think clearly and make decisions with sincere concern and compassion for the well-being of all men and women, unencumbered by their own political, economic or religious motives, they can, as a group, contribute constructively to the common evolution of mankind, significantly influencing the course of world events. As a contributor to Open World, I thoroughly enjoy this experience of co-creation with colleagues who possess open hearts, minds and a free spirit, and who share in the vision that we indeed can make a difference!”