Richard Dawkins talks to Paul Blezard

World-famous scientist and author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion Professor Richard Dawkins discusses his life and musical loves with author and broadcaster Paul Blezard. Members of the outstanding Orchestra of St John’s, conducted by John Lubbock, will perform Dawkins’s favourite musical works.

This unique event will see Dawkins talk about his personal story and the early private influences that shaped the public figure of today, laid out in his new book, An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist. It is a story of public school and eccentric schoolmasters, of an early love for poetry, song and reading, and the unleashing of an intellectual curiosity in the zoology department of the University of Oxford.

Dawkins was catapulted to fame with the publication of The Selfish Gene, a radical new vision of Darwinism. He followed up with a series of bestselling books, including The God Delusion, a hard-hitting rebuttal of religion of all types that caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. In 2013, he was voted the world’s top thinker in Prospect magazine’s poll of 10,000 readers from more than 100 countries.

Lubbock is the founder and conductor of the Orchestra of St John’s. The orchestra’s aim is to bring together outstanding musicians who share an ethos of bringing music to people of all ages and from all walks of life. It has performed with world-famous soloists such as Dame Felicity Lott, Sir James Galway, Yuri Bashmet, Tasmin Little and Stephen Isserlis. Alongside its public performances, the orchestra gives around 40 concerts a year to autistic children and others with learning difficulties through the charity, Music for Autism, founded by Lubbock following the birth of his own autistic son.

This event lasts one hour 40 minutes including a 20-minute break.

Supported by Sir Martin Smith and Dr Elise Becket Smith.