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From the afternoon of Friday 25 September to the evening of Sunday 27 September Radio 3 will be in residence at Wellcome Collection, the destination for the 'incurably curious' for 'Why Music?'. Working in partnership with Wellcome Collection, and with the help of leading musicians and authorities in the fields of neuroscience, music therapy and music psychology, Why Music? will explore what makes music a fundamental part of being human in every society across the globe.

Radio 3's pop-up studio will be at the heart of 'Why Music?', located in the ground floor Wellcome Collection caf茅, immediately visible to anyone visiting Wellcome Collection. But other Collection spaces will feature broadcasts over the weekend, too, including the beautiful, newly re-furbished Reading Room and Henry Wellcome Auditorium. The Wellcome Trust Gibbs Building space 'The Street', not normally open to the public, will also be used for live broadcasts on Friday and Saturday. The weekend will include newly commissioned music and the world of premiere of an 8 hour piece performed overnight.

Sean Rafferty kicks off the special 'Why Music?' weekend with a lively mix of music and discussion live from the Henry Wellcome Auditorium at Wellcome Collection. With guests including pianist James Rhodes playing live who will be talking about music and mental illness. There's more live performance from pianist Derek Paravicini and his quartet. Derek is an extraordinarily talented musician, despite being blind and having severe learning difficulties. Soprano Anna Devin sings live and also talks about music and dyslexia. Claire van Kampen is a musical director, director, composer and playwright - she will talk about her play "Farinelli and the King" which is currently running in London's West End and tells a story which has music therapy at its core. Other guests include conductor John Lubbock, who was awarded an OBE in January for his pioneering work into autism, and music psychologist Victoria Williamson who is resident at Wellcome for the weekend.

Plus, Gryff Rhys Jones's Wellcome Objects. In the first of a series of five special features, comedian and actor Gryff Rhys Jones explores some of the weird and wonderful objects on display in Wellcome Collection's Reading Room. With the help of Simon Chaplin, Wellcome Trust's Director of Culture & Society, Gryff finds out about Beethoven's life mask and how the uncomfortable process of its making contributed to the lasting image of Beethoven, the grumpy genius. The five features, broadcast over the weekend, will be available to download.

whymusic@bbc.co.uk.