The Sam Houston State University chapter of the Mu Tau Omega, a national organization for music therapy, will spread awareness about what music therapy is to the community Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23.
The MTO Music Therapy Awareness Weekend will get started at 3:30 p.m. on Friday with two lectures by board certified music therapists and a coffeehouse-style performance.
Music Therapy is designed to help those that cannot communicate with people so they do so through music.
SHSU graduate and alumni of the Music Therapy Program Grant Howarth will be one of the speakers who lecture over the course of the weekend. There is a need for alternative therapies, and Howarth is already prepared for the field.
“There is this big push for alternative therapies and music therapy is a big help in that area,” Howarth said.
Howarth works in hospice care and helps people cope with the loss of their loved ones.
“When you’re in a profession like hospice care, music therapy helps make life better for patients and their families,” Howarth said.
Music Therapy is an important, needed profession in that it helps those that would otherwise have no outlet to express themselves.
This weekend will bring to light the issues that Music therapy helps cope with. Music is a powerful tool and universal language that can help people bridge gaps between insights.
“Music Therapy can help anyone with any kind of issue,” Howarth said. “But it is a big help with children with autism communicate with their families. “
Hey Natalie, just to let you know, the dates are wrong. Feb. 22 is a Monday and the 23rd is a Tuesday. I think the university is having their event on Friday, 19th and Saturday 20th.
SHSU MUSIC THERAPY
AWARENESS WEEKEND
2016
Friday February 19th
3:00-4:00 Robert Krout Ph. D, MT-BC,
“Songwriting Approaches for Music Therapy”
7:30-10:00 MTO Coffeehouse *Student and
Faculty Credit*
Saturday February 20th
8:30-9:15 Coffee and Donuts (PAC Lobby)
9:15-10:15 Allison Etter, MT-BC, “Music Therapy in
a Forensic Setting”
10:30-11:30 Evelyn LaGuardia, MT-BC, NICU-MT,
“An Introduction to Music Therapy Techniques
in the NICU”
11:30-1:15 Lunch Break/12-1 Intern Interviewing
Session at Old Main Market
1:30-2:30 Carolyn Dachinger M.M, MT-BC, “MT-BC!
Now what?: Clinical and Educational Options for
Newly-Graduated Music Therapists”
2:45-3:45 Harley Rex, Ph. D, “How it all Began, The
Story of Music Therapy’s Beginning at SHSU”
HOSTED BY
MU TAU
OMEGA
ALL EVENTS
Are free and open to
the public, hosted in
the James and Nancy
Gaertner Performing
Arts Center Recital
Hall
QUESTIONS?
Contact Karen
Miller at 936-294-
1376 or
karenmiller@shsu
.edu
Mu Tau Omega is not a national organization, it only exists at SHSU, but other schools with music therapy programs have student music therapy organization. The American Music Therapy Organization is a national organization of music therapy and is not affiliated with MTO's awareness weekend.
The weekend starts on Friday at 3:00pm, and will have one presenter that day and four presenters on Saturday, all of which are board certified music therapists.
Music therapy is not just for helping people to communicate, but is an evidenced based medical profession that addresses non-musical goals, in areas such as cognition or motor functioning.
Grant Howarth is an alum of SHSU who is a board certified music therapist, and will not be presenting during this years' Awareness Weekend.
Great! Music is therefore an excellent therapy. A touch of music in one’s life makes a really big difference. https://ravvast.com/catalog/drums/ravvast