Music Therapy Conversations

Jessica Leza is a board-certified music therapist, author, and multimedia artist. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from the University of North Texas and a Master of Arts in Music Therapy from Texas Woman's University. Leza's music therapy scholarship and advocacy centers around neurodiversity, disability justice, culture, and LGBTQ+ liberation and includes publications...

Luke talks to Den Vecchio, a play therapist living and working in Bristol, UK. They discuss the principles of play therapy, why play therapy has become more available in mainstream schools in recent years, and overlaps with music therapy practice. Also - why every play therapist should have snakes, spiders and crocodiles in their collection! Den is a thoughtful practitioner and was a very entertai...

Evelyn Mason is an experienced music therapist and Vice-Chancellor's PhD Student at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge. Chroma Therapies and the Independent Neurorehabilitation Providers Alliance (INPA) are collaborating with ARU on this study which focuses on music therapy to address the emotional challenges of family caregivers of pe...

Elaine is a BAMT registered clinical supervisor, and consultant lead visitor for the HCPC.   She studied piano and composition at GSMD, and trained as a music therapist with Dr Paul Nordoff and Dr Clive Robbins in London. After running the music therapy service at the CDC, Charing Cross Hospital for several years, and completing an MA research thesis in music therapy at the University of York, Ela...

  Prof. Dr. Gitta Strehlow is Professor of Music Therapy at the University of Music and Drama Hamburg in Germany and a Music therapist at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the AGAPLESION Bethesda Hospital Hamburg-Bergedorf, Germany. Her research areas include: psychodynamic music therapy, trauma, psychiatry and mentalization. She undertook special education teacher training with music...

Georgina Aasgaard Cellist and Music and Health Practitioner   Georgina Aasgaard is a Liverpool based Cellist and Music and Health practitioner who has a passion for bringing Music from the concert platform to challenging and more intimate environments. She has 20 years of experience delivering music interventions in a broad range of health and social settings such as hospitals, mental health units...

Katie Bycroft is a musician, music therapist, supervisor and advocate for access to musical experiences for all. She trained at the Guildhall in 1998, having initially studied Oriental Studies (Japanese) at Cambridge University. Music was important from very early days, and she immersed herself in flute playing from the age of 8, taught by her flautist aunt. Music has always been a way for her to...

Beth Pickard is a Senior Lecturer, Researcher and PhD Supervisor at the University of South Wales. Her music therapy teaching and practice is heavily informed by her research in Critical Disability Studies. Beth's research explores how disability is socially constructed, interpreted and represented across disciplines and pedagogy. Beth is a passionate ally, activist and advocate of social justice...

Luke spoke to music therapist Alphonso Archer about his career in music, music education, music therapy, and football coaching. This has included big personal challenges, inspiring moments and the development of innovative and creative approaches.  Alphonso says: I spent over 25 years immersed in IT, Software, and Artificial Intelligence, building a career rooted in technological expertise. Howeve...

In this episode, Luke talks to Hilary Davies, with a focus on music therapy and neurodiversity. Hilary Davies is a freelance music therapist currently specialising in working with autistic adults, including recently-diagnosed autistic adults and autistic adults with co-occurring conditions such as complex PTSD. She is also working towards a PhD on the topic of neurodiversity paradigm-informed musi...

Luke spoke to the musician Robert Mitchell about his life as a creative artist and the importance of music and other arts to society and, more broadly, for humankind. Robert Mitchell is one of the most significant voices in British jazz. Multi-faceted creator, pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, writer, poet and so much more. He is a relentless seeker and thinker, encompassing many art for...

Luke spoke to Preet Kalsi about her musical upbringing, and her training and subsequent work as a music therapist. The conversation also explored the relationship between psychodynamic and indigenous perspectives in her work. Gurpreet Kaur Kalsi  is from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and of Punjabi and Kadazan (Indigenous to Sabah) heritage. She is a music therapist and GIM therapist. She works with cl...

This episode is Luke's conversation with Giorgos Tsiris, with a focus on spirituality and music therapy. Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Giorgos moved to London in 2007 for his music therapy training. For the past 14 years, he has worked as a music therapist in diverse palliative care contexts for adults with incurable illnesses, their families and their local communities. He has developed coll...

Episode 72 is Luke's interview with Dr Dwight Turner. They spoke in December 2022, in person, about psychotherapy and music therapy, intersectionality, music, exotification, Our Price Records, and a dream involving John Lennon and David Bowie's 'Life on Mars'. Dr Dwight Turner is Course Leader on the Humanistic Counselling and Psychotherapy Course at the University of Brighton, a PhD Supervisor at...

In episode 71, Davina Vencatasamy talks to Denise Wong. Originally from Hong Kong, Denise Wong MA BSc, is a self-employed music therapist (HCPC-Registered) based in Bristol, UK. She works with the Bath Aphasia Choir (Stroke Association), Soundwell and NEHK, a community-led group for and by HongKongers living in the UK. Denise appeared on the BAMT Racial Awareness Panel and took part in presentatio...

Episode 70 is the fourth and final dispatch from the EMTC conference at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, June 2022 (see also episodes 63, 65 and 68). Luke had the opportunity to speak to a genuine music therapy pioneer in the person of Inge Nygaard Pedersen.  Inge Nygaard Pedersen is an Associate Professor, Emerita, PhD, Aalborg University, Denmark. She is the founder of the Aalborg Music The...

Davina Vencatasamy spoke to Revd Jide Macaulay about LGBTQ+, racial and intersectional issues in psychotherapy, music therapy, and society. Reverend Jide Macaulay (he/him/momma) is the Founder and CEO of House of Rainbow  CIC. Openly gay British Nigerian born in London, he has been a Christian minister since 1998. He is an Anglican Priest and inspirational speaker, author, poet, pastor and preache...

"We're doing music therapy because of people's humanity, not because of what people lack" Luke spoke to Hakeem Leonard at the EMTC conference, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, in June 2022. Hakeem Leonard is an Associate Professor of Music Therapy and the Assistant Provost for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia (United States). In his music thera...

Davina Vencatasamy speaks to Penny Rogers, with a focus on safeguarding issues in music therapy. Penny Rogers studied cello with Bernard Gregor-Smith (Lindsay Strong Quartet) in Manchester before going on to complete a postgraduate diploma in Music Therapy at the Guildhall. As a therapist, she found the majority of individuals referred went on to disclose histories of child abuse and so her passio...

Victoria Clarke is an Associate Professor in Qualitative and Critical Psychology at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, UK, where she teaches about qualitative research methods and supervises student research on various postgraduate programmes. Her research interests lie in the intersecting areas of gender and sexuality, and difference and social justice. With Virginia Braun, she...

The interviews in this episode were recorded at the conference of the European Music Therapy Confederation at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh in June 2022. Tilly Mütter is a student on the MSc Music Therapy Course at QMU. She completed her degree in music at Canterbury, where she first became aware of music therapy. After graduating, Tilly became the Music Lead at The Sunflower Federation Sch...

Jazz pianist, composer and educator, Simon Purcell came to prominence during the UK jazz boom of the 1980s. After working in East London schools, as a passionate music educator and thinker, Simon has been active in the conservatoire sector since 1985, first as a senior lecturer at GSMD between 1987-2005, Head of Jazz at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance and Music between 2005-2017 and returning...

Karan Casey   Does Singing Songs Make a Difference? This episode is a recording of Karan Casey's keynote presentation at the close of the conference of the European Music Therapy Confederation in Edinburgh, 8-12 June 2022. Karan talked about songs and social justice, arts practice research, and about her own life and experiences as a performer and campaigner on social issues. She performed a numbe...

Davina Vencatasamy talks to Lesley Schatzberger. Lesley is the founder of the charity Jessie's fund. Jessie's Fund was established as a registered charity in 1995 and helps children with serious illness, complex needs, and communication difficulties through the therapeutic use of music. Music can provide a powerful and profound way in which children can express themselves and connect with the worl...

Seb is a detective constable with Surrey Police, working in their public protection unit investigating serious crime against the most vulnerable in our society. His Policing career started in the Met Police where, after 2 years as a volunteer Police Officer or 'Special', he caught the Policing bug and joined 'the job' full time in 2011. He chose Hounslow as the place to get experience and spent tw...