SurroundSounds

As a child, music was and remains a vital part of each day for Nancy Zilker. When asked, there was no hesitation, no illusions, she wanted to be a music teacher. To that end, in and out of school, lessons and performances on various instruments began. The University at Buffalo was the location of an Undergraduate degree in Music Education. Upon graduation, Ms. Zilker began teaching in private scho...

It's World Music Therapy Day!  In honor of today, Jenna and Hannah discuss education, certification, and accreditation in the field of music therapy! Learn More: https://www.musictherapy.org/ https://www.cbmt.org/ https://www.aplacetobeva.org/

Dr. Suzanne B. Hanser is Founding Chair Emerita & Professor of Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music and President of the International Association for Music & Medicine. She is Past President of the World Federation of Music Therapy and National Association for Music Therapy. Her books include: The New Music Therapist's Handbook, Integrative Health through Music Therapy: Accompanying t...

Kathleen Howland, MT-BC, PhD has worked with a variety of clinical populations using music to enhance speech, language, cognition and movement in habilitation and rehabilitation settings.  She has also developed protocols to reduce stress and anxiety for general wellness, surgical preparation, oncology treatments and child birthing.  Howland's doctoral studies in music and cognition have informed...

Suzanne Oliver is the Founder and Executive Director of Neurologic Music Therapy Services of Arizona/NMTSA, a nonprofit organization that has provided clinical music therapy services to the Phoenix community for over 40 years. She also founded a school for nonspeaking students with autism, approved through the Arizona Department of Education, in 2007. Suzanne is a Board Certified Music Therapist w...

Jayne M. Standley, Ph. D., MT-BC is a Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University and Director of the National Institute for Infant and Child Medical Music Therapy, a network affiliation of universities and medical centers to promote research and training in NICU-MT. In 2014, she received the first Research Award given by the World Congress of Music Therapy for her pioneer...

Toby Williams is the director of the music therapy program at The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, which provides music therapy to nearly two thousand children, teens and adults in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan through outreach and onsite programs. In 2005, Toby started a music therapy program at Reach for the Stars Learning Center and continues her clinical work and intern training working with c...

Joe Thompson is a Neurologic Music Therapy-Fellow currently living in Seven Hills, NSW. After earning his Masters in Creative Music Therapy at Western Sydney and working at a Penrith-based music therapy organization for several years, he decided to travel for international work opportunities to gain further skills. He now specializes in the use of NMT for cognitive-motor connectivity in Autistic p...

Megan Brunner is a board-certified music therapist, working with children with disabilities, inner city female teens and adults. Megan has supervised undergraduate students in their older adult and adult clinical placements as part of her graduate assistantship. She takes pride in seeing her students grow into well-rounded student music therapists in preparation for future internships and job oppo...

Katurah Christenbury is a board-certified music therapist and Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. Senior lecturer of music therapy at Appalachian State University, she maintains a clinical practice providing Bonny Method of GIM sessions and supervising advanced trainees in GIM. Additionally, she is completing advanced training in the Austin Vocal Psychotherapy Method. She holds the Ma...

Vanessa Moran MT-BC, NMT-F (she/they) graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in music therapy after completing her internship at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital with MedRhythms. Vanessa recently completed her Neurologic Music Therapy® fellowship in August 2023. Vanessa has always been interested in Music Cognition, and pursued her certification in Neurologic Music Therapy® because...

Calvin is a board-certified music therapist from Singapore, working with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and multiple disabilities. He is on a journey to advocate for how music can play a role in improving healthcare, quality of life, well-being, and society. Calvin's passion and interests lie at the intersection of music and the arts, Augmentative & Alternative Communication, an...

Alejandra Arevalo, MT-BC

Daniel Tague has experience as a teacher, clinician, blogger and researcher in the field of music therapy.  Tague has quickly emerged as a rising authority within the music therapy field, working within a variety of settings including hospitals, school districts and rehabilitation units. He developed a pilot improvisational drumming curriculum for music therapy and music education students, and re...

Jess Malfa, MT-BC has been working as a music therapist and clinical supervisor for the past 4 years. She started her career working with older adults at The Bristal Senior Living in Long Island, New York. She currently works at Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack, New Jersey. She works with teens and adults with medically complex developmental conditions.   

Kevin is the Director of Music Therapy Education, and medical music therapist at A Place To Be – a nonprofit music therapy organization providing accessible community-oriented music therapy to folks from marginalized groups, or who have mental and physical health needs in Northern Virginia. At Inova, Kevin works in the inpatient and outpatient oncology unit, and the inpatient behavioral units. He...

Leanna Moore (she/her) is an NMT fellow and the Clinical Training Director at Neurologic Music Therapy Services of Arizona. Leanna holds a BM and MA in music therapy from Appalachian State University and Colorado State University, and has been practicing as an MT-BC, NMT for 7 years. Her clinical experiences mainly are centered in private practice, in 1:1 and group settings with a diverse client p...

Anneka Bell, MT-BC, NMT is a board-certified music therapist at Neurosound Music Therapy, a private practice located in Fairfax, Virginia. She is a 1-year professional who obtained her bachelor’s degree in music therapy at Elizabethtown College and completed her internship at A Place to Be. 

Hannah is a music therapist who enjoys working with a variety of populations. They studied music therapy at SUNY Fredonia (B.S. 2023) and completed their internship at Dayton Children's Hospital in Ohio, providing services to Hematology and Oncology, Pediatric Intensive Care, and Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Hannah passed their board-certification exam in 2023, and began working in school distri...

Gregory Rupp has worked as a music therapist and a supervisor for the past 5 years. After becoming board certified, he started his professional career working with older adults in western New York at Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. After, he worked with children and young adults at Expressive Journeys LLC in the capital region of New York. Gregory currently works for The Children's H...

Jasmine Edwards (she/her) is a doctoral fellow within the Steinhardt Music Education program with a focus in music therapy at New York University. Jasmine holds a BM and MA in music therapy from Florida State University and NYU, respectively. Her clinical experiences include private practice, outpatient, school-based, and medical pediatric settings, and she is trained in NICU-MT, First Sounds: RBL...

Hannah Foxman is a Board-Certified Music Therapist with 6 years of experience working in pediatric music therapy at Boston Children’s Hospital. Hannah has worked with a variety of diverse patient populations in the medical setting such as; oncology hematology, bone marrow transplant, neurology, general medicine, surgical, and psychiatric care. Most recently, Hannah has primarily provided music the...

Adenike Webb, PhD, MT-BC is a board-certified music therapist with 21 years of experience. Her clinical work has been primarily in behavioral/ mental health settings. She received her undergraduate training in music therapy at Radford University and completed her Masters and PhD in music therapy at Temple University. Her personal and clinical experiences as an Afro-Caribbean woman and immigrant in...

Gabriela S. Asch-Ortiz, MS, LCAT, MT-BC (she, her, ella), is a Latina Board-Certified Music Therapist and New York State Licensed Creative Arts Therapist in New York City. Gabriela is currently pursuing her Ph. D. in Music Therapy at Temple University. Her clinical background and personal journey have influenced her cultural-relational perspective on music therapy practice and pedagogy. Rooted in...