Professor Rachel Rotert helms this year’s Music Therapy Spring Showcase.
RADFORD – On Tuesday, April 23, Radford University’s music therapy program held their annual Music Therapy Spring Showcase. The showcase is a special event for both students and clients and it can represent a meaningful accomplishment for those involved.
The showcase is part of the program’s commitment to provide students with useful, hands-on practicum experiences to prepare them for their careers. They partner with community organizations and families to offer therapeutic services to improve function in speech, motor, cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional areas.
Practicum students may work in schools, hospitals, and elder care facilities as part of that education. They offer music therapy services under faculty supervision, and clients benefit from the program, often significantly.
“We acknowledge that it is a huge act of trust to accept therapeutic services from students who are still in training,” said Professor Rachel Rotert, who organized this year’s showcase.
“We do not take their trust or their dedication of time for granted.”
Because their clients have placed trust in their student therapists and the program, Rotert said it is important to celebrate therapeutic progress made throughout the semester. Therefore, the Music Therapy Student Showcase brings together music therapy practicum clients and student facilitators to acknowledge the strides both have made.
And the strides can be more profound than one might think.
In general, music therapy can be a powerful tool for improving quality of life and enhancing recovery. Both the music and the personal interaction can open avenues for cognitive, emotional and physical improvement for people facing a wide variety of challenges.
“Music is a uniquely powerful catalyst for healing because it can effectively support many areas of functioning at once,” Rotert explained.
“The structured and rhythmic components of music can support measurable shifts in physiological rhythms like heart and breathing rates, motor rehabilitation, and speech rehabilitation.”
The benefits of collaborative music making are also significant. It can help support effective interpersonal interactions for people with behavioral and communication challenges.
Additionally, music can provide a pathway for emotional expression, insight, and problem solving.
“For example,” Rotert said, “a lyric discussion of a relatable song could help a person feel less alone in their experience and identify strategies for positive change.”
Graduate student Grace Pfleger specializes in using music therapy across generations to create connections between people who might be separated by many years. This is her third year presenting at the Music Therapy Showcase.
Pfleger says the event gives the students a valuable opportunity to reflect on their growth during the academic year and get experience in a real-world scenario.
“Presentations are an integral part of the profession,” Pfleger said, “and the showcase offers a formal opportunity to practice this skill.”
It also offers the clients the opportunity to see how much progress they have made.
“This year, the Music Through Generations group I led worked together to write their own song and record it for the presentation. They were very proud of their work.”
Marshall Colón is a senior music therapy major. Colón explained how the work they do can be very important to recognize at the showcase.
“One of my clients last semester had low self-esteem and low confidence,” Colón recounted. “We encouraged him to perform live music during the showcase with the hopes that the positive reaction would help.”
When the client decided to perform with Colón, a major step forward.
“I felt a lot of pride and accomplishment when we presented our song.”
Senior music therapy major Sapphire Halstead cites a similar experience.
“It cultivates a deeper connection with my own clients as we collaborate to present something we’ve been working on together to an audience.”
And working with other students in the process has been valuable as well.
“The showcase has played a pivotal role in enhancing my understanding of working with different clients by observing the progress and performances of others,” Halstead noted.
Ultimately, the showcase is the culmination of much work and interaction, and Professor Rotert says the strengths and personal qualities of the clients brings more to the students than they can imagine going into their education.
“We deeply respect our clients and acknowledge that we often learn more from them than they learn from us,” Rotert said.
Sean Kotz for Radford University
