Music for more than just the ears

    After semesters of practice and preparation, the music therapy program held a concert Tuesday comprised of their students’ original compositions. The theme, Dreams and Schemes, provided an outlet for the ideas conveyed through the music. The music was available on a CD sold after the show, and the proceeds will go toward sending the students to conferences and other development programs.
    Music therapy majors write at least one song each year. Only some of the songs are graded assignments, and several of the pieces performed at the concert were outside of their studies.                The pieces covered a wide variety of moods, from reminiscence to religious exploration.            
     However, some pieces were inspired by interactions with clients, such as residents of the Georgia War Veterans’ Home.           
     “I was doing my practicum at the Veterans’ Home, and one guy was always telling about his life,” said senior music therapy major Megan Day. “These are his words.”           
     Day wrote and composed a song filled with anecdotes from the man, entitled “I Used to be Young.”               
     The show gave the music therapy students a chance to show how they interact with the community. One of their partnerships is through the Dream Project, where GCSU students in the art and music therapy departments collaborate with inmates at Baldwin State Prison.           
     Some of the students got to tour the prison, and visit the inmates, who had written poetry as a form of therapy. They took the words and put them to music. The songs created from these words “Dreams” and “Chocolate Covered Lollipops” conveyed the dreams of the incarcerated.       
     “We were nervous,” said sophomore music therapy major Sarah Vick, who composed the music for “Chocolate Covered Lollipops.”   “We performed for them and they gave us feedback.”                 
     One piece was a comedic song, written as part of a play for the Music and the Exceptional Child class. The piece was about a magic talking bed, and its purpose was to teach children to change their sheets.  
      “I wrote this story in high school, and I took a class where I had to write a play,” said senior music therapy major Neal Clark.       
     The music was also used to channel feelings of grief. The song “Dancin’ with Angels” was written by Dr. Chesley Mercado, the director of the music therapy department. The song was a tribute to her late husband. It was composed in a country music style, and written from his point of view.                   
     Other performances included sign language performances, where students signed the lyrics to well-known songs such as “You’ve Got a Friend” and “What a Wonderful World” and improvisation was performed by Advanced Practicum students.
    GCSU is one of two schools in the state that offer a music therapy major. The music therapy program at GCSU trains students to use music to fulfill therapeutic needs. The therapy is used in places such as hospitals and prisons as an outlet for emotions.               
     “Students create songs … for a therapeutic concept. All the songs have a purpose,” said assistant professor Dr. Douglas Keith.                   
     The concert has been an annual event since 2002. It takes place in February in observance of Music Therapy Awareness Month.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 22 2008. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry