A to Z to Focus on Music Therapy
2/27/08
ST. LOUIS — The next Symphony A to Z class, co-sponsored by the Saint Louis Symphony and Maryville University, will feature Cynthia Briggs, Psy.D., MT-BC, assistant professor and director of music therapy at Maryville, who will discuss “Current Trends in Music Therapy.” The class will be held at 7 p.m., Monday, March 10, in the Maryville Auditorium.
“Since most people don’t know much about the field of music therapy, they may have never heard of it as a profession,” Briggs said. “I will be doing some educating on what music therapy is, where music therapists work, what the education and credentialing process is for music therapists and then hopefully some examples of music therapy for different clinical settings.”
Briggs was invited to speak at the A to Z series by Marc Thayer, the Symphony’s vice president for education and community partnerships. “Dr. Mary Ellen Finch (Maryville’s associate vice president for academic affairs) and I are on the Symphony’s Music Educator’s Council,” explained Briggs, “Mr. Thayer thought it would be interesting to the public to know more about the practice of music therapy and the many ways music therapists address health care needs.”
Briggs says she looks forward to “the opportunity to share the field of music therapy with individuals who value music but probably do not know much about why music is therapeutic and how music can be utilized in different therapeutic settings.”
Each Symphony A to Z session is hosted by Peter Henderson, D.M., assistant professor of music at Maryville, who has performed with the Saint Louis Symphony on several occasions. Tuition for the entire series is $50 or $10 per class for the general public. Symphony A to Z is free for Maryville faculty, staff and students and offered at a reduced rate for alumni. For more information, go to http://www.slso.org/cp/a_to_z.htm.
Maryville University is a private institution offering approximately 50 undergraduate, seven master¹s and two doctoral degree programs to 3,422 students. Ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of America¹s Best Colleges, Maryville University prepares its students for successful and meaningful careers. Among Maryville¹s most recent graduates, 94 percent are employed or attending graduate school. Approximately 15,000 alumni work and live in the St. Louis region
– by Samantha Timmerman, student writer, Marketing and Public Relations Office