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Dr. Anita Gadberry
Regional Liaison for North America
Contact: northamerica@wfmt.info[/caption]
The Canadian Association for Music Therapy held its annual conference May 9-11, 2013 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Keynote speakers were Kim Barethel, BMR, OTR “Connections: The Art of Therapy,” Heidi Ahonen, MA, PhD, MTA “Creating Wellness, Cultural Consciousness, Connection and the Power of Music to Transform,” and Jennifer Buchanan, BMT, MTA “The Future of Music Therapy: Shifting from Music Therapist to Community Leader.” The theme of the 2013 conference was Expanding Horizons.
Conference attendees say they attend the CAMT conference to “socialize with like minds, to share resources and information, to improve my skills” (J. Buchanan, personal communication, May 23, 2013) and “because it offers me the opportunity to connect with colleagues to explore the Canadian sensibility of music therapy/the state of the Art of Music Therapy in Canada/best practices in Canada” (S. Baines, personal communication, May 20, 2013). Jennifer Buchanan states, “You cannot go to a CAMT conference and not gain something. This year it was a wonderful blend of uplifted laughter and great learning” (personal communication, May 23, 2013). Susan Baines says, “I love that we have so much music at our conferences - usually there is music from the local First Nations People plus many other moments and opportunities to make music” (personal communication, May 31, 2013).
When asked if she gained anything personally or professionally from attending the conference, Susan Baines replied, “In presenting my preliminary doctoral work, I felt supported in my theoretical process and practical analysis. Preparing for the presentation helped me organize my thoughts into a 90-minute presentation. Presenting the work and interacting with participants’ ideas and questions grounded me deeper in my doctoral studies.
The presentation for Music Therapists for Peace was as inspirational as all of my previous presentations for MTP have been. Like-minded music therapists discussed the many levels of peace from the personal, in the workplace, and in the community, talking about, singing about, and teaching peace, living by example. Tom Paxton's, "The Willing Conscript" was shared: an example of how violence is taught followed by, "This Little Light of Mine" and "Peace is Flowing Like a River" providing a peace building context.
Playing live music for breaks brought me great pleasure as I observed people having more fun, smiling and moving gently to the music. As well, I find the sitting and listening at conferences exhausting and find playing music perks me up so I can enjoy further sessions (personal communication, May 20, 2013).”
Be sure to join other music therapists at the next CAMT conference June 23-24, 2014 to celebrate its 40th annual conference! In case you need more inspiration, I leave you with two quotes from CAMT members. Jennifer Buchanan states, “The Canadian Conference gives the sense of giving to something greater than your self - and getting some back too. It is so specific to what we do that you can gain much from your peers. Probably what you gain the most is in the area of support and validation. Many people work in isolation and this is a way to feel much more deeply connected to something bigger” (personal communication, May 23, 2013). Susan Baines relates, “Canadian music therapy conferences are often quite small which provides an intimate time to work together. We meet in large and small centers across Canada, enjoy the local flavor, and appreciate working together to explore and develop this profession that we love” (personal communication, May 20, 2013).
Anita Gadberry
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