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Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year!! I am excited to bring you inspiring updates from the Philippines.
This is the first blog about music therapy in the Philippines and I’m delighted to share with you the beginnings of music therapy in this country.
Ms. Danielle Elise V. Zamar BSN-RN, MM, MT-BC, a graduate of Silliman University and Shenandoah University, is a certified music therapist trained in the United States. Upon completing her training, she returned to the Philippines as a pioneer of music therapy in this country 2 years ago. Until today, she remains the only board-certified music therapist in the Philippines.
Over the past 2 years, Danielle has been working tirelessly to introduce and establish music therapy services at various sites and organisations while striving to set up a music therapy training program at her home university.
In June of 2018, a music therapy program was established by the College of Performing and Visual Arts at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines. This 117 year old university offers a 4-year bachelor’s degree in music, major in music therapy. The program was developed by Elizabeth Susan Vista-Suarez, BM, MM, Ph.D and was designed to be interdisciplinary in nature. The disciplines involved are those that already exist within the university, and they include the College of Medicine, Psychology, Nursing and Music. The rationale behind this is to cultivate a holistic approach in graduates.
Prospective applicants go through an audition and an interview. The audition requirements are similar to those of a music degree. This includes playing the piano (a piece of their choice; scales and arpeggios), sight reading a piano piece, rote singing and ear dictation given by the jury. Applicants are also required to accompany themselves on the guitar/piano while singing any song in English, Tagalog or Visayan. After the audition, they are interviewed by Danielle, currently the head faculty of the Music Therapy Department. For further information about the program, please visit https://su.edu.ph/academic-offering/bachelor-of-music-major-in-music-therapy/.
The program currently has 7 pioneering students who come from different Asian countries: Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines. Pre-internship sites will include local schools that have special education programs, hospitals and mental institutions. Internship sites have not yet been determined at this time since the program is still relatively new.
Going forward, Danielle is aspired to establish a solid foundation for the training program and to set up a professional association in the Philippines. Keep up the great work Danielle!
All updates from the Western Pacific Region are provided by local music therapists from their respective countries. If you have any updates and news on the development of music therapy in your country within this region, and would like to share them with us, I would love to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me at westernpacific@wfmt.info.
Vivian Chan, MMT, MTA, MT-BC
WFMT Regional Liaison, Western Pacific Region
Danielle and the pioneering students of the Bachelor of Music, Major in Music Therapy program at Silliman University.
