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“The idea of culture, of intelligence, of great works,” wrote the French poet and essayist Paul Valéry in 1919, “has for us a very ancient connection with the idea of Europe.”1 This rich heritage can be easily recognized in one of the widely consumed forms of art - music.
Being appointed as a delegate for Europe and at the same time being immersed in American culture in the past several months, I aspired to portray the kaleidoscopic beauty of the music therapy advocacy that was represented within the 4th European Music Therapy Day, on November 15, 2017.
The music therapy profession underwent a rapid development throughout Europe across the past four decades, which correlated with differences in levels of recognition within the national health systems, and the establishment of training courses. In line with community music therapy, ”where the larger cultural, institutional and social context is taken into consideration”2, the myriad of harmonious variations was gathered in over 30 countries within the theme “Hearing your voice”, as a vibrant expression of Europe's cultural diversity.
While interacting with countries’ representatives, it became apparent that this all-embracing day served as a mutual vehicle for advocating in our neighborhoods and the neighborhoods of our clients - aimed at improving the health of the ecological context within various layers of the socio-cultural communities. Ruud (2004) described this as a community oriented approach which “tells stories of music as building identities, as a means to empower and install agency”3, all of which was beautifully portrayed on November 15th.
Instead of providing an encyclopedic review, my intention was to reach out and bring the voices of some of those who experienced and shared the power of connecting through music in their society.
Thereupon, I would like to express my gratitude to the representatives of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom for their contribution!
Marija Pranjić
WFMT Student Delegate for Europe
Music Therapy Research Fellow
The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine
European Music Therapy Day in Israel
“The Israeli music therapy community celebrated this years' European Music therapy Day with a special event, including five short presentations in the light of "TED" lectures, self-made food, musicking and get-together. This year's theme - "Hearing your voice" – was addressed in its' multiple meaning, as in hearing the patients' voices and hearing our own voices as music therapists. It was a very vibrant and moving experience for all the participants, and we look forward for next year!”
Dr. Tali Gottfried
Lecturer Music Therapy at M.A.A.T, David-Yellin College, Jerusalem
Israeli delegate to the European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC)
European Music Therapy Day at The Children’s Trust, United Kingdom
“At The Children’s Trust (United Kingdom) we were really pleased to be involved in the European Music Therapy Day. It helped us to feel part of a wider community of therapists and raise awareness of our unique setting and our profession.
To celebrate EMT Day we held a group session to bring children and young people together to explore new musical instruments – we have recently acquired a hand pan and a sounding bowl. My colleague Jonathan Pool hosted a Twitter chat (#MTMusings) to open new conversations with fellow professionals about hot topics, such as outcome measures. My personal favourite part was our ‘flashmob’ in our cafeteria (shared with staff and young people) where there was singing, dancing and a great sense of community. All four Music Therapists in our team were involved in European Music Therapy Day and we managed to get lots of other professionals involved and helped to raise the profile of what we do (internally at The Children’s Trust and externally).
It’s always great to promote the work we do and if we can do so as a wider community of therapists it has a much greater impact. We will definitely be involved next time.”
Jonathan Fever
The Children's Trust, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 5RU
European Music Therapy Day in Rijeka, Croatia
“The Muzikopter Association, in cooperation with the “Dira” from Rijeka (Croatia), marked the European Music Therapy Day through several activities:
- The open day program
- An overview lecture on the music therapy methods and approaches
- An open workshop encompassing the elements of music therapy for children and caregivers
- Celebratory cake!
The aim of the program was to provide an overview of music therapy and its applications in working with children with developmental delays, in order to combine the theoretical principles of music therapy with the experiential workshop. Given the considerable turnout of parents and students, we hope to organize an even richer program in 2018!”
Irena Magaš & Petra Brusić
The Muzikopter Association, Rijeka
European Music Therapy Day in Slovenia
“This was the third year that we celebrated EMTD in Slovenia with students from a MT training course at the Institute for MT and Supervision in Kranj, Slovenia. We arranged the theme song in our language and the students created the video for it. Each of us recorded her own song in their home town in different parts of our country. On November 15th we had a flashmob at the centre of our capital city Ljubljana, where some of us sang different EMTD songs and played some other music that we like. Both the recording of the video and the flashmob where made with much enthusiasm and joy and we are looking forward to celebrate the EMTD next year.”
Špela Loti Knoll
Director of Institute Knoll for Music Therapy and Supervision, Slovenia
European Music Therapy Day in Bulgaria
“After celebrating the European Music Therapy Day in Bulgaria with an open day program, a round table and one-day symposium in its previous editions, this year we planned something similar - though at a larger scale - as we organized the 4th Bulgarian National Conference in Music Therapy. The key difference was both the number and caliber of international participants, hence the noticeable impact the event had on our small music therapy community : it reminded us of the significance of our work and even more of its potential! Our hard work paid off by acquiring new knowledge, perspectives and a huge boost in confidence, and we are looking forward to further international collaboration and applying and developing what we have already learned.”
Teodossi Tzinguilev
Bulgarian Association for Music Therapy Board Member
Bulgarian Delegate at the EMTC
European Music Therapy Day in Greece
“In Greece, this year, members of our association organized a number of advocacy events that highlighted the broad spectrum of music therapy methods and applications as well as providing information regarding the necessary training. We had events happening in 4 different cities that included presentations, workshops and a concert. I am particularly excited that new colleagues were actively involved. Living and working in a country that MT is not yet officially registered, we are always searching for advocacy opportunities and the European Music Therapy Day helps us reach a wider audience and circulate accurate information.”
Christina Kalliodi
Hellenic Association of Certified Professional Music Therapists (ESPEM)
1 Valery, P. (1919). The Crisis of the Mind. The Athenaeum. London.
2 De Backer, J. (2014). Music in Music Therapy : Psychodynamic Music Therapy in Europe: Clinical, Theoretical and Research Approaches. London: Jessica Kingsley.
3 Ruud, E. (2010). Music therapy: A perspective from the humanitie. Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers.
