“Our Music Therapy Clinic is seeking donations of new or used instruments for immediate therapeutic and educational use,” said Chris Millett, UofL music therapy clinical coordinator. “We would love to give your previously loved instrument a new home and purpose.”

In this first-ever instrument donation drive, the program will accept instruments on three days during the first week of October:

• Friday, Oct. 1, noon to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 2, noon to 2 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 8, noon to 4 p.m.

The donation site is the music therapy van parked in front of the Instrument drop-off or pick-up also can be arranged outside of the scheduled times by calling 502.852.2122 or 502.509.2178 or by emailing uoflmtc@louisville.edu.

Millett said the drive is seeking virtually any type of instrument but “rock band” instruments and equipment such as guitars and amplifiers are especially useful.

“Stringed, woodwind and brass instruments of all types are welcomed, as are percussion instruments,” he said. ““While smaller instruments are usually used in music therapy, larger instruments, such as drum sets, and other music equipment also are encouraged.”

He also said that donors should not be concerned if the condition of the instrument is less than pristine.

“Don’t worry if your saxophone has a dent in its bell or if your tambourine is missing a few of its jingles,” Millett said. “The School of Music has trained faculty and staff who can restore virtually all instruments so they can be fully used in the Music Therapy Clinic.”

UofL’s music therapy program was established in 2000 and was the first of its kind in Kentucky. Approved by the , the program prepares students to practice in a variety of clinical settings and participate in research, program development, leadership and advocacy opportunities.

Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions by a credentialed music provider to accomplish individual goals within a therapeutic setting. Music therapy can be utilized in a variety of health care and educational areas to promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communications, promote physical rehabilitation and more.

Students and faculty are learning, teaching and performing in such far-flung locales as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Vienna, Austria, Denmark, Korea and Thailand.

It’s no wonder as “advancing the art of music globally through the work of faculty composers, performers and researchers” is�� in the school’s mission statement.����

“The faculty and students of the School of Music have been increasingly active from an international perspective for the past dozen years or more, with the current summer representing a kind of apex of these opportunities in terms of the nature of international programs in which we are involved and the numbers of music students and faculty members participating in some fashion,” said Christopher Doane, dean of the School of Music. “Our students and music faculty members expect to have these opportunities as a part of their UofL experience and we have been fortunate to have the international connections and network of friends, donors and music alumni to make these opportunities possible.”����

Kimcherie Lloyd, director of Orchestral Studies, traveled this May with 32 students – both instrumentalists and singers – to perform in Costa Rica’s National Theater for a concert celebrating the .

The trip, which included sightseeing, masterclasses and other performances, was commended in official letters signed by the president of Costa Rica.

It was the second such trip to Costa Rica for the School of Music. Students performed there five years ago as well. Both trips were a result of connections formed when Josue Ramirez came to UofL to study piano performance in 2010 as a Fulbright Scholar.

As amazing as that first experience was, this one was even better, Lloyd said. The

hospitality, comraderie and quality of music shared was incredible, she said.

“I cannot say enough about our Costa Rican friends who hosted us,” Lloyd said. “It was extraordinary … I think the students would say it was a life-changing experience. There were lots of tears when it was time to leave.”

Jessica Wise, who graduated this spring with her Masters in Music in Flute Performance, agreed.

“Playing the flute duet in the Bach Magnificat with my duet partner Katie McDonald in the National Theater was my favorite part of the trip. To play in such a beautiful hall filled with musicians and a full audience is an experience I will never forget,” she said. “My host family was also absolutely incredible and my favorite part of the trip too. They made me feel a part of their family and so welcome. It was very difficult to leave them. They invited me back to their homes in the near future, so I hope to travel back to Costa Rica and see them again soon.”��

The trip marked the beginning of a formal exchange program between UofL’s School of Music and Costa Rica’s��National University School of Music, which will ensure many more students will have similar experiences in years to come.

Other international trips for the School of Music this summer include:

Jazz in Ecuador

Twenty students and faculty from UofL’s jazz program joined Mike Tracy, Jazz Program director, for an exchange program at the Universidad de las Américas Escuela de Música in Ecuador. .

Music Therapy in Vienna

The music therapy study abroad program is traveling to Vienna, Austria and Denmark in June. The group will visit the University of Music and Performing Arts and participate in a music therapy career day with the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir. In Denmark, they will attend the European Congress of Music Therapy. Students will present a workshop with Petra Kern, UofL music therapy professor.

Cardinal Singers in Korea and Thailand

Kent Hatteberg will lead the award-winning Cardinal Singers on tour to perform in Korea and Thailand June 20-July 8.

Comstock Piano from Germany

Even the instruments are in on the globe-trotting action. Piano faculty members Anna Petrova, Krista Wallace-Boaz and Naomi Oliphant traveled to Hamburg, Germany, to pick out a new Steinway piano for Comstock Hall. The purchase was made possible by a bequest from donors Calvin and Helen Lang. to see Oliphant playing the piano before it makes its journey back to Louisville.��

“Oh you are so smart,” she cooed as they found the letter again on their own and scooped them into a hug.��

With the strum of a guitar, they pulled Bloch to her feet for a dance.

Residents of Sunrise Senior Living have been visiting the Early Learning Campus for a unique, 12-week intergenerational music therapy study.

Board-certified music therapists from UofL’s Music Therapy program lead the children and seniors��— many of whom have memory cognition disorders like Alzheimer’s and dementia — through storybook songs, instrument play and movements that are meant to boost learning, interactions and physical activity.��

“We’re trying to bring some self-worth and sense of usefulness back into these adults lives, as well as improve their physical functioning, while simultaneously helping children learn to read and improve literacy skills,” said Michael Detmer, professor, music therapist and the study’s lead researcher.��

Detmer and co-investigator, Dr. Petra Kern, composed much of the music used in the study. Upbeat, silly songs like “check out my moves, I’m dancing with my scarves,” get the children and seniors moving, smiling and learning all at the same time.

“Music ignites them. It energizes them. It gives some structure to the interaction that wouldn’t happen otherwise,” Detmer said.

Books are introduced, too, and the seniors help the children learn to recognize letters and sounds.

“They’re taking the role of a leader, which you don’t see much anymore in their facility because they’re always being cared for, so in that moment they turn into the caregiver,” Detmer said.

The program also allows children the opportunity to spend time with older adults, which is especially meaningful for those who may not have grandparents living nearby.

The study is a collaboration between faculty in the UofL School of Music, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary ����ֱ�� and Department of Health and Sports Sciences. It was sponsored, in part, by the UofL Get Healthy Now Wellness Program.��

It’s the first intergenerational music therapy study to measure variables such as interaction, physical function, literacy and self-esteem, said Detmer and Kern.

“I hope we can demonstrate this type of program facilitates a really positive and meaningful interaction between the young and the old, particularly older people with dementia who might not have an opportunity like this otherwise,” Detmer said.

Preliminary results will be presented in June at UofL’s Optimal Aging Conference and in July at the 15^th World Congress of Music Therapy in Tsukuba, Japan.

But seniors like Bloch already have their own conclusions about the effects of spending afternoons with children and music.

“Oh it makes you feel good,” she said. “I love the little kids, I’m anxious to see how they grow.”

Another participant wholeheartedly agreed.

“I enjoy it a whole lot,” she said. “I just love the children and how they smile, smile and smile.”

to see more photos from the program.

As he hummed, he carefully monitored 11-day-old William Receveur, who was born six weeks early and weighs just 3.2 pounds.��

He paused to give Amy Rodgers Smith, another music therapist from Morgantown, West Virginia, lessons on how to introduce massage with the music and gauge William’s response, especially for signs of distress.

But on this day, baby William was a happy listener.

“As we moved forward … you could just feel him melt into me a little bit more, his whole body relaxed and he made more consistent eye contact and we got a few smiles from him and these little rumbles they call purrs and that’s a sign of positive interaction and relaxation,” said Rodgers Smith.

And that’s what music therapists are hoping to achieve with preemies like William, a state of relaxation that can help them adapt to the outside world.

“Babies born prematurely have difficulty regulating what is happening to them in their environment,” said Darcy DeLoach, director of Music Therapy at UofL. “Music, as an intervention, provides a very structured way for the brain to process another layer of input while staying calm. So we’re teaching premature babies how to regulate what’s happening to them when they get a bath, when they’re being held, or when they’re seeing lights or hearing sounds. Music calms them and allows them to see pleasure around them. Then they’re able to tolerate whatever the next thing is in their schedule better.”�� ����

Research has shown that music therapy for premature babies can ultimately reduce reliance on medication, decrease the length of time in the hospital and promote brain development.

DeLoach said music therapy is increasingly recognized as a treatment option for premature babies and babies who were exposed to drugs in utero, a problem that has worsened in the region with the recent heroin epidemic.

Last week, DeLoach and Detmer provided special training for 12 music therapists from the U.S. and Canada who want to learn how to help preemies with music therapy. The training was offered through the National Institute for Infant & Child Medical Music Therapy in partnership with Florida State University. The institute, now in its 15th year, was held in Louisville for the first time at Norton Healthcare.

Rodgers Smith, an institute participant, said NICU music therapy currently isn’t an option in her home state of��West Virginia.

“I hope to start the education process there,” she said. “Hopefully I can take what I’ve learned back and demonstrate the value.”

Lee Receveur, mom of baby William, said learning ways to help calm her child and recognize his stress signs has been beneficial. And, it helps alleviate feelings of helplessness while waiting to go home.��

“It’s another opportunity to spend time with him and work with him,” she said.

Check out a video about the music therapy training:��