Music Therapy Honored Nationally

Picture from Getty Images

Last night at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington DC, Music Therapy was praised for its importance right before Captain Luiz Avila, a military policeman severely injured by a IED explosion, got up to sing "God Bless America" with the aide of his music therapist, Rebecca Vaudeuil. Renée Fleming, an American opera singer and Music Therapy advocate joined him and led the crowd to sing along. The heartwarming performance can be viewed here with the Music Therapy highlight beginning at 43:48. Another story that focuses more on the history and description of what Music Therapy is can be found on the PBS page for the National Memorial Day Concert.

The national recognition of Music Therapy will continue this Saturday, June 3rd with Renée Fleming, Ben Folds and Dr. Frances Collins, the director for the National Institute of Health at the Kennedy Center. From 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm, “Breakthroughs with Music Therapy: Recovery, Resilience & Quality of Life,” will feature poignant stories and cutting-edge research focusing on three areas of Music Therapy practice as part of the Kennedy Center-NIH partnership, “Music and the Mind.” More information about this event can be found here.