Sigma Alpha Iota

SAI PhilanthropieS, inc Help Support Music Therapy By Kelly Lorenz H ello sisters! Last winter, I was reading the listing of project and scholarship directors for SAI Philanthropies, Inc. and noticed that the music therapy directorship was vacant. Being a previous recipient of the Music Therapy Scholarship, I thought it might be an exciting opportunity to volunteer my time and give back to SAI Philanthropies, Inc. My name is Kelly Lorenz, and I am a board certified music therapist with over five years of experience serving individuals with developmental disabilities in northwest Indiana. My passion is for working with school age children, as well as in grief and bereavement, and I am a member of the Lake County (IN) Alumnae Chapter. I am currently serving as the music therapy director for SAI Philanthropies, Inc. SAI Philanthropies, Inc. Chairman Daryle Gardner-Bonneau, Philanthropies Area Coordinator Claire Rodgers, and I held a phone conference to discuss how we could develop a national music therapy project for SAI Philanthropies, Inc. Daryle joked that things seem to conveniently fall into place when they need to for SAI, and things are certainly doing that for the music therapy project. Since it is music therapy's sixtieth year as an organized profession and the American Music Therapy Association's (AMTA) tenth anniversary, it is a wonderful time to put some energy into supporting a field that continues to grow, evolve, and reach many people. In addition, the theme of the 2012 SAI convention is "The Healing Power of Music," which will be a great way to educate, celebrate, and demonstrate what SAI music therapists are doing and where the field of music therapy is headed. Even before music therapy was recognized as a degree program, SAI National President Gertrude Evans (19311942) worked with Delta Omicron, Mu Phi Epsilon, and Phi Beta on a United 8 War Project, which furnished music equipment for army and navy hospitals during World War II. During this time, the SAI International Music Fund (IMF) was established, and music therapy was one focus. The focus centered on rehabilitation work in veterans hospitals in the United States and became a major outreach project for SAI. Following Evans's resignation to enter the army and assist with patient rehabilitation, Esther Goetz Gilliland served as a music therapy counselor for the Sigma Alpha Iota Foundation, the Philanthropies precursor, and published several articles in Pan Pipes during her years of service from 1944 – 1962. Those articles addressed the history of the healing power of music, suggestions for creating a therapeutic music environment, professional competencies of a music therapist, and self evaluation for choosing music therapy as a career. Present day practicing music therapists may find it interesting that Gilliland lists $150 to $300 as a salary range for that time! In June of 1950, the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) was established, and both Gilliland and then-National President Kathleen Davison served as members of the NAMT Executive Committee. SAI also became the first sustaining member of the NAMT. At the 1953 convention in Chicago, Gene Chloupec and Jessie McPhee presented a music therapy program intended to be performed at children's hospitals. It included some unusual musical instruments that had been developed by Chloupec, and Gilliland was directed by the SAI National Executive Board to develop a step-by-step music therapy program with the instrument collection that could be provided to the members. Various other projects were conducted with guidance from the music therapy counselor. In 1956, the first music therapy scholarship, in the amount of $500, was presented to Marjorie Ellington, a Pi Chapter member at Drake University, and PAN PIPES SPRING 2011 sai-national.org Music therapy coverage in the May 1968 issue of PAN PIPES included the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter's Music Therapy Project and the National Association for Music Therapy Convention in Atlanta, GA.

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