Sigma Alpha Iota

SAI PhilanthropieS, inc a music therapy graduate student at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. Music therapy scholarships began to be awarded triennially at this time. By the late 1950s, many music therapy projects by alumnae chapters are mentioned in Pan Pipes. Projects occurred in schools and hospitals across the United States and around the world, including Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Borneo, Australia, Finland, and Greece. During the 1960s, Margaret Sears served as the music therapy counselor. At the summer 1961 SAI National Executive Board meeting, ten national projects were approved, many relating to music therapy. There was an interest from the general membership for information about music therapy, and SAI purchased copies of a bibliography printed in the Journal of Music Therapy to share with members. The March 1968 issue of Pan Pipes featured an article about the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter's music therapy project at the Georgia Mental Health Institute, which consisted of regular music appreciation classes and an evening musicale. Other projects mentioned included teaching trainable children with handicaps, providing music material to a music therapy department at a hospital, and holding weekly "parties" for young patients in a hospital. Throughout the 1970s, interest continued to grow in music therapy. Music therapy scholarships continued to be awarded by SAI Philanthropies, Inc., and projects continued to flourish. By 1974, the designation within SAI Philanthropies, Inc. of music therapy counselor was changed to music therapy director, and Adelaide Klonowski served in this position. In 1974, Los Angeles Alumnae Chapter member Charlotte Webber requested and received $3,500 for music therapy. In 1979, at a province president (now province officer) seminar, Orange County Alumnae Chapter member Blanche Hoffman gave a presentation on the International Music Fund (IMF) and noted that funds were provided to rebuild war-damaged music libraries and helped injured veterans through music therapy programs. Music therapy appeared infrequently as a topic in SAI publications after the 1970s. The 1984 music therapy scholarship award winner was mentioned, and the minutes of the summer 1989 NEB meeting noted a bequest from Hawaii Alumnae Chapter member Lucille Malisch and CLICK FOR MORE SAI would like to ... launch a national music therapy project ... to support the music therapy profession by connecting chapters with a practicing music therapist and member of the fraternity to consult and complete a project to advance, support, or further the music therapist's work. husband Kermit in the amount of $58,127.50 for vocal scholarships for music therapy. In the 1990s, Philanthropies Board Vice Chairman Ruth Sickafus explored the idea of funding for a new music therapy project with the Lincoln Center, but no projects emerged from this effort. An article regarding SAI's continued support of NAMT, written by Philanthropies Music Therapy Project Director Ruth SahucMannich was published in the Spring 1996 issue of Pan Pipes. In 1996, SAI added "Music Therapy and Medicine: Partnerships in Care" to its audiovisual collection. This documentary was cofunded by SAI and the National Association of Music Merchants. The video itself was a project of the NAMT and the Massachusetts Music Therapy Alliance. Michelle Gaddis published an article in the Summer 2001 issue of Pan Pipes highlighting her work in the public school setting. The 100th Anniversary Convention issue of Pan Pipes contained a photograph of three more recent music therapy directors together: Lacy Lansford, Rosalind B. Cratsley, and Michelle Gaddis. At the 2006 Convention in Orlando, the Welcome Luncheon speaker was Michelle Hairston, president of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). Michelle was initiated by Beta Psi in 1973 and was honored with Member Laureate status in 2007. The AMTA was founded in 1998 as a union of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) and the American Association for Music Therapy (AAMT). Although the field of music therapy has grown and expanded greatly since it became an organized profession, there are still many people who have not heard of it or are not sure on what music therapy is. Many musicians are not even clear on how music therapy is implemented. This means that music therapists must continue to educate others on music therapy. If an individual or chapter is interested in learning more about music therapy they are encouraged to seek out a presentation on music therapy if a music therapist is in their chapter or nearby, or to do some self study on the profession. With over 3,000 members of the AMTA, and an estimated 1.2 million people receiving music therapy during 2009, music therapy is alive and thriving. SAI would like to see a revitalization of the support of the music therapy profession and would like to launch a national music therapy project. The objective of this project will be to support the music therapy profession by connecting chapters with a practicing music therapist and member of the fraternity to consult and complete a project to advance, support, or further the music therapist's work. Examples include: • providing adaptive guitar or instrument lessons at a veteran's hospital • planning and providing a music program or music games to promote socialization in a nursing home • donating rhythm instruments for a music therapist to use in her practice. Chapters are welcome to identify and contact SAI music therapists on their own. Music therapists and chapters who may be interested in this project, but may not know a music therapist with whom they can connect, with are welcome to contact me to be matched. I am also available to brainstorm possible project ideas with anyone who is interested. I hope that this article has given you some insight into the history of how SAI has supported music therapy, provided you with some resources to learn about the profession, and sparked your interest in supporting music therapy through the national project! The AMTA website can be found at musictherapy.org and contains a wealth of valuable information. Chapters can request the video referenced earlier in this article, Music Therapy and Medicine: Partnerships in Care, from the SAI Audio / Visual Director Michelle Hahn. The reservation form can be found on the SAI National website at sai-national.org. Click on Resources, Idea File, and Video Projects. A link to the .pdf form to reserve the presentation is found after the list of presentations and A/V policies. sai-national.org SPRING 2011 PAN PIPES 9

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