The Power of Music to Empower Health and Wellbeing: In Support of a Music Therapy Discipline at Lehman College, City University of New York

Author

Felicity A. Howlett, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

2-2025

Document Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Matthew K. Gold

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

music therapy, Lehman College, interdisciplinary connections

Abstract

This project seeks to encourage the development of a music therapy curriculum at the City University of New York (CUNY) and specifically at Lehman College. The following paper presents the case and highlights the contents of three data collections that support this goal: 1) The Zotero Digital Music Therapy Reference Collection is a custom-designed index of over 1600 items containing references to published material highlighting significant aspects of the profession. Zotero, a free, open-source reference management software for organizing research, houses the collection and functions as a living library; 2) Music Therapy Degree Programs in New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, an ArcGIS map, illustrates the distribution of 28 music therapy programs in New England and the Mid-Atlantic States approved by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and provides direct links to their departmental websites. Data for the map comes from an Excel spreadsheet that includes additional information about individual programs. 3) Two Views: Interprofessional Education and Interdisciplinary Research includes two custom-designed ArcGIS digital maps from Excel spreadsheets that indicate connections and correspondences between a potential music therapy program at Lehman College and other CUNY schools: a) "Paths to Music Therapy from CUNY Undergraduate Programs" suggests CUNY undergraduate studies that might connect to music therapy studies at Lehman; "Paths from Music Therapy to Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration" illustrates the rich potential for interdisciplinary research radiating out from an established music therapy base at Lehman. These digital projects, offered as working models, may be restructured, revised, and updated.

An appendix contains "The Sounds of Music Project: Humanizing Digital Techniques and Digitizing Musical Participation," a review of a 2021 digital humanities class activity that evolved into a series of public events at the Graduate Center during 2023-2024. The music therapy programs of Dr. Concetta Tomaino, a humanist, scientist, musician, and music therapist, inspired the programs. She is executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF) and an adjunct instructor at Lehman College. The paper considers how the principles of music therapy group participation combined with digital technology to create a comfortable, safe, and lively ambiance for online participants to engage with a theater audience over a shared love of music.

Recommended Citation

Howlett, Felicity A., "The Power of Music to Empower Health and Wellbeing: In Support of a Music Therapy Discipline at Lehman College, City University of New York" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6176