Music therapy practice in New York City: A report from a panel of experts, March 17, 1937

Journal/Book: J Music Therapy. 1997; 34: 8455 Colesville Rd, Ste 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Natl Assoc Music Therapy Inc. 68-81.

Abstract: On March 17, 1937, a panel of music therapists, psychiatrists and a corrections specialist convened to discuss the use of music therapy in New York City hospitals and correctional institutions. The conference was sponsored by the Federal Music Project, a New Deal white collar program that employed thousands of out-of-work musicians during the Depression. Programs of the Federal Music Project were carried out in urban areas and isolated rural areas. Music education and music therapy activities, though less numerous than orchestral, opera, and choral performances, were conducted in community centers, settlement houses, orphanages, hospitals, and prisons. The panel discussion on music therapy was part of Music Education Week 1937, in which numerous presentations and demonstrations celebrated and promoted the beneficial influence of music on the well-being of men, women, and children. The afternoon of Wednesday, March 17 was devoted to a discussion of music therapy. Each presenter contributed his/her personal view of how music could effectively be used with the sick, indigent, and incarcerated. Although the presentations were uneven in quality and in two cases very brief, it was apparent that strong support for music therapy existed in the New York City metropolitan area during the height of the Depression.

Note: Article Davis WB, Colorado State Univ, FT Collins,CO 80523 USA

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