Introductions

[Meredith Pizzi]

Introduce yourself to the group. Tell us about your professional experiences and what motivated you to take this course. Be sure to include where you live, if you are already doing work in early childhood and how you would like to make this information part of your practice.

[Kristina Rio]

My name is Kristina Barbo and I am one of the online moderators for this course. I live in Reading MA. I graduated from Anna Maria College, and I currently work at Roman Music Therapy Services(RMTS) with Meredith Pizzi as a music therapist, Sprouting Melodies Provider, and practicum student supervisor. I work with a diverse clientele from birth to end of life in various populations. I have been a Sprouting Melodies Provider for two and a half years. I participated in the live training in NY with Beth and Meredith in June of 2012, and completed the online training in November of 2012 after I became a board certified music therapist. My online training experience was unique as I had already started to lead SM groups of my own, which was very helpful as a refresher, and gave me the opportunity to absorb the information in a more applicable way. I will be present during this entire online training course to be a resource for you throughout your experience. I am here to respond to any questions you may have and offer my support as best I can, so please feel free to contact me here on the forum! You can also contact me by email with any specific questions you may have atkristina@romanmusictherapy.com. I look forward to getting to know all of you over the next several weeks!​

[Leigh Ann Walberg]

My name is Leigh Ann Walberg and I have been a Music Therapist for 22 years. I graduated from W.I.U. and have worked in a variety of Music Therapy settings and populations in the Chicago-land area, mostly in private practice ever since. I am a mom of one teenager, and since we are both off today with a “cold” day I decided to get this first session done while she sleeps in! This is my second year working at an early learning center as their Music Therapist for 3-4 year olds in their at risk program. I go in one day a week and see 9 groups. Previously I worked for 7 years at a school for special needs kids age 3-22 so had 2 classes of the really young. I was excited to take this course to update my info on child development since I have not taken a course since college, and to get some new fresh ideas on session structures and new music. I have never worked professionally with children birth-two so am excited to get more info on the younger babies as well.

[Jessica Bogacik]

My name is Jessica Finch Bogacik and I am a music therapist currently in the Columbus, Ohio area. My husband and I just moved here in early November, and I am just getting started with Central Ohio Music Therapy, a private practice in this area. With this company, I am working primarily with older adults, but we are hoping to expand our services to provide Sprouting Melodies classes to our community. In the past, I have had the opportunity to work with a large variety of populations, including children and adults with special needs, medical patients, hospice patients and their families, adults who were hospitalized for psychiatric care, and typically developing children in Head Start programs. I am excited to learn the Sprouting Melodies program so that I can have a more solid foundation of knowledge in the area of child development, and also so that I have a toolbox to bring with me as our company works to expand our services! I’m also really excited to get to bring music experiences to parents and children and to watch the joy that ensues when children have fun opportunities to interact with their caregivers!

[Linda Madler]

My name is Linda Madler, and I live in Newport News, VA. I attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas and completed my internship at Central Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled. I started a music therapy program at the Rehabilitation Institute of VA and worked with adolescents-older adults with brain injuries, strokes, and physical disabilities. I attended William & Mary for a master’s in special education and taught high school students with learning and emotional disabilities for a few years before staying at home with daughters, now 20 and 13. I am certified to teach all levels of Musikgarten. I have taught music in area preschools and in my own studio for the past 10+ years. Currently I teach PK-Grade 2 music at an area elementary school and in my own early childhood music/piano studio. I am excited to connect with other music therapists again and return to my “roots.” My studio has always been inclusive, but I hope that Sprouting Melodies will provide me with knowledge and ideas so I may reach out specifically to families with special needs. I have been out of the music therapy loop and will really appreciate hearing from those of you in private practice as I am used to a center-based model of MT.

[Mikhala Majeau]

Hello! My name is Mikhala Majeau. I graduated from Anna Maria College. I did my internship at a private practice and I got to experience EI, special education, and some young adult clients. I became a board certified music therapist in 2014, but I have not formally practiced yet. I currently live in Norfolk, VA and I am a personal care assistant to an eight year old with a variety of special needs. I constantly use my music therapy training in my day to day life with this individual. I am a military spouse, and because of this I have struggled with my career goals. I discovered SM at the last AMTA national conference, and I knew that this structure was what I had been longing for. I intend to use this training to develop my understanding and confidence in early childhood. Once completed, I would like to bring SM to military families. I see the need for the support and growth this program offers in my community! I am also looking forward to use this information when I start my own family.

[Natalie Condon]

My name is Natalie Condon and I live in Boston, MA. I am a recent graduate of Anna Maria College. While completing my undergraduate degree I worked in geriatrics, adult groups with special needs, and completed my internship at a residential school for those ages 9-22 with behavioral, intellectual, and emotional disabilities. I was never able to do work with younger children or infants so I am excited to begin filling that educational gap with Sprouting Melodies. I am looking to start a marketable program within my community as a beginning Music Therapist. This program will hopefully give me the structure and knowledge-base to have a confident start in my community.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Welcome! I am so excited to meet all of you through this course, and hopefully in person as we share our common passion for young children, music and music therapy. You will get to see and hear a lot from me in the coming weeks through the course videos, but I will also be reading your posts in the forum and commenting along with you.
In addition to Raising Harmony, I am the senior music therapist at Alternatives for Children on Long Island, New York. We service over 500 families through our four centers and it is an honor to be a part of the lives of these children. I also teach in the music therapy program at Molloy College and really enjoy helping young music therapists develop and grow.
On the home front, I am the mother of three grown children, who were my first learning laboratory for human development. I’ve been through many, if not most, of the challenges of parenthood and I can assure you that the work you put into it is worth it in the end.

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. My name is Erika Svolos. I am one of the online moderator for this training. I live in New Jersey with my husband, my almost 15 month old daughter, and our four cats. It is a joy to be apart of this fantastic program and to join in your Sprouting Melodies journey. I am a graduate of Marywood University and have been a music therapist in New Jersey for the past 15 years. Over that time I have worked in a variety of settings including in-patient child/adolescent psychiatry, a private clinic for autism, a large urban public school, private practice, and a private special education high school for individual’s with emotional and behavioral disorders. In August 2013 I started my own business/private practice; Music Therapy Services of New Jersey, LLC. I completed the April 2013 Sprouting Melodies training and I am so happy to offer Sprouting Melodies in my practice. I began offering Sprouting Melodies classes almost a year now and I am truly enjoying working with my SM families.

I will be assisting with any questions and/or technical difficulties. I will be sending you an email with information about the online forum technology and my contact information. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at erika.svolos@gmail.com.

[Melissa Hentges]

Hello! My name is Melissa Hentges. I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2010 and currently live in Minneapolis with my husband and our crazy border collie. I completed my internship at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH working with a variety of populations. My passion is in early education and for the past four years, I have worked as an independent contractor for a company that provides developmentally based music classes in daycares and preschools around Minnesota. I am looking forward to learning new techniques and new music to use with my students and to refresh my knowledge of early childhood development so that I can provide meaningful music experiences in my classes!

[Amanda Goff]

My name is Amanda Goff and I studied vocal performance at Bridgewater State University and then finished my Clinical Masters in Music Therapy at Arizona State University. I am currently living in Plymouth, MA and finished my music therapy internship last year at Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care. I passed my board certification exam this past December and have been working in the Music Therapy field for almost a year now. I currently work as a Music Therapist at Roman Music Therapy Services and South Shore Conservatory. During the last two years I have worked with a varied population from young children to older adults. Even though I have past experience working in early education I would love to have more experience and am looking to learn more from this program. I am looking to learn new songs and to learn some new strategies when it comes to transitioning from one musical intervention to the next. Looking forward to hearing from all of you and am excited to be connecting with other Music Therapists yayy!!!

[Lauren Servos]

Hi, everyone! My name is Lauren Servos, and I live in Indianapolis with my husband, 8 month old daughter, and dog. I graduated from Michigan State University in 2008 and completed my internship at Riley Hospital for Children here in Indianapolis. I was determined to work at Riley, and there were no music therapy openings at the time, so I was able to add on a child life internship and become certified in both music therapy and child life, and moved into a child life position. After about 3 years working as a child life specialist in various inpatient and outpatient units, a music therapy job opened up and I have been working there as a music therapist for the past 3 years. I now focus on the pediatric intensive care units. Since having my daughter, I’ve been feeling like it might be good for my mental health to explore working in a less intense environment. After one particularly sad day at the hospital the month I returned from maternity leave, I knew I needed to spend some time with healthy, joyful kids, and asked my daycare provider (who runs the daycare out of her home) if I could bring over my guitar and some small instruments and run a little music group. It was a fun little group, and helped me feel renewed. My daycare provider raved about it and suggested I go into private practice to run early childhood groups! I love what I do in the hospital, but I think I’m ready for a change, and for the challenge and excitement that comes with starting a private practice. I’m presenting to 4 Child Development Associate certification classes in April. I could reach around 90 people who work in or run daycares, so I’m hoping to wow them with my expertise and get some groups started there.

I worked for a Kindermusik company during my internship, and that company is still up and running in my area, so I’m hoping to get some ideas and advice from others about how to make this a positive, collaborative relationship as I explore private practice. I’m excited to connect with all of you!

[Jamie Sacca]

Hello everyone! It’s so nice to read about everyone’s varied experiences! My name is Jamie Sacca and I live in Queens, NY with my husband and our rescue kitty. I work on Long Island, NY, and do some private work in the NYC boroughs.

I graduated from Nazareth College of Rochester in 2010 with my MS in creative arts therapy, became an MT-BC in August 2010 and received my LCAT in 2012. I have worked in many different settings, including groups for elderly in different stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s, after-school programs for school-age children with DD’s,pediatric in-patient and out-patient eating disorder clients at a large children’s hospital, and currently as the MT in a preschool program serving students with developmental disabilities and autism in both integrated and self-contained settings. I also am a per diem for the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, and have my own private practice (Downstate Music Therapy Services- soon to add the LLC!!) I really enjoy working with children and am so looking forward to broadening my skill set through this training! It is nice to meet you all!

[Jamie Sacca]

Just realized I forgot to add something! I am looking to add some expertise in connecting with and speaking to the parents of the clients I work with. In the school setting I work in, I am hoping to begin adding some parent interactions/communication, perhaps as part of the on-going parent training offered by our school psychologist and teacher parent trainers. I think it would be very valuable to our community. I also would like to offer my insights into development to the parents of my private clients, whom I often see struggling to connect with their child. While I did some of this in my work at the children’s hospital, it was less developmental and more in the scope of mental health and coping skills when dealing with life-threatening or difficult circumstances, and I am looking forward to learning some great ways to advocate for music therapy and speak with all the knowledge that we as a field have to help parents of young ones!

[Kathy Odenkirk]

Hi! My name is Kathy Odenkirk and I live in Wooster, Ohio. I am the owner of Imagine the Possibilities Music Studio. I have worked in early childhood for 24 years as a music therapist and before that as an assistant teacher in a preschool classroom for several years. I am taking this class to learn more about working with parents and children since my practice has been limited to just infants through age 5 (at the Head Start program where I am contracted). Times are changing and my contract may not be a part of the Head Start program much longer so I am also looking for ways that I can expand my business into other early childhood areas.

[Michelle Nettle]

Hello! My name is Michelle Nettle and I live in Phoenix Arizona with my husband and 4 cats-my babies :-). I attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA and received my Bachelors Degree in Music Therapy in 2000. I completed my clinical internship in 2002 in Albany New York at Capital District Beginnings, an organization that provides a variety of therapies and special education services to children with special needs in the community such as in preschools, head start programs, in-home early intervention, and through IEP’s in the school system in Albany New York and the surrounding cities. After completing my internship I became a Board Certified Music Therapist in 2002 and moved to Phoenix, AZ. I have been providing in-home music therapy services to children with special needs ages 3-18 through a contract with the State of AZ for the past 12 years. However, due to huge state budget cuts to music therapy rates, I dissolved my State Contract and started my own private practice, Blossom & Bloom Music Therapy Services, LLC this past December. I specialize and LOVE working with children, so in addition to providing private-pay individual music therapy services to children with special needs, I am now looking to expand my practice to include group music therapy sessions for both typical and special needs children. I have been wanting to take the Sprouting Melodies Course for the past 2 years and now is the perfect time for me to take this course! What I hope to get out of the Sprouting Melodies Course is a more thorough knowledge of early childhood development and how to apply this knowledge in providing developmentally-based music therapy classes for children ages 0-5 years and their families. In addition, I hope to become a certified Sprouting Melodies Provider at the end of the course so that I have a nationally recognized specialized program to market to the Phoenix community.

[Kayla Hamilton]

Hello! My name is Kayla Hamilton and I currently live in Colorado Springs, CO with my two cats, Vera Fang and Katie Purry, and my fish, Fillet-0. I work at NeuroRhythm Music Therapy Services, LLC as a music therapist and social media coordinator. I finished my internship at NeuroRhythm Music Therapy Services, LLC in mid November. During the month of December, I became a MT-BC and graduated from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. The majority of my clinical experience has been with children and adults with developmental and neurological disabilities, and I currently work with this population. I am looking for new ways to apply the knowledge I learned in university while facilitating music experiences. I am also looking for ideas for a music enrichment program that my boss, co-worker, and I will be starting at a pre-school for ages 6 months to 6! I have really excited to learn from other MT-BCs with a variety of backgrounds and experiences! 🙂

[Amanda Barnett]

Hi! My name is Amanda Barnett and I live in Cleveland, Texas. I am a contract MT working through Scoggins Therapies, Inc. out of Houston. The population I work with is children through young adults with special needs and I absolutely LOVE it! I plan to contract through local schools in my area but have yet to have time to put my foot in the door between working Monday through Thursday with my clients, providing private guitar, piano and saxophone lessons on Fridays and being a full time mommy to a beautiful 10 month old little girl named Emmalou.
I became interested in this course after seeing an advertisement for it on Facebook. I would love to incorporate what I learn here into my every day practice. I would also love to be able to use this training to give me more strength in the younger population in order to incorporate it into working in the public school system and possibly creating parent/child music groups for local families who would like to bond with their little ones. I was fortunate enough to work in Klein ISD during my internship with 3 year olds through high schoolers and just fell in love with the little ones! I am very excited to see what this course has to offer and I can’t wait to get to know you all over these next 10 weeks!
~Best Wishes!!

[Steven Clarke]

Hello Everybody! My name is Steven Clarke and I currently live in Boston, MA. I graduated from Berklee College of Music, and have recently began working at Roman Music Therapy Services after receiving my board certification in October. While studying at Berklee, I worked with children with special needs in medical and trauma settings, elders in assisted living facilities with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and adults/adolescents in psychiatric care settings. I completed internship at Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital working with adults and adolescents in a dual-diagnosis psychiatric care setting. I am currently working with at-risk youth in an alternative middle school/high school setting, and also work with individual clients with Alzheimer’s/Down Syndrome and Autism. I am excited to start this training to expand my ability to work with children and their families in early childhood. I hope to integrate the information and tools I learn in this course into my current skill sets to provide a greater level of service. I look forward to learning how to develop an adaptable framework of songs and sessions pertinent to early childhood, and also growing from the knowledge and experience of those teaching and participating in this course.

[Mary Beth Gaines]

Hello everyone! My name is Mary Beth Gaines and I am currently living in Tuscaloosa, AL- though I graduated from the University of Iowa with my MT degree. I moved to Tuscaloosa to begin a private practice with the vision of working with several populations. Currently, I am involved in a music therapy program at an inpatient psychiatric unit that serves a geriatric group as well but I want to be able to being programs with children in the area. Most of my experience has been with adults, however, so I need some additional support to prepare! I am hoping that this curriculum and all the discussions can help me become more confident and more informed in my work with children and their caretakers. I’m also excited to see that there are some private practice MTs in this course! I’m sure I’ll gain so much music therapy wisdom from reading through all of your posts 🙂

[Robyn Rutland-Coleman]

Hi there! My name is Robyn Rutland-Coleman and I just signed up for the training today, so my apologies for posting so late! I live in Austin, TX with my husband and 2 sons, ages 6 and 10. I am a music therapy late-bloomer, having just become board-certified in October, and I am truly excited to be a part of the profession. I was a part of the first cohort of the St. Mary-of-the-Woods MT equivalency distance learning program, which was a wonderful fit for me, as there aren’t any MT programs close to Austin and relocation wasn’t an option for my family. I completed my internship with a music therapist in Austin, working primarily with adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities. I was recently hired for contract work, but have not yet begun to see clients (hopefully I will start next week!). My long-term goal, however, is to create an early childhood MT practice, and I would like to include welcoming, inclusive family music classes as part of that. I would also like to explore early-intervention work in my area, so I feel that this training will be very useful in many areas. Sprouting Melodies appeals to me personally because I had a tough time feeling that my son, who has Aspergers, and I were welcomed and valued in his toddler Kindermusik class.

I look forward to all that we will learn in the coming weeks!

[Elizabeth Kimura]

Hello everyone! My name is Beth Kimura. I graduated from the University of Minnesota and completed my internship at Fraser-Minneapolis. Currently, I live in the northern Chicagoland area and have been contracted to provide music therapy services with a company that provides early childhood developmental therapy services in the northwest and western suburbs of Chicago. I heard about this training at a conference and had the pleasure of attending one of Raising Harmony’s sessions. I am excited to learn more about early childhood music development, the role a music therapist can play in helping a child during his or her early years of life, and interacting with all of my fellow participants!

[Kristina Rio]

Welcome everyone! Thanks for sharing a little bit about yourselves! I’m looking forward to taking this 10 week journey with all of you.

[Anonymous]

Welcome! Great to learn about each of you!

[Author]

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