Description
Thursday June 5th • BKCM Concert Hall • 6 – 9 PM
If the voice is the most used instrument in music therapy practice, why do so many music therapists report feeling uncomfortable, vulnerable or disconnected from their singing voices? Much has been written in recent years about the necessity for a music therapist to have a flexible, authentic singing voice and yet most university training programs continue to offer classical voice lessons to music therapists in training. In this three hour workshop, participants will be led through accessible, enjoyable and playful breathing, voice and vocal improvisation methods to stimulate a regular singing practice and create a pathway to a healthier relationship with singing. We will create an environment of mutual respect and support, humor and ease, expansion and community. Tools for shifting pitch, tone, timbre and projection for clinical effect will be woven throughout the workshop. We will center vocal health, breathing and self-exploration. We will learn to listen to client voices and ways to invite the client to use their voices.
About Toby Williams, MA, LCAT, MT-BC
Toby Williams is the director of the music therapy program at The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and an adjunct professor of music therapy at New York University. Receiving her Master’s degree in Music Therapy from NYU in 2004, Toby wrote her thesis on the use of humor and vocal improvisation while working at an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Brooklyn. Toby founded the music therapy program at Reach for the Stars Learning Center where she was lead clinician and internship supervisor for 15 years. Other work in inpatient psychiatry at Interfaith Medical Center, with people going through cancer treatment at The Herbert Irving Cancer Center as well as patients recovering from open heart surgery has given Toby a breadth of clinical and musical experience which she brings to the supervision and training of music therapists at BKCM. A graduate of Dr. Diane Austin’s Vocal Psychotherapy training Toby has supervised students and currently teaches the use of the voice in music therapy practice at NYU and maintains a small Vocal Psychotherapy private practice in Brooklyn, New York.
Workshop Registration and Costs:
Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to reserve your spot in the workshop!
- 3 LCAT/CMTE: $90
- 3 CMTE Credits: $50
- Students: $20