Name: Marcus Roman

From: Ossining, New York

My inspiration: Some of my biggest musical influences are Prince, George Clinton and Jeff Buckley.

Few people know that I… at least until they get to know me, am a huge basketball fan and a passionate cook.

Education: Berklee College of Music

I play and teach: Piano, trumpet, guitar, electric bass, voice

My other artistic/musical endeavors:

Personal Teaching Statement: I am firmly in the belief that every person is deserving of help, and more importantly, is given the chance to live a fulfilling life. There are an abundance of ways in which music and music therapy can help turn this belief into a reality. Furthermore, it must be our jobs as therapists and our duty as people outside of our professions to advocate for ways in order to make that reality available for all.

Biography: After initially having little success in other majors at Berklee College of Music, a roommate of mine suggested that I apply for the music therapy program. Since then, I have found a way to apply my love of sharing music with others by discovering a field aimed towards providing care for people with the skills that I have.

Throughout my time at Berklee, I was given the privilege of working with patients with dementia, patients recovering from traumatic brain injuries and working with children ages six and below. This is where I discovered my passion for working with children. This passion would extend beyond music therapy as well, where I would spend my free time playing basketball with the children around the neighborhood and becoming a surrogate “big brother” to some of them.

I began playing trumpet in the 3rd grade, where I would later be a part of the school band, marching band and jazz band from then through the end of High School. During that time, I taught myself how to sing and play guitar. After spending a few years performing at local shows, I decided to audition for Berklee College of Music as a vocalist. Here I continued to develop my love for performance and learned more about the power of community in music through my cultural roots, and found that this power lives within music therapy as well. I hope to continue to develop ways in which I can share this power with others as a musician, a music therapist and as a person.