Name: Stephanie Schecter

From: Rome, Georgia

I started teaching music in… 2016

I started teaching at the Conservatory in… 2019

My inspiration:My dad was my first musical inspiration. Because he was the drummer of his band, they would rehearse at our house, which allowed me to grow up around live music and classic rock. In long car rides though, it was mostly Nirvana and The Beatles “Help!” album. As my musical inspirations grew over the years, incorporating many of the great female singers of the 90s and early 2000s, I began performing my own music as a singer/songwriter by age 16. I continue to perform under an alias with my band and get most inspired by the current indie rock, alt-pop music from artists like Samia, Charlie Hickey and Phoebe Bridgers.

Education: College of Charleston – BA, Music Theory/Composition; Graduate Equivalency Degree in Music Therapy – University of Georgia; New York University – MA, Music Therapy

I play and teach: Piano, guitar, ukulele, percussion, voice

My other artistic/musical endeavors: I am also a singer/songwriter and front my indie rock/alt pop band, Ellajay.

Personal Teaching Statement: I believe in the humanistic approach to music therapy and work through the lens of trauma-informed care. I strive to help empower my students, reflecting their strengths, building their self-esteem, creating a sense of community and teaching skills to regulate emotions, all while providing opportunities for meaningful and creative self-expression.

Biography: Stephanie Schecter, MA, LCAT-LP, has been a board-certified music therapist since 2016. She has specialized primarily with children with emotional and behavioral difficulties in elementary schools, as well as with adults and adolescents in psychiatric hospitals. Stephanie has been working at elementary schools and preschools through BKCM’s music therapy outreach program since 2019, where she supports the social, emotional, psychological and developmental needs of historically underserved children. She will be leading weekly on-site sessions at BKCM, starting in the fall 2022, for adults with intellectual and developmental delays. Stephanie leads small music therapy groups through a variety of ways, including but not limited to musical improvisations in different styles and genres, songwriting, drumming, hip-hop and beat-making, music listening/discussion, sing-a-longs, dancing or drawing to music, and music relaxation techniques. Stephanie is primarily a singer and guitarist, and often uses percussion, piano, ukulele, as well as music technology, in her sessions.