Following my piano studies at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie, Germany, I earned a postgraduate diploma in music therapy from the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Center in London, England. I received a PhD from City University, London in 1992.
Following my piano studies at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie, Germany, I earned a postgraduate diploma in music therapy from the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Center in London, England. I received a PhD from City University, London in 1992.
I have extensive clinical and supervisory experience and have specialized in the areas of HIV/AIDS and palliative care. My recent developing sessions with the Penderecki String Quartet has taken my work into the new field of music therapy with musicians.
I have given improvised concerts based on my experiences as a music therapist and have presented at conferences and taught in Europe, North America and Asia.
Before leaving the U.K., I established the Towersey Foundation, a charity that promotes and creates positions for music therapy in palliative care.
I am currently the coordinator of the undergraduate music therapy program.
My research has focused on the musicological potential for music therapy, looking at links between the micro/musical analysis of improvisation and its potential understanding for therapeutic outcome. This work culminated in developing the music-centered theory of Aesthetic Music Therapy (AeMT).