During the 2016 spring semester, students in the Music Therapy Senior Seminar course taught by Annie Heiderscheit, director of the Master of Music Therapy program, wrote lullabies as part of a community partnership.

The music therapy students worked with music business students and their advisor, Augsburg Instructor , to produce high-quality recordings for use on the hospital’s network of digital, interactive health care features. Individuals can choose to play the calming tunes using devices in their hospital rooms. The Auggies’ compositions also are part of a pilot study that is exploring whether listening to music helps improve sleep quality in patients and families who use it in the pediatric intensive care unit.

“We had to spend time talking about how we use music for sleep and styles of music and specific elements within the music that we really need to leverage to help young patients fall asleep,” Heiderscheit explained to MinnPost.

Next the students began creating their original pieces, which was a complicated task, according to Estes, because the compositions included substantial tempo reductions to guide listeners into a relaxed state.

“This was an extremely difficult assignment because of how the heartbeat works,” Estes said. “Starting every song at 120 beats per minute and bringing it down to 40 beats per minute is not as easy as it sounds.”

��𲹻���“” on the MinnPost website.

[Photo]: Music therapy major Tristan Gavin’16 records a composition for use at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.

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“It was unbelievable to share the stage with someone so well respected and well known in the music world,” Selissen said. “I am amazed how many hit songs he’s had and with all the commercial jingles he’s wrote; he is extremely talented.”

The students who performed with Manilow were each given a pair of complimentary tickets to the concert. Selissen, a music therapy major, happily gifted her tickets to two of her clients. One of the clients uses Manilow’s music extensively in his therapy sessions.

“He knows every song and all the words so it was such a coincidence when we were asked to do this. This client was beyond excited to not only go to his first concert, but to see his very favorite singer,” Selissen said.

Read HHS alum performs with Barry Manilow on the Hudson Star-Observer site.

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Currently, there are only two facilities in the U.S. that specialize in end-of-life care for children. In the article, Lindenfelser attributes this to the discomfort people feel toward the idea of terminally ill children. “In our culture there’s a lot more satisfaction in funding research for a cure,” she says.

In addition to caring for the patients, facilities such as the one Crescent Cove intends to build offer much-needed respite for the parents and families of the children. Caring for these children is often a taxing, 24/7 job that can take precedence over the parenting role. The article quotes one parent of an ill child as saying, “In those precious last moments, I’d like to stop being the lead nurse, doctor, therapist and just go back to being Mom.”

Read: on the Star Tribune site.

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to learn more about Holten’s work in the story, “Music helps keep Parkinson’s patients going.”

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Music therapy as a discipline dates back to post-World War I and World War II when it was observed that music used with injured soldiers in hospitals had far greater effects than just entertainment. The benefits of music to promote healing and wellness have now been well documented and the field is a recognized component of complementary medicine.

Augsburg’s music therapy program began when Music Department chair Leland B. Sateren ’38 asked professor Robert Karlén to attend a conference in this emerging field. Karlén was impressed and invited Roberta Kagin to serve as director of a new music therapy program, which she continues to lead.

Hundreds of music therapy alumni now practice in a variety of medical settings—hospitals, clinics, day care treatment centers, rehabilitation centers, hospice programs, correctional facilities, schools—and provide therapy for illness, brain injuries, developmental disabilities, hospice, Parkinson’s disease, and for other reasons.

The music therapy program is rigorous. Students take a four-year liberal arts program plus a six-month intensive internship with a music therapist, and then must pass a national exam to gain certification in the field. While music therapy is built on engaging forms of creative expression, it was the first Bachelor of Science degree program at Augsburg, requiring a grounding in medical science.

Augsburg’s partnerships include clinics in the Twin Cities for on- and off-campus practica experience, sites around the country for internships, and a sister college in Norway. Each year Augsburg hosts Metro Arts Festival day for Twin Cities students with disabilities. Future plans include a graduate degree in music and medicine.

Read more about Augsburg’s program, students, and activities.

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In April Christi Schmit began her internship at University Hospitals, Case Medical Campus, in Cleveland, Ohio. This 950-bed hospital gives her broad experience in varying situations to help develop her music therapy skills. She explains that as a therapeutic intervention, music therapy has been found effective in relaxation and pain management, and in treating chemical dependency and memory loss.

Schmit’s daily schedule at the hospital includes visiting patients to sing favorite songs with them or help them write their own songs for loved ones. She also helps with physical and occupational therapy for patients with joint replacements or in stroke recovery, where music helps entrain the movements to make exercise more fluid. For patients with mood disorders, Schmit uses interventions like drumming, lyric analysis, and songwriting to augment the psychologists’ work.

The therapists also visit with families and patients at Ronald McDonald House and Hope Lodge, encouraging group support, coping, songwriting, and fun.

“Music takes a person’s mind off what is not so good and allows people to relax,” says Schmit. “Music uses a different part of the brain. A stroke victim who cannot speak can sing an entire song. An Alzheimer’s patient may not be able to remember a family member’s name, but they will remember a favorite hymn from childhood.”

Schmit’s supervisor, music therapist Deforia Lane, was recently featured on NBC Nightly News’ “Making a Difference” segment, as she made rounds in the hospital and sang with patients. Lane explained how a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration can all decrease just by listening to her singing or humming — the slower the rhythm, the more calming the effect.

NBC News also featured “Toddler Rock,” a program for inner-city kids at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in which Schmit and other music therapists teach preliteracy skills through music.

At the end of her internship in October, Schmit plans to return home to northern Wisconsin where she is exploring job options. At some point, study toward a master’s degree is also in her future.

To see Christi Schmit in the NBC newsclip accompanying the singing with her guitar, go to .

For the newsclip on the Toddler Rock program, go to .

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A benefit concert to fund a new Music Therapy mentor/student program, which supports students with brain injuries through music and movement, will be held Sunday, Sept. 16, from 3-4:30p.m. in the Foss Center, 625 22nd Ave. S.

Performers will be The Abdomen, Minnesota Music Academy’s Best Teen Band for 2005.

Admission is free with all donations directly supporting the new mentor/student

program.

For more information contact: Holly Tapani at tapani@augsburg.edu or Music Therapy professor Roberta Kagin at kagin@augsburg.edu

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