Event 1 (online)
Date: Thursday 21 March 2024
Times: 0600-0830 GMT (option 1) and 1430-1700 GMT (option 2)
Location: Online on Zoom
Focus: Music practices, in a wide range of contexts, to support parental mental wellbeing
Our first online event took place on Zoom on Thursday 21 March 2024. Two time options helped accessibility and attendance around the globe: 0600-0830 GMT (option 1) and 1430-1700 GMT (option 2). The event was free of charge to attend and we were delighted to welcome over 70 international attendees.
Our international speakers for this event were (in alphabetical order): Mark Ettenberger, Claire Flower, Charulatha Mani, and Namvula Rennie. Please find their biographies below followed by an outline of the event programme.
Mark Ettenberger
Mark is an Ethno-Music therapist trained in Austria and obtained his PhD in Music Therapy from Anglia Ruskin University, UK.
He trained in RBL (Rhythm, Breath, Lullaby) at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine in New York and holds a M.A. in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution from the UNESCO Chair of Philosophy for Peace, University Jaume I, Spain. He currently lives and works in Bogotá, Colombia, where he is the director of SONO – Centro de Musicoterapia (www.sono.la) and a university lecturer at various music therapy programs internationally.
Mark coordinates the music therapy services at the various hospitals in Colombia and has a specific interest in researching music-based interventions in medical settings.
Claire Flower
Claire is Consultant Music Therapist within Children’s Therapies at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London. She has extensive experience in clinical practice with children and families.
Her doctoral studies investigated processes through which child, parent/carer, and therapist collaborate in improvisational music therapy. The interest in working with families is also present in her work with Together in Sound, a music therapy project run in partnership between Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research and the arts venue, Saffron Hall, which offers groups for people living with dementia and their companions.
Claire is on the organising group of the International Music Therapy with Families Network, was Chair of the Scientific Committee for the 2022 European Music Therapy Conference, and has an ongoing interest in the challenges of aligning practice, research, and training in the profession.
Charulatha Mani
Charulatha is a renowned vocal performer of Karnatak classical music and a music researcher/pedagogue.
She gained a PhD in historical musicology from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in August 2019. Having completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2022) on Creative Arts and Human Flourishing at the School of Music, University of Queensland, she has held academic roles in Creative Arts and Health at the University of Tasmania. Since 2023, she is Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Her research expertise includes music-making in ethnic minorities, traditional lullabies, and music for perinatal health.
Namvula Rennie
Namvula is a critically-acclaimed singer and songwriter whose artistic journey is an exploration of cultural intersections and heartfelt storytelling. Her music reflects the nuances and complexities of her mixed Zambian and Scottish heritage, and a restlessness born of her diasporic upbringing.
She is passionate about encouraging African artists to step up onto global platforms. As the co-founder of Film Africa, London's largest celebration of African cinema and culture, she has played a pivotal role in promoting the diverse creative voices of the African continent and its diaspora. In her work as a creative music-making workshop facilitator for groups of all ages, Namvula puts into action her belief in the transformative power of music to uplift, heal and engage. At the core, Namvula is a storyteller with an over-arching hope in our capacity as humans to touch each other’s hearts and to fill the world with a little more grace, and a little more love.
Event 1: Outline programme
Event 1 addressed a main question:
What musical practices could be used to support parents in a wide range of contexts?
Two short video presentations of current practice were shared by Namvula and Claire. This led us into breakout groups, where we began to map where we all are in the world and our current work and interests in music and parental wellbeing. An interactive members’ map was produced following the event.
Back together, we enjoyed two video provocations from Mark and Charulatha, who posed some key questions for practice going forwards. These questions took us into breakout group discussions and generated a shared list of goals for the Network to focus on as we move forwards together. These goals are being taken forward by writing and publishing an agenda paper for the Network. Attendees were invited to join this process as co-authors.
Finally, the event ended with a short plenary session, and the offer of some exciting opportunities for network members.
If you are not already a network member and would like to join us to find out about our future events and resources, please submit your details using the form on the JOIN page below. Thank you so much for your interest in this important field and the work of the Network.
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