Music and Wellness Program

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's newest initiative

Under the leadership of Music Director Lucas Richman, who is nationally acclaimed for his work in this field, the KSO has successfully launched an award-winning Music & Wellness program.

News

The KSO is proud to announce that we have hired Music Therapist Alana Dellatan Seaton to create patient therapy music plans and work with musicians as part of the award-winning Music & Wellness programs. Alana is a Board Certified Music Therapist with a Master’s degree in Music Therapy and a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Psychology. She has ten years of clinical experience in facilitating individual and group music therapy sessions, treatment planning and treatment team collaborations and has managed her own private practice in both New Orleans and in Knoxville over the past ten years.

The hiring of a part-time Music Therapist was made possible as the KSO was one of 22 American orchestras to receive a first-year Getty Education and Community Investment Grant in 2012 administered by the League of American Orchestras. Receiving this grant allows the KSO to further enrich the standard of care provided for individual patients and staff through the program and offer professional development training to KSO musicians and administrative staff.

MISSION

The mission of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s music and wellness program is to provide live musical performance that enhance the healing process and benefit patients, visitors and staff in healthcare settings.

THE POWER OF MUSIC

The power of music extends beyond the concert hall and touches our daily lives in whatever we do. One of our missions at the KSO is to acknowledge and develop our musical connections throughout the community. We already have in place a music and education commitment to bring music to children throughout East Tennessee. Now we are turning our attention to the healthcare community.

HEALTHY COLLABORATIONS

The KSO has set up collaborations between healthcare providers and musicians in order to fully nurture, develop, and utilize the healing power of music. Currently KSO string quartets perform at UT Medical Center and Covenant Healthcare facilities for patients while they are receiving treatment and in waiting rooms for families of patients as well as for members of the Wellness Community. We continuously look for possibilities to incorporate the musicians into musical therapy programs in hospitals and healthcare facilities – activities that we know have eased the lives of patients as they go through the process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Training

The KSO is planning to offer training for musicians working in our Music & Wellness program through the Music for Healing and Transition Program. We will be offering training modules in Knoxville beginning May 18 and 19, 2013, and we would like to invite any interested musicians to apply for acceptance into the program.

You do not have to be a professional musician to apply for this training.

Musicians who complete the program become Certified Music Practitioners as recognized by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians.

We will have between 10 - 12 spots available for training. Please click on the link (www.mhtp.org) or email Jennifer Barnett for more information.

Subsequent modules will be scheduled on the following tentative dates:

September 21 & 22, 2013 - Module 2

January 18 & 19, 2014 - Module 3

May 17 & 18, 2014 - Module 4

September 26, 27, 28, 2014 - Module 5

SPIRITS UPLIFTED

It is acknowledged by those involved in these programs that incorporating music into the healing process uplifts the spirit of the patients and by doing so accelerates the recovery period.

In 2006 the KSO received a Bank of America Award for Excellence in Education based on the Music and Wellness Program.