This fall I celebrated by 25th anniversary of entering the profession of music therapy. I believe that anniversaries are import to mark and celebrate and I have spent some time this fall thinking about these past 25 years and the reality that I have now been a music therapist for half of my life.
I have seen so much change in these years. When I entered the profession there was only a hand full of books on music therapy. There were no computers or internet, so obviously no web pages to browse, and no email contact with colleagues within the country or around the world. I cherished the books that I had and faithfully attended all the small local music therapy conferences I could with the hope of connecting with other students and professionals and perhaps hearing the work of some of the pioneers.
Now as I look around and see the plethora of publications, the regional and international conferences I see how far we have come as a profession. I travel frequently and aim for international travel related to music therapy, at least once a year. I have very close connections with colleagues around the world. I regularly use the internet to search databases and am thrilled to participate in ground breaking work such as this online international free journal!
Most of the professionals and students I encounter also pursue these varied ways of staying connected to the local and international music therapy community. Most colleagues I know are quite busy now, trying to keep up with the reading and scholarship, and attending a multitude of conferences. New ideas are taking off with the speed of the internet. We have come such a long way.
While I am grateful for the information we have access to and for the development of the profession I worry. I worry that we might lose our history. Maybe it is because I have reached mid life, but I worry that we are moving forward very quickly, without taking time to focus on our past, and to understand how our past has shaped our present and will shape our future.
With the exception of a few books and articles, we have not done a very good job of chronicling our past. I believe this is unfortunate. We are risking the loss of knowing where we came from and knowing the many pioneers who have helped us along the way. I am acutely aware of this now as we have just passed the one year anniversary of the loss of one of my mentors, Edith Boxill, and the more recent losses of colleagues Josée Prefontaine and Rosann Kasayka. They have all left a legacy in music therapy, how can we help keep their work, and the work of so many others alive?
We have a rich history, fully deserving of examination and documentation. What are we waiting for? Who will step up and help us begin to record our history and the lives of so many who have dedicated themselves to music therapy.
Forinash, Michelle (2006). On History. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=colforinash201106