Music Therapy in New Zealand
Some of the early history of music therapy in New Zealand has been captured in columns written in previous issues of Voices (Croxson, 2001,2001a, 2001b). In addition, the contribution in Contemporary Voices in Music Therapy (2002) contains a chapter "New Zealand and Music Therapy - A synopsis of a new scene" where identification of key New Zealanders who catalysed the first music therapy visitors and experiences in this country were outlined.
Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins came to New Zealand in 1974 (and Clive and Carol Robbins subsequently visited several times). In the same decade, when Mary Lindgren's expatriate training with Juliette Alvin in London spilled over into activity in Mary's homeland here, the fledgling New Zealand Society for Music Therapy was formed, and many distinguished people from Britain, the United States and Australia were invited to visit as tutors thereby strengthening a base of awareness of professional music therapy experience and training.
From Britain, in the late 1970's, the charismatic Maggie Pickett visited three times, following the Guildhall School of Music and Drama course tradition that she directed after Juliette Alvin. Several of us (Joan Stevens, Christine Archer and I) went to that post-graduate diploma course in London to train. Auriel Warwick, born in New Zealand but recognised as a leading British music therapist, visited twice to support training. Both stressed a Humanistic approach and demonstrated the value in music therapy of both tonal and atonal music improvisation. Ole Teichmann Mackenroth from Germany, who had trained at the Guildhall, came once with a psychotherapeutic message that some course participants found was rather overwhelming at the time.
New Zealand wanted an eclectic approach that would encompass all peoples and workplaces, so then looked to the States, which appeared to have a strongly emphasised behaviourist tradition in music therapy. In the 1980's we hosted the guest course director George Duerkson from the University of Kansas, then Don Michel for a brief visit, and later Kenneth Bruscia who certainly widened the horizons from pure behaviourism to a wider philosophical and psychological viewpoint as did Carol Bitcon, and Canadian Susan Munro.
About the same period Australia, always supportive of the Small Land across the Tasman Sea, lent us Ruth Bright twice, Denise Grocke (Erdonmez then) many, many valuable times, Michael Atherton, Marie Reynolds and later Robin Howat who gave a course on Improvisation just three years ago.
Then New Zealand tutors with qualifications and experience emerged and early graduates from a New Zealand Society for Music Therapy Accreditation programme, steered for quality by Professor Arthur Fieldhouse and others, gained their professional training through block course programmes. This was the rite of passage for several of the present-day leading practitioners who are working in education, health and welfare areas, Daphne Rickson and Joan Webster in Christchurch, Mary Brooks and Mary Hepburn in Wellington, and Millicent McIvor in Auckland. There were other younger and more mobile musicians including Sally Berg and Liz Wallace who went to the University of Melbourne course to qualify and came back to New Zealand to practice. Other European trained people have come, some like Penny Warren from Britain and Francine McGovern and Rebecca Hood from Australia have immigrated to New Zealand and now practise music therapy here.
This rather long historical portrait gives an idea of music therapy life in New Zealand until last year. There are about 14 to 16 qualified music therapists in New Zealand, coming from a wide range of training backgrounds, struggling to establish working positions and consultancy contracts and at the same time trying to promote music therapy in the country. Annual conferences with New Zealand, and visiting Australian music therapists like Jane Edwards, Clare Callaghan, and Denise Grocke, have kept the small band of trained therapists and loyal supporters in focus, particularly in respect to lobbying for a New Zealand music therapy university-based training course.
Last year was celebration time for the country with the appointment of Dr Robert Krout from the States to head a Master of Music Therapy two-year course at the Wellington Conservatorium of Music, Massey University. Robert comes with wide experience in practice, research and course development and has already made a huge impact on the professional profile of music therapy in New Zealand. He has presented at a national Hospice Conference, and at the 2002 National Conferences in Australia and New Zealand as well as going back to the United States to fulfil National Conference and supervision roles there. Also Robert has developed a fine rapport with the New Zealand profession, so that future music therapy graduates from this high quality course will reflect the best of cultural aspirations for New Zealand and also the international standards required for good practice.
So New Zealand music therapy is poised to "take off" in great style. Dialogue is taking place with new energy about future jobs, salaries, and the new role of the New Zealand Society, the need to support both new graduates and the present hard-worked core of practitioners. It has been hard to engender the proper climate for quality music therapy practice without the ability to provide sufficient practitioners.
Future challenges? Most important is the need to broaden the Western orientation of most of our graduates to include the cultural worlds of the indigenous people, the Maori tangatawhenua, and also of the increasing numbers of Polynesian and Asian citizens now living here. This past month was a time of mourning for Maori people from the Tuhoe iwi, also for musicians throughout New Zealand, on the passing of Hirini Melbourne, composer, lecturer, performer and (with several others) creator and player of Maori instruments many of which had been believed lost. Through research and interview he, with Richard Nunns, re-claimed the knowledge of older times when these beautiful sounds were part of everyday life. Part of the demise of the various wooden, bone and shell instruments was caused by the negative influence of European colonial and religious immigrants last century. Hirini Melbourne was last year awarded an honorary doctorate for his scholarship and teaching by his own Waikato University. He was respected and loved by many, many people.
Another challenge is to increase the small repository of published scholarship and research on music therapy in New Zealand. The New Zealand Society for Music Therapy has published an excellent annual journal for many years, but the base of research publication needs to widen both within and without the country. University courses espouse teaching and practice underpinned by research, so the new Master of Music therapy course, with a strong case study and research content, will provide a rich seed bed for such activity.
Music therapy is alive and well in this little country at the bottom of the globe. New Zealand is full of interest and energy, and the New Zealand Society for Music Therapy is keen for music therapy to take a major role in human support for all people in this country.
This short article can be complemented by visiting websites:
The New Zealand Society for Music Therapy: http://www.musictherapy.org.nz
Master of Music Therapy Course, Wellington Conservatorium of Music, Massey University: http://creative.massey.ac.nz/html/music/conservatoriumofmusic.html/E-mail: R.E.Krout@massey.ac.nz
References:
Croxson, Morva (2001). Influenced by Multi-sensory Gestalts. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved January 31, 2003, from http://www.voices.no/columnist/colcroxson021201.html
Croxson, Morva (2001a). Taonga of the Asia Pacific Rim. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved January 31, 2003, from http://www.voices.no/columnist/colcroxson130801.html
Croxson, Morva (2001b). How Does a Person Come to Music Therapy? Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved January 31, 2003, from http://www.voices.no/columnist/colcroxsonmay1401.html
Kenny, Carolyn and Stige, Brynjulf (Editors),(2002). Contemporary Voices in Music Therapy. Oslo: Unipub forlag.
How to cite this page
Croxson, Morva (2003). Music Therapy in New Zealand. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 08, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country/monthnewzealand_february2003
