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Music Therapists for Peace

Music Therapists for Peace, Inc. (MTP) originated in the 1980s in the United States thanks to music therapist Edith Boxill’s (1916-2005) initiative. I first became aware of the movement MTP in 1988 as an undergraduate student attending a music therapist’s presentation by Christine Routhier, on a special project with children with the Sisters City Project from New Haven, Connecticut and Leone, Nicaragua. At the time, Nicaragua was in a state of civil war and Routhier (1988), with two other music therapists, went to work with an organization helping war victims. Once back, Routhier was approached by Edith Boxill to be part of the movement Music Therapists for Peace (C. Routhier, personal communication, November 10, 2007).

As a music therapy student, I was very impressed with Routhier’s presentation on the possible extension of our work as music therapists to have a larger impact on people. Inspired by this movement, from that time I decided to organize an annual evening centered on music and peace in Montreal. The event has been held each December since its inception in 1990. Reflections about peace using musical improvisations, songs, and other music therapy approaches allow people to escape the turbulence of modern life for a moment and raise their awareness of our individual and social responsibilities. Music therapists are invited with their friends, colleagues, and family to share their thoughts and hopes for peace. They are asked to bring an object, picture, song, or text that represents peace for them. With this annual event, the hope is to purse the same line of thought as Edith Hillman Boxill.

Edith Hillman Boxill

Edith Boxill’s career as a music therapist was centered on work with intellectually-challenged individuals. In the last twenty years of her life, she became internationally renowned in music therapy circles through the MTP movement that she co-created. She was involved with many organizations, including the Special United Nations Session on Disarmament, the consortium on Peace Research Education and Development (COPRED), the National Conference for Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution (NCPCR), the Global Cooperation for a Better World, the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations (2001), and the UN International Day of Peace for Children, among others. The United Nations as an annual observance of global nonviolence and ceasefire established the International Day of Peace in 1981. Every year on September 21st, people in all parts of the world honor peace in various ways. In 1990, Boxill and her colleagues organized the first Universal Music Therapists for Peace Day at the United Nations, in tribute to the United Nations International Day of Peace. In 2005, Boxill was honored for her achievements as the first recipient of the American Music Therapy Association Lifetime Achievement Award. She pursued her work and presented in schools until she died at the age of 88 (Boxill, 1997b).

The idea of MTP began to germinate in December of 1985, at the Fifth World Congress of Music Therapy in Genoa, Italy. It became clear to Boxill that music therapists had invaluable resources from which the global community could benefit. The idea continued to evolve in her mind. Then, in August of 1987, the force of a few events dramatically altered her thinking. Boxill was physically assaulted by a client. She wrote afterwards “. . .I retained enough consciousness to be aware that this meant the end of a period of my existence and the beginning of another--that I was to move on to a new phase of my journey” (Boxill, 1997b, p. 159).

During her convalescence, she formulated the idea to create an organization called Music Therapists for Peace (MTP). Following her recovery, she made a presentation at a conference on Peace through Education organized by the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica and the Robert Muller School in Arlington, Texas, which reinforced interest in her mission among her colleagues. MTP was officially founded and the by-laws of the organization were signed by Boxill, Gillian Stephen Langdon, and Maria Elena Lopez Vinader. In March of 1988, at the American Association for Music Therapy Conference in Boston, the creation of MTP was announced to the music therapists’ community.

Boxill’s vision for MTP came from her music therapy practice with autistic and developmentally disabled clients, a practice she defined as a continuum of awareness. This term originated from the Gestalt Therapy. Boxill (1997a) adapted this concept through three steps of reflection, identification, and contact song, which transpose into awakening, heightening, and expanding awareness of self, others, and the environment. Her intervention, which was primarily focused on the actual treatment, expanded to a global vision of “music therapy for living”, where music becomes accessible to all those in need. Boxill (1988) wrote in the Music Therapy Journal, “We are opening up a dialogue among music therapists, music educators, musicians, psychologists, physicists, physicians, and other health professionals, designed to explore the unique potential of music to affect wholeness/health in this modern age” (p. 5). She continued, “. . .we music therapists can consciously use our unique skills to make a major contribution to world peace” (p. 80). The global context of her actions was to raise awareness and use music consciously to bring peace on all levels of existence, for example, “being peace . . .thinking peace . . .living peace” (Boxill, 1997b, p. 2). “The mission of Music Therapists for Peace is to have music therapists maintain a conscious awareness of contributing to the healing of our wounded planet” (p. 1). She wanted to encourage music therapists around the world to be ambassadors of peace.

Carolyn Kenny (2005), an internationally renowned music therapist, who has committed herself to multicultural dialogue and to the recognition of the global role of music therapists, offers a great testimony to the work of Boxill, whom she qualifies as “. . .a woman of courage, vision, compassion, and peace” (p. 2). Kenny (1988) was also part of the promotion of peace through music movement. “Could music serve? Are there some rather subtle and abstract sounds, implying a unifying order, which travel across each of our cultural musics [sic] with their highly explicit meanings? . . .Could we dare to approach the United Nations and ask this body to create experimental communities--new tribes--which take care of sound?” (p. 54). These statements are a reflection of what was starting to emerge in the 80s--quite simply, a collective consciousness on the issue of peace within the music therapy community.

The creation and evolution of MTP is not easy to trace as there were several co-founders such as Joseph Moreno, Maria Elena Lopez Vinader, Gillian Langdon, Shelley Snow and several others. Wang Feng Ng (2005) wrote a great article Music therapy, war trauma, and peace: A Singaporean perspective on Voices that describes various perspectives and initiatives from MTP. To better understand some aspects of MTP, the following section proposes theoretical views on the culture of peace, activism and its relationships to Boxill implication.

The Culture of Peace

United Nations (1999) defines the Culture of Peace as:

. . .a set of values, attitudes, traditions, and modes of behavior and ways of life based on: respect for life, respect for all human rights and freedoms, commitment to nonviolence in settling conflicts, commitment to meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations, respect for equal rights and opportunities for women and men, respect for freedom of expression, opinion and information, and adherence to the principles of justice, democracy, and tolerance.

This definition helps to define a conception of peace even though the issue remains complex. Anderson (2004) attempts to offer a definition of peace that is clear, simple, and manageable in order to develop a model that can measure peace indicators. He proposes a definition that includes both the Western and the Eastern visions. The former puts emphasis on the absence of war and violence, while the latter insists on the presence of harmony: “Peace is a condition in which individuals, families, groups, communities, and/or nations experience low levels of violence and engage in mutually harmonious relationships” (p. 103).

Peace became a way of life for Boxill. It is uncertain whether the music therapists involved in MTP consider themselves to be “peace activists”, but several of them cultivate awareness of cultural issues in relation to peace. Boxill was already aware of the multicultural dimension of music therapy. Through its creative initiatives, her movement acknowledges and honors cultural differences as well as commonalities.

Downton and Wehr (1997) wrote an interesting book called The Persistent Activist - How Peace Commitment Develops and Survives. The book is the result of ethnographic research on activists. It provides insight into why people participate in collective action and why some activists persist in their cause. It explores five areas of a peace movement: leadership, ideology, organizations, rituals, and friendship groups. Although this research is limited by the reduced number of its participants, it nevertheless sheds some light on many facets of activism. The activists found that the concept of peace became integral to their daily personal and professional life. They developed a social reality that was:

. . .of being true to their ethical principles and of living peace in their daily lives, not just working for peace and social justice in the world. This shared belief keeps them active “come hell or high water” and it integrates peace work and living, so there is no way for them to leave peace activism. They would have to quit living to do so. (Downton & Wehr, 1997, p. 88)

Leadership, Activism, and MTP

The fact that Boxill initially enlisted the help of co-founders suggests that her leadership style was collegial. Since she passed away in 2005, no one person seems to have assumed the official role of leader in pursuing the network that started over twenty years ago. Besides leadership, there are several factors that help to sustain an organization and to increase the commitment of its activists such as contexts, individual attributes, and life experiences (Downton & Wehr, 1997). This socialization plays an important role in forming activists. Socialization is influenced by the family, formal education, church, social movement leaders, and social problems as reported by these authors. These influences are the foundation of the development of a belief system that an individual internalizes; a belief system which includes helping others and taking actions for social changes. Boxill had devoted her professional life to working with people in need. She knew the power of music and wanted to expand its power on a larger scale. How Boxill herself was “socialized” is unknown to the writer, but how she had “socialized” her students and music therapists is interesting in that she broadened the clinical perspective into a social one. Current practice in music therapy training does not seem to formally address social issues. In order to do so, it might be necessary to include curriculum content which addresses issues of peace and social justice through music. The course of study could also include practical projects in the community where apprentice music therapists could explore the social role of music.

According to Downton and Wehr (1997), activists have already been formed gradually by means of persistent activism through socialization and other factors such as history, social criticism, and opportunities for action. Boxill, on her side, created MTP following a violent incident at work. She closed a chapter and opened a new one of her life when she became an activist. Boxill developed a “new identity”, that of a peace activist, and motivated other music therapists to follow in her “peace mission.” The typical followers in the movement were music therapists who sought and found a vehicle for social justice through MTP.

The creation of a peace movement in and of itself can make a significant social contribution. Nevertheless, a consideration of how the movement can sustain itself and build commitment among its followers is equally important. Boxill succeeded in gathering music therapists around common principles. A “high level of ideological agreement” (Downton & Wehr, 1997, p. 57) on nonviolence, democracy, equality, diversity, and respect reinforce commitment.

Creativity, which is central to music therapy work, is also an important aspect of commitment. Downton and Wehr (1997) stipulate that creativity should be given more attention as a resource mobilization component. What they call “creative action” is connected to the innovation that activists need in order to conceive of new ideas, strategies, or sets of actions. Belief systems, organizational structure, and activism can benefit from the development of a “creative action theory” to nourish and reinforce commitment (Downton & Wehr, 1997, p. 159). Music therapists are constantly called upon to explore and use their creativity to foster the client’s own creative potential. It seems natural that this asset might be central to a movement such as MTP. Elements of creativity, vision, commitment, and strategies could be very appealing to music therapists who want to become involved in the MTP movement.

Downton & Wehr, 1997 describe the components of the shared reality of persistent activists which are:

It seems that this model could serve MTP movement that represents a means to alleviate human suffering. Ahmed (2004) reports in The Cultural Politic of Emotions that emotion have a strong impact on our perception and our urge to act. Music therapists, by the nature of their work, also strive to offer their resources as therapists, musicians, and human beings who are part of various cultural contexts.

Reviving the MTP Network

The growth of MTP was supported by a network of contacts that Boxill and colleagues. Based on these observations concerning sustainability and commitment, there are some steps and strategies that may assure both consistent annual growth and a legacy to future generations of music therapists:

Rebuilding a Worldwide Network

The first step might be to contact people who have been involved in MTP in the past and try to reconnect the existing informal network. Boxill had many worldwide contacts in her network (Moreno, personal communication, December 3, 2007) that are accessible today only by personal contact. Reestablishing this network would provide a chance to bring earlier and newer followers to pursue a revived MTP.

Creating an MTP Branch in National Music Therapy Associations

Second, to assure that the movement’s mission gets maximum exposure, international, national, and local chapters of the music therapy associations could have an MTP branch and a representative who could communicate annually regarding current and future strategies and actions. In so doing, individual music therapists involved in peace actions might feel less isolated.

Having MTP Represented at Each National and International Conference

The accumulation and sharing of information could be done at the annual music therapy conferences that happen in almost all associations. A tradition of passing on MTP vision and philosophy at each conference to new generations of music therapists could be a ritual using drumming, chanting, or improvising music. World Federation of Music Therapy’s Congress and other national music therapy associations’ Conferences have included MTP in their gathering.

Creating an Official Voice through International Online Music Therapy Journals

A fourth strategy might be to approach an existing international music therapy journal to allow the editorial space from which to create an official voice for MTP. This would provide us the opportunity to establish a niche from which to receive and to diffuse information. Communication technology and social media could also help reaching out to each other quickly and easily.

Implementing the International Day of Music Therapists for Peace

Finally, one particular day of the year could be declared the International Day of Music Therapists for Peace, similar to the national music therapy week or month that already takes place in various countries.

Conclusion

Downton and Wehr’s (1997) study on persistent activism helps us to better understand issues of peace commitment through a theory of sustained commitment that fluctuates according to social and personal forces. Contexts, socialization, bonding, vision, rewards, availability, and opportunity are some of the key elements that influence commitment positively or negatively (Downton & Wehr, 1997). It is entirely possible that music therapists might be called upon to engage socially with peace promotion in their own community and on a larger scale, throughout the world. It seems that MTP could serve as a place to start articulating such commitment.

The activities of the MTP movement that were started over twenty years ago by Boxill are still happening informally today. All over the world, music therapists with great experience, talent, and commitment have made a difference in people’s lives. Maybe MTP was created in the image of Edith Boxill: very enthusiastic, reaching out to many while looking for a home base which could be local and universal at the same time. Edith Boxill died in 2005 just before I started to study MTP more closely. I regret that we did not have a chance to meet. I imagine that talking directly with the initiator of such a movement would have been a very rich and informative experience. Her memory has come alive for me by means of her writings, the co-founders communications and writings, the local and worldwide MTP projects’ ramifications, and finally through my increased understanding of MTP as a powerful unifier.

I would like to end with Boxill’s word as to acknowledge her contribution to peace through music, “…there are empowering choices that we can make about ourselves in relation to the world we live in and to our work – choices that can make a difference, individually and as a unified community of music therapists….” (Boxill, 1988, p. 80).

I would like to thank music therapists Susan Baines, Maria Elena Lopez Vinader, Joseph Moreno, Christine Routhier and Shelley Snow for sharing with me their stories and views of MTP.

I also would like to thank Professors Carolyn Kenny and Philomena Essed from Antioch University for their guidance in writing this paper.

References

Ahmed, S. (2004). The cultural politics of emotion. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press.

Anderson, R. (2004). A definition of peace. Peace and Conflict Journal of Peace Psychology. 10(2), 101-116.

Boxill, E. (1997a). Music therapists for peace, inc.: A global imperative. Retrieved November 8, 2005, http://pages.nyu.edu/ehb2mtp.html.

Boxill, E. H. (1997b). The miracle of music therapy. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.

Boxill, E. H. (1988). Continuing notes: Worldwide networking for peace. Music Therapy, 7(1), 80-81.

Downton, J. Jr., & Wehr, P. (1997). The persistent activist. How peace commitment develops and survives. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Kenny, C. (2005). Edith Hillman Boxill--Making peace. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved from https://normt.uib.no/index.php/voices/article/view/228/172

Kenny, C. (1988). A song of peace: Dare we dream? Music Therapy, 7(1), 51-55.

Ng, W. F. (2005). Music therapy, war trauma, and peace: A Singaporean perspective. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved from https://normt.uib.no/index.php/voices/article/view/231/175

Routhier, C. (1988). Statement: In a song of solidarity. Music Therapy. 7(1), 73-75.

United Nations. (1999). Declaration and Programm of action on a culture of peace. Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly. (Resolution 53/243). New York.

How to cite this page

Vaillancourt, Guylaine (2011) Music Therapists for Peace: A Rebirth. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 09, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=fortnightly-columns/2011-music-therapists-peace-rebirth