[Original Voices: World Congresses of Music Therapy]

Memories from Brisbane: An interview with Petra Kern

By Krzysztof Stachyra

Krzysztof Stachyra: I guess that The 11th World Music Therapy Congress in Brisbane was not the only world congress in your life. In how many World Music Therapy Congresses have you taken part in?

Petra Kern: The WFMT World Congress of Music Therapy in Hamburg, Germany in 1996 was my first one. Since then, I attended all WFMT World Congresses of Music Therapy, which makes it a total of six (i.e., Hamburg, Washington, D.C, Oxford, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, and Seoul).

K.S.: Was this in Brisbane, Australia special in any way?

P.K.: Yes! During the WFMT World Congress of Music Therapy in Brisbane, Australia, I have been elected as the WFMT Secretary /Treasurer following Dr. Jayne Standley, who served in this position from 2002-2005.

K.S.: Did you have any new ideas for the congress that were not present on previous world congresses?

Prior serving as the Secretary/Treasurer on the WFMT Council, I did not engage in the planning of the WFMT World Congresses. Meaning, I was not involved in planning the 2005 World Congress in Brisbane, Australia.

K.S.: What do you remember the best?

P.K.: I do remember the beautiful city and riding with the water taxi to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre every morning. The congress was very well organized and brought the indigenous culture of Australia to the congress. I enjoyed meeting familiar and new Australian colleagues at the welcome reception and remember the impressive music performance of the Dreamtime Opera Diva Delmar Barton and her son William Barton, a well-known didgeridoo player who later on shared insights in an interview with Dr. Denise Grocke.

K.S.: Did you make friends with any new music therapists there who are important part of your life now?

P.K.: During this congress, I meet Anja Tait, one of the keynote speakers. I was intrigued by her work on Stories of Indigenous Community Engagement with the Arts for Education and Well Being. We had much to share and have collaborated on several projects and presentations since then.

K.S.: You were Chair of one congress section. Did you have any special meetings as the leaders?

P.K.: Since 2001, I served as the German delegate for the DMtG (German Society of Music Therapy, former DBVMT, BVM) to WFMT. From 2002-2005, I also served on the International Relations Committee of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) representing the Southeastern Region of the U.S.A. Meaning, in this capacity I attended the WFMT Business Meetings and other related international events such as the WFMT symposium on The Impact of Cultural Issue on Music Therapy Education.

K.S.: Which presentations did you find the most interesting? What has remained deep in your memory?

P.K.: Reviewing the Congress Program again, I realized that I attended many presentations related to early childhood music therapy and also chaired a section. When attending international congresses, I always enjoy learning about the latest research of my colleagues, but also to discover new talents sharing their innovative practice. Ready Let’s Go: Funky, Fun, Fantastic Songs for Kids by Allsion Fuller, RMT from Giant Steps in Sydney was one of them. I also learned a lot at a didgeridoo workshop with William Barton and was touched by a film produced by my German colleague Margarete Schnaufer about her work with geronto-psychiatric patients. I also was stunned about the incredible Winton Musical Fence project presented by the Queensland Music Festival, which gave me another dimension of the musical playground project that I created in the U.S.

K.S.: Did something during congress influence you as a future President of WFMT?

P.K.: It was not one event during the congress, but more the exposure to music therapy researchers, educators, practitioners, and students worldwide that influenced my contributions to the World Federation of Music Therapy later on. Learning about the status and recognition of our profession worldwide, the needs of our clients, cultural and political differences, and the ideas of our students shaped my vision for WFMT.

K.S.: What about the social part of the congress?

P.K.: Besides seeing Kangaroos, Wombats, and Koalas in the Lone Pine Sanctuary, I had lovely lunches and dinners with colleagues from the US and other places around the world. I also explored the city of Brisbane with its terrific parks and playgrounds and the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). On a personal note, my husband joined me for the closing ceremony of the congress before we were heading out to the Hayman Island for our honeymoon followed by a trip up the Gold Cost to Cairns.

K.S.: Thank you very much for these inspiring memories.