Music Therapy Today - World Federation of Music Therapy
Music Therapy Today - World Federation of Music Therapy
Music Therapy Today - World Federation of Music Therapy
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<strong>Music</strong> <strong>Therapy</strong> in New Orleans<br />
<strong>Music</strong> <strong>Therapy</strong> in New Orleans<br />
By DAN SADOWSKY<br />
Source: DAN SADOWSKY/www.mercycorps.org/ February 23, 2006<br />
http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/hurricanekatrina/1119<br />
Sounds <strong>of</strong> bass drumbeats, rattling snares, echoing congas and ringing<br />
cowbells filled the Dryades YMCA cafeteria in late February, as a class<br />
full <strong>of</strong> seventh graders laughed, danced and thumped their way through<br />
Mercy Corps' first New Orleans drum circle.<br />
Along the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast, Mercy Corps is supporting pro-<br />
grams that help children recover emotionally from Hurricane Katrina and<br />
its still-omnipresent impact on their lives. One <strong>of</strong> the agency's own initia-<br />
tives is to hold ongoing drum circles for youngsters in New Orleans<br />
schools, neighborhoods and community centers.<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essional percussionists, led by Mercy Corps' Ken Williams, will<br />
introduce kids to New Orleans' unique musical heritage and use music to<br />
tap into their emotions about Katrina.<br />
"It's total expression, a creative workshop," Williams explains. Encour-<br />
aging students to drum or rap about various subjects, including Katrina,<br />
especially might help those who are reticent to talk about their feelings <strong>of</strong><br />
loss, displacement and change.<br />
Most <strong>of</strong> the students here at the inner-city Dryades YMCA, home to a K-<br />
8 charter school, lost everything in the storm.<br />
Odds and ends - themes and trends 480
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