Ep 107 Anita Connell at the AMTA Conference Part 2
Release Date: 03/25/2026
Ep 107 Anita Connell at the AMTA Conference Part 2
Music Therapy Conversations
This is the second instalment of Anita Connell's recorded interviews from the Australian Music Therapy Conference, following on from episode 104. Dr Grace Thompson is a registered music therapist and Associate Professor in Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne. Grace has lived experience of disability, and has worked with disabled children, young people and their families for over 20 years within the early childhood and special education sectors. As part of her PhD research, Grace developed and evaluated a collaborative approach to music therapy practice with families guided by...
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Ep 106 Tamar Hadar
Music Therapy Conversations
Tamar Hadar, PhD, is co-head of the Music Therapy Program at the School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, where she leads the program together with Dr. Maayan Salomon-Gimmon. She completed her M.A. and PhD in Music Therapy at Bar-Ilan University. Her doctoral research - supervised by Prof. Dorit Amir - compared clinical improvisation and jazz improvisation. Tamar’s first postdoctoral fellowship was at NYU under the mentorship of Prof. Kenneth Aigen, where her work centered on analyzing Nordoff and Robbins’s clinical improvisations and developing a theory of time around...
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Ep 105 Hugh Anderson
Music Therapy Conversations
Episode 105 is another interview from Crystal Luk-Worrall. In this episode, Crystal talks to music therapist Hugh Anderson. Hugh is a freelance Music Therapist and currently runs his own private practice, Thame Music Therapy, in South Oxfordshire. He trained at The Guildhall from 2014-2016 and has had a wide range of experiences working in mainstream and specialist schools and nurseries, as well as in different charity and community settings. The latter included eight years at the charity Resources for Autism in north London, where he was Head of Therapies from 2020-2023. Before training as a...
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Ep 104 Anita Connell at the Australian Music Therapy Conference 2025 - Part 1
Music Therapy Conversations
In this episode, first Luke talks to Anita, then we hear Anita's interviews with Professors Denise Grocke and Alison Short. Sandwiched between these two longer interviews there are some shorter conversations with Pip Reid, Lucy Bolger, Wendy Magee, Helen Cameron, Catherine Threlfall and Emma O’Brien. This all took place at the in October 2025, in Melbourne. Emeritus Professor Denise Grocke PhD, RMT, RGIMT, FAMI, L. Mus. Emeritus Professor Denise Grocke completed her music therapy qualifications at Michigan State University, USA, and holds a Masters degree in Music Therapy, and a PhD in...
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Ep 103 Carine Ries
Music Therapy Conversations
In episode 103, Crystal Luk-Worrall interviews Carine Ries. Crystal is a new addition to the Music Therapy Conversations team of interviewers - more interviews from her coming soon! (You can also listen to Davina's interview with Crystal, if you haven't already, as this is .) Carine completed her undergraduate degree in Music & Psychology at the University of Leeds before moving to London to complete her MA in Music Therapy at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2010. Carine has since also qualified as a Music and Imagery therapist and GIM fellow. Carine completed her 200hrs...
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Ep 102 Tim Honig
Music Therapy Conversations
In this episode, Martin Lawes talks with Tim Honig, PhD, MT-BC This podcast conversation about Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) includes discussion about how the cultural context may affect practice, about the music’s role as co-therapist, and about the use of different types of music. The ongoing development of GIM worldwide is also considered where Music and Imagery (MI) methods are becoming increasingly important in Europe. Tim Honig, PhD, MT-BC is a board-certified music therapist and a Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery. He is Assistant Professor and Director of...
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Ep 101 Tina Warnock
Music Therapy Conversations
Episode 101 is Luke's interview with Tina Warnock. This took place online in April 2025. Their conversation had a strong focus on vocal psychotherapy, including Tina's personal process of discovering this powerful therapeutic practice, and her current roles in developing training and research in this area. Tina Warnock is originally from Hertfordshire in England and has been based in Brighton, East Sussex since her undergraduate studies in Social Psychology in the late 1980s. She grew up playing the piano and in her late teens began singing and songwriting. The personal growth she experienced...
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Ep 100 Luke Annesley and Davina Vencatasamy
Music Therapy Conversations
The 100th episode is here! Luke and Davina look back on the podcast - how it started out, where it has come to, what they have learned so far. They also go on conversational detours, considering their own perspectives on this profession, including current discussions about diversity, inclusion and race, along with the nature of music in music therapy, and how individual, as well as multi-faceted, this work is. What were the original intentions for the podcast? Who helped get it started? What's Luke's favourite episode? All will be revealed! Thanks are also given to all those people who have...
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Ep 99 Michele Forinash
Music Therapy Conversations
Davina talks to Michele Forinash DA, MT-BC, LMHC about her experiences working with AIDS patients in hospice in the 1980s, topics around white supremacy and colonialism in music therapy, Michele's experiences as a queer music therapist, and the decolonisation of research and practice. This is a rich and inspiring interview with a music therapist with deep insights from a long and varied career to date. Michele is Professor & Director of the PhD program in the Expressive Therapies Department at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Michele, a white, cis, Queer woman, has been involved in...
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Ep 98 Tessa Watson
Music Therapy Conversations
Tessa Watson is a music therapist and trainer. She is Associate Professor and Programme Leader for the MA Music Therapy at University of Roehampton and works in that setting with colleagues across the Arts and Play Therapies and other HCPC registered professions. She has extensive clinical experience in mental health and learning disability work and her current music therapy work is with the children and families who use Alexander Devine Hospice. Tessa has an interest in co-production and is one of the founders of HENCoP (The Health Education Network for Co-Production). Tessa has published and...
info_outlineThis is the second instalment of Anita Connell's recorded interviews from the Australian Music Therapy Conference, following on from episode 104.
Dr Grace Thompson is a registered music therapist and Associate Professor in Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne. Grace has lived experience of disability, and has worked with disabled children, young people and their families for over 20 years within the early childhood and special education sectors. As part of her PhD research, Grace developed and evaluated a collaborative approach to music therapy practice with families guided by ecological theories and family-centred philosophy. Her research continues to explore the ways music therapists can foster relationships and social connection through participating in engaging and accessible music making. Grace is past president of the Australian Music Therapy Association, author of “Goal Processes in Music Therapy Practice”, and co-editor of the book “Music Therapy with Families: Therapeutic Approaches and Theoretical Perspectives”. She is currently Editor of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. The song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” (performed by Cass Elliot, written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil) captures the sentiment of Grace’s music therapy practice and research.
Brodie Henry (she/they) is a d/Deaf Registered Music Therapist working in Special Education for many years. She embeds Key Word Sign in her clinical practice and is often called on for her skills in Auslan to support students. Brodie embeds advocacy and principles of disability justice in her daily work to ensure children are appropriately supported in their emotional, developmental, and therapeutic needs in order to thrive.
Zoë Kalenderidis (she/her) is a disabled and Hard of Hearing Registered Music Therapist based in Narrm/Melbourne. Her work centres on promoting wellbeing and equitable access to music-making. She holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Music (Voice) from Southern Cross University and a Master of Music Therapy from the University of Melbourne. Since the inception of the Melbourne Youth Orchestra’s Adaptive Music Bridging Program, Zoë has served as musical director of the Foundation Groups, supporting disabled children who experience significant barriers to music education. The program fosters accessible ensemble playing using adaptive or standard instruments tailored to each child’s interests and needs. Zoë is interested in d/Deaf and disabled aesthetics in music, exploring how musical experiences and creative expression are shaped by diverse modes of listening, embodiment, and sensory perception. She seeks to challenge conventional notions of music-making while celebrating and valuing the artistry of disabled musicians. She is also a published author and co-author, with research that amplifies the visibility and contributions of disabled musicians and Registered Music Therapists.
Rob Devlin is a Registered Music Therapist with over 18 years’ experience and is also a Director of Sound Expression. He was previously Senior Music Therapist and Head of Business Development for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. He completed his Masters in Creative Music Therapy through Western Sydney University. He values the use of interactive, improvisational music therapy, as embodied by the Nordoff-Robbins philosophy and approach to clinical music therapy.
Rob has extensive experience as a music therapist with many clinical populations, including children and adults with a wide range of disabilities, neuro-divergent children, adolescents and adults with mental health diagnoses, rehabilitation work with clients who have had strokes, acquired brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. He also has extensive experience providing music therapy in aged care settings including clients with dementia. Before coming to music therapy, Rob had many years’ experience in the corporate world in various senior sales and marketing roles. He left that world behind to focus on his passion, which is using music to help others live a more fulfilled and rewarding life.