(back to list) December 2009

I am pleased to feature Laura Schwendinger, our “Composer of the Month”. In this issue, Laura speaks eloquently about music’s relationship to movement. Her composition, “Garden of Earthly Delights” will be performed by the extraordinary new music ensemble Cygnus on April 5th.

Karen Popkin is a remarkable music therapist and I had the good fortune to spend an afternoon with her at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and learn more about her fascinating work.

On November 2nd, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with Music Therapist Karen Popkin at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and observe her interaction with a 68 year old patient undergoing bone marrow transplantation for a hematologic cancer. Karen’s perspective is pscho-dynamic and humanistic, emphasizing a therapeutic relationship with the patient. She is sensitive to the patient’s particular needs, molding her music to each individual and maintaining a constant awareness of the patient’s emotional status and needs. She told me how important it was to stay focused in the moment and to be flexible to minute changes. She said that she wants to enter into their world rather than forcing them to enter hers. For this reason she is careful to study each patient’s background, cultural roots and preferences.

The day I observed her work, Karen told me that the patient we were visiting was particularly fond of meditation. She asked him if he would like her to speak in addition to hearing her play music and he said that he would. While playing the guitar, she spoke about rhythm and the breath in a soft, musical voice. “Breathing in, I nourish myself. Breathing out I let go.

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As a composer, and musician, I am constantly aware of movement. The physical essence of music is palpable to me. As I write a line of music, I sing along with each note as I place it on paper. The physical qualities of music lead the makers of music, on all levels to be aware of the related corporeal properties of our world. When we feel ill, without that natural flow of adrenaline, we simply cannot perform. Although one wouldn’t know it by looking at a composer, like performers we are essentially athletes. The performance of our mind and practiced ear are at their best when we are physically well, and why health is so important to musicians.

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