Our Board

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Executive: Chair  - Wanda Gascho-White, Music Therapist, Zareinu Educational Centre, Thornhill

Executive: Secretary - Jodi Greenwood, Music Therapist, Teacher TDSB, Toronto

Executive: Research - Laurel Young, Music Therapist, professor, Concordia University, Montreal

Executive: Grants - Debbie Carroll, Music Therapist, professor, UQAM, Montreal

Executive: Treasurer - to be filled

Dr. David Alter - Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Cardiologist, Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto

Mary An Blom - Director, Corporate Strategy & Insights, Sony Music Entertainment, Toronto

Scott Rondeau - CEO/Executive Producer/Writer, HellCreek Entertainment, Toronto

Patrick Zulinov - Assistant Director of Programming, Shore 104, Vancouver

Jerry Brunner -  Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Toronto

A message from our Chair  

Dear Friends,

It was an exciting year for the Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund. We worked hard, celebrated some great successes and provided hundreds of individuals with music therapy across Canada. 


I am saddened however, that in December we had to say goodbye to Julio Cotelesso of Steve's Music in Montreal. Julio was a long-time supporter of music therapy and a member of the board of directors of the CMTTF. He passed away unexpectedly and will be sincerely missed for his energy, enthusiasm and strong advocacy for the power of music therapy. We will celebrate his life with a fund in his name that will support music therapy in Montreal.   

 

This past year we did have a lot to celebrate. We supported programs at the BC Children's Hospital, Canuck Place Children's Hospice, Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre - Mel Miller Hospice, and Central Toronto Youth Services. The Michael Cohl Fellowship was awarded to Susan Baines. The Fran Herman Scholarship was awarded to Alison Usher Jones, Abigail Graff, and Emily Carruthers. We also continued to support services at the Music Therapy Centre in Toronto. With large and small groups and individual sessions, altogether, hundreds of individuals received music therapy in 2012 because of the Music Therapy Trust. 

 

The need for music therapy programs continues to be urgent. We have received our program proposals for 2013 from across the country and will keep you posted on grant recipients and new programs this year. 


I hope you all have a wonderful and healthy 2013. 


Wanda Gascho-White

Chair of the board 

 

Fran Herman, Past-chair

Fran Herman has been a pioneer of music therapy in Canada since 1955. She is also a childcare specialist who has worked with children who are physically and/or developmentally challenged. She has served as president of OMTA, CAMT, and in 1995 took over as chairperson of CMTTF.  Fran has co-authored two books, Accentuate the Positive and Creatibility; created and directed the Wheelchair Players; and mobilized the Canadian music industry to help support music therapy across the country. Most recently she was honoured by the Music Industry Association of Canada with its inaugural MIAC Award for her outstanding work.

Click below and read more about Fran Herman and her accomplishments.