SU music education department invites music therapy expert for two lectures

SU music education department invites music therapy expert for two lecturesSeptember 22, 2006Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

The music education department of the SU School of Education and Setnor School of Music has invited Alice-Ann Darrow, the Irvin Cooper Professor of Music Therapy and Music Education at Florida State University, to present two lectures on the impact of music therapy and the arts in inclusive educational environments. The lectures will be held from 4-5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27, and Thursday, Sept. 28, in Rooms 304 A, B and C of the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center. The lectures are free and open to the public.

On Sept. 27, Darrow will present her lecture “Arts and disability: What’s so wicked about ‘Wicked?'” In this lecture, she explores how the arts can serve as a major information resource on the nature of disabilities. This presentation will cover some of the issues of disability portrayal and representation.

On Sept. 28, Darrow’s lecture “Inclusive practices in the music classroom” examines how the inclusion of students with disabilities provides opportunities for teachers to use a variety of instructional skills. Several types of strategies will be presented as a foundation for educators to create individualized, appropriate and effective accommodations and modifications for their students.

Darrow has been the Irvin Cooper Professor since 2003. Her teaching and research interests are teaching music to special populations and the role of music in deaf culture. She is co-editor of “Introduction to Approaches in Music Therapy” (American Music Therapy Association Inc., 2005) and co-author of “Music in Special Education” (American Music Therapy Association, 2004). Darrow serves on the editorial boards of the Bulletin for the Council on Research in Music Education and The Journal of Music Therapy.