Center for Music Therapy to Partner with Underserved Communities in Berklees Backyard The centers inaugural clinical director, Cynthia Koskela, shares her vision for the initiative and her own path to music therapy.
By
John Mirisola
June 29, 2022
Image by Kelly Davidson
Berklees Music Therapy Department has long been a hub of research, training, and innovation in the field. Music therapy majors have access to world-class training from leading experts, and through the Music and Health Institute, they can participate in and learn from the latest research and innovative therapeutic approaches. With the creation of the new Center for Music Therapy, the department aims to help deliver life-changing music therapy services throughout Berklees own backyard and to give music therapy students practical, hands-on training in the process.
Cynthia Koskela, inaugural clinical director of Berklees Center for Music Therapy
Designed to serve as a training ground for students in the major, the center will focus on delivering music therapy services to under-resourced communities in the Greater Boston area. Leading this new initiative is Cynthia Koskela, the centers inaugural clinical director. A 2013 graduate of Berklees music therapy undergraduate program, Koskela returns to Berklee with years of leadership experience in music therapy and a graduate degree in human development and psychology from Harvard University. She will be responsible for working with local healthcare and community organizations to develop and expand music therapy services and training that strengthens communities, promotes social change, and improves quality of life, with a particular focus on communities that are often overlooked and underserved.
We spoke to Koskela about her own path to music therapy and her vision for the new Center for Music Therapy. Read the full conversation below.
You studied music therapy at Berklee. What first drew you to this field? Yes, I completed a dual degree in music therapy and professional music. My primary instrument is the trumpet and I come from a family of mariachi musicians in Mexico. I identify as a first-generation Mexican American. Throughout my life, mariachi, corrido, and other traditional Mexican music genres have been a source of emotional expression for my family. Listening to and playing mariachi music in particular greatly influenced my identity development throughout my adolescence. Through playing and listening to mariachi music, I learned self-advocacy and began to understand my cultural wealth as a first-generation immigrant. Therefore, the therapeutic use of music, specifically culture-centered music, always interested me.
As a student at Berklee, I was first drawn to the music therapy field during my second year. Every summer we would visit family members in Mexico. During this summer I witnessed the transformative power of music with my grandmother, who had late-stage Alzheimer's. I was spending time with her and decided to sing her favorite religious song, Alabar . As I was singing, my grandmother's eyes lit up, she started clapping and singing. She then suddenly remembered my fathers name, smiled and gave him a big hug. After witnessing this beautiful effect music had on my grandmother's memory, I decided to become a music therapist and expand the use of this therapy specifically for BIPOC communities.
Could you say a bit about the path youve taken in the decade since you graduated in 2013 and how it led you back to Berklee as the clinical director of the new Center for Music Therapy? After graduating I began working as a music therapist in early intervention in the Boston metro area for several years. During this time, I became very frustrated with health and wellness inequities for families I worked with and the limited access to quality music therapy services for BIPOC communities. I wanted to learn more about how to become a child advocate and expand strength-based music therapy services for diverse communities. This led me to graduate school at Harvard University, and I graduated with a master's in human development and psychology with a focus on child advocacy. Upon graduating, I decided to continue to advocate for the expansion of music therapy in various healthcare and school organizations in the greater Boston area. It was through this advocacy that I developed the first music therapy program for Esperanza Academy, a nonprofit school for middle school girls in Lawrence.
Several years later, the Center for Music Therapy was created and I now have an opportunity to expand this advocacy and foster the development of music therapy programs that target health disparities as its inaugural clinical director.
My approach to music therapy is collective healing through community and culturally centered music therapy services. Music plays a key role in connecting communities and provides an outlet for healing through this connection.
- Cynthia Koskela, clinical director of the Center for Music Therapy
Tell me about your own approach to music therapy. In your view, what role can it play in the health and well-being of a person or a community? My approach to music therapy is collective healing through community and culturally centered music therapy services. Music plays a key role in connecting communities and provides an outlet for healing through this connection. This strength-based approach meets participants where they are and utilizes an individuals cultural and social wealth in the healing process. I believe this approach to be critical in the health and well-being of a person or community and in the advancement of equity in music therapy practices, as it is not based on a deficit healthcare model. This approach utilizes a communitys cultural wealth, such as the use of music for emotional expression and community connection, as a source of e
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
Center for Music Therapy to Partner with Underserved Communities in Berklees Backyard The centers inaugural clinical director, Cynthia Koskela, shares her vision for the initiative and her own path to music therapy.
