Brenda H. Kaplan

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Brenda H. Kaplan (March 29, 1934 - July 10, 1998) was a piano teacher for 40 years in Fairfield, Connecticut and president of the American Harp Society (Connecticut chapter) during their first year.

Brenda had not only a great love of music, but a great love of how music affected children--emotionally, spiritually, and physically. She believed greatly in the healing powers of sound.

In her honor, at the time of her death, The Brenda H. Kaplan Music Fund (administered through The Fairfield County Community Foundation) was established to support music programs for children in medical and psychiatric hospitals, shelters, foster care, and other challenged situations. To date, the fund has contributed to Hallbroke Hospital in Westport, CT, the American Music Therapy Association (http://www.musictherapy.org/) and most recently, the Child Life Program at Yale New Haven Hospital Department of Pediatrics. This is a noteworthy program as it may be the only one that grants funds for music experience - it is not used for instruments, education, books or other tangibles.

Universities that grant credible degrees in music therapy include:

California State University - Northridge, CA (http://www.csun.edu/~hcmus006/MusicTherapy.html)

Chapman University - Orange, CA (http://www.chapman.edu/music/therapy.asp)

University of the Pacific - Stockton, CA (http://web.pacific.edu/x1316.xml)

Colorado State University - Fort Collins, CO (http://wsprod.colostate.edu/cwis121/music/divisions/therapy/index.asp)

Howard University - Washington, DC (http://www.coas.howard.edu/music/programs.html)

Berklee College of Music - Boston, MA 02215 (http://www.berklee.edu/majors/music_therapy.html)

New York University - New York, NY (http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/therapy/)

Temple University - Philadelphia, PA (http://www.temple.edu/musictherapy/home/prog.htm)

Sam Houston State University - Huntsville TX (http://www.shsu.edu/music/degrees/therapy.php)

[edit] References

Campbell, Don (1996) The Power of Music: How to Use Sound for Relaxation, Concentration, and Healing, Simon & Schuster, ISBN-0671572903
Goldman, Jonathan (1992). Healing Sounds: The Power of Harmonics, Inner Traditions, ISBN 185230314X