Music Therapy Newsletter-October 2015
December Newsletter

December is going to be a busy but fun month at Rhapsody and there will be lots of opportunities to enjoy the holiday season!  
Faculty Holiday Recital

The faculty will be putting on a holiday recital at Rhapsody on Friday, December 4th at 7:30pm.  Several faculty members will be playing holiday and classical favorites and I will be playing a few pieces on my harp.  
Student Recitals and Nursing Home Recitals

If your child would like another performance opportunity, there will be two student recitals at local nursing homes the weekend before the recitals at Rhapsody.  

On Saturday, Dec 5th there will be a recital at Coventry Village at 2:00pm and on Sunday Dec 6th there will be a recital at Badger Prairie at 2:00pm. If your child is interested in performing, you can sign up in the green binder on the front desk. 
Group Lesson Week

Group lesson week is the week of December 14th.  Your child will be having their normal session with me at the normal time.  This is not a break week or a make up week.  If your child is interested in any of the group lesson classes or if you have any questions, let me know.  
Winter Break

Winter break will take place from Monday, December 21st through Friday January 1st.  Lessons will resume on January 4th.

I will be offering make up lessons on December 21st and 22nd.  If you need to schedule a make up, please let me know.
Music Therapy Grants

A list of grants that could be used towards music therapy will soon be added to the Rhapsody website.  As you plan for next year, you may want to consider using a grant to help cover costs.  Check here for a list of grants.
VSA Christmas Choir Concert

 The Stoughton VSA Choir, which I conduct, will be having its Christmas Concert on December 8th at 6:30pm at the United Methodist Church in Stoughton.  The address is 525 Lincoln Ave in Stoughton. The concert will consist of songs from classic holiday TV specials and all are welcome!  
Winter Fundraiser

You may have noticed Waddles the Penguin working his way up the hill in the lobby.  You can help him get to the top by purchasing a penguin or a snowflake.  All proceeds go to the scholarship fund to help students study music who otherwise wouldn't be able to.
The More You Know
Is It Harmful to Use Music as a Coping Mechanism?

Researchers in Finland have studied how people use music to cope with negative emotions.  They learned that there is a difference in brain activation in males and females as they listen to emotional music and that males and females may use music to cope with emotions differently.  Music may be used as discharge which is similar to rumination, when a person continually thinks about a negative emotion and allows it to amplify.  Solace, using music to understand and contextualize emotion, and diversion, using music to distract from a negative emotion, may be healthier ways of using music to cope with negative emotions.  

The Atlantic has published a very clear summary of the article which you can read here.
If you believe that music therapy has be beneficial for your child and you know of another parent whose child might also benefit from music therapy, please pass along our information!
Rhapsody Arts Center| kim@rhapsodyarts.org | 608-848-2045 | Website

Rhapsody Arts Center | 1031 North Edge Tr | Verona | WI | 53593