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On August 29-30 the Australian Music Therapy Association held their 40th National Conference in sunny Brisbane, Queensland. There were a lot of exciting talks amongst Australian music therapists and music therapy students on this notion of turning 40 as a time for reflection, time to seize opportunities for further growth and of course, a time for celebration.Dr. Grace Thompson, the newly elected president of AusMTA, resonated these sentiments wonderfully in her opening keynote address, acknowledging that this special occasion can provide the momentum for us to reflect collectively on the ways we engage people in musicking for health and wellbeing, as well as the time to broaden the community of practice to further progress the profession towards the future.I sat down with one of my student peers, Max Schollar-Root, who attended the conference for the first time, and he generously shared his experience in the following interview.I: So, Max, can you tell us about your experience of attending the 40th Australian Music Therapy National Conference?M: Overall the experience was really fun and inspiring. Being at a music therapy conference for the first time as a student was pretty scary at first, so when I got there, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it might be very serious, but slowly, after the first keynote event, I got the sense that everyone there was really enjoying themselves and that this was something that everyone was really savouring. You know, to be in a room with so many music therapists from all over the country, you can really feel like you are a part of this special group of people in an inspiring way. There’s an energising aspect to it. Because everyone seemed to be really cherishing the experience, I started to feel that maybe I too was allowed to enjoy it and from then on, it was great.I: That sounds like a brilliant start, Max. What else did you enjoy from attending the conference?M: It was also a very useful networking experience. I have a long-term plan of moving back to a specific part of New South Wales (a state in Australia with Sydney as its capital). After asking a couple of music therapists, I was put in touch with two music therapists that live and work in that part of NSW, and I got to chat with them about what's happening in the area in terms of music therapy practice. They also kindly gave me their contact details, which was great. Also, I met another music therapist at lunch that happened to be working in the same town and with a similar population to where my placement is currently; it was a great coincidental meeting. Since then we have met up and discussed setting up a permanent music therapy position at my placement facility. It’s nice to know that there will be someone who could fill that position for the long-term. Plus, of course, it’s great to learn from someone with more experience and...yeah something really nice about that, the working together…the comradery to build the profession.I: What would you say was the highlight of the conference for you? Or should I say highlights?M: I really liked the presentation by Verena Clemencic-Jones and Matt Ralph from Sydney’s Children Hospital on the use of technology in paediatric music therapy. Some of the things they did with the children were creating music videos, digital collages with music, and slide shows with music. At the end of their music therapy sessions, the children would have these tangible objects that they could take away with them. I thought that was really great. I mean, not only was it engaging for these children, they could also show their creation to family and friends. Even though it may not describe the therapeutic work in its entirety, I still think it is something concrete that people can relate to and a conversation starter about music therapy. Their use of technology in music therapy has afforded that.I also really enjoyed Jason Kenner's presentation. He shared his custom built guitar harp to facilitate music engagement with a client who suffered left hemiplegia and premorbid guitar skills. It was another relevant and concrete case study that I learned from and was really applicable to my preparation in becoming a music therapist myself.The social night on the first day of conference was a highlight, too. It was silly and yet very fun. Again, it was just great to be with these experienced music therapists in a social setting with no sense of hierarchy at all.Also, most importantly, I feel that the overall enthusiasm throughout the conference was very nice to hear. Hearing lots of ‘win’ music therapy stories was really inspiring and, so, yeah...I came out of it feeling a little tired from all the learning experiences, but at the same time I also felt really energised. There is this sense of being a part of a great team of people and that we're all going to keep doing what we do better and just keep getting bigger...yeah. It was a great top up of inspiration and energy!I: Thank you again for sharing your experience Max, and one last question, will we see you at the next national conference in Sydney?M: For sure!Irene Sandjaja, AustraliaWFMT Student Delegate for Australia/New Zealand
