Music industry supports musicians' health initiatives

The UNT College of Music has secured $60,000 from organizations within the music industry — including the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that awards the Grammys — to develop a nationally implemented health communication method for music schools across the country to inform college students about the health risks associated with music.

The grants include $30,000 from NARAS, $15,000 from the International Music Products Association and $15,000 from the International Foundation for Music Research. These grants are in addition to $20,000 previously received this year from the National Endowment for the Arts.

During the next year, the Texas Center for Music and Medicine will organize task force groups in four areas — physical health, mental health, audiological health and vocal health — to create the core content for the communication module. The task force members will present that content at a conference organized by the center, the Performing Arts Medical Association and the UNT Health Science Center Office of Professional and Continuing Education in Fall 2004.

"This funding ensures that we will be able to draw together top scholars to discuss musicians' health and create a communication module that really makes music students and teachers aware that while music is a critical, positive part of our culture, there are risks associated with performing music just as there are risks associated with playing sports," says Kris Chesky, research director for the center.

Music, medical and allied health professionals from around the nation will gather at the "Health Promotion in Schools of Music" conference to create the method.

The National Association of Schools of Music, which accredits more than 500 schools of music, recently added a recommendation to its accreditation guidelines encouraging member schools to provide health information that promotes awareness about and prevention of performance injuries. The NASM is serving as a resource and consultant on the project.

Details about the conference dates, location and program can be found at www.unt.edu/hpsm.

Directed by Chesky and rheumatologist and UNT Health Science Center professor of medicine Bernard Rubin, the Texas Center for Music and Medicine was established to study, treat and prevent disorders related to learning and performing music. The center comprises educators, researchers and clinicians within the UNT System, including faculty from the College of Music, the College of Arts and Sciences and the UNT Health Science Center, who conduct interdisciplinary research and provide clinical treatment to musicians in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The center's clinical and research programs address health issues related to hearing, physical problems and mental health. Ongoing findings support the concern for these problem areas and show that preventative measures can be effective at reducing risk.

As a result, the UNT College of Music expanded its mission to educate students about the physical concerns associated with performing and teaching music. The college now prides itself on its health awareness and prevention programs, specialized clinical services, and research.

"By making this commitment, the college has taken the first steps toward a cultural shift in how schools of music think about teaching and performing," says James Scott, dean of the College of Music. "Because we don't usually think about musicians' health as being at risk, this is an important first step, but still just that — a small step in bringing about industrywide belief changes."

The College of Music encourages its students to take advantage of the center's clinical resources, educational programs and research initiatives. The college also offers courses in music and medicine for graduate students and has a unique music and medicine study option for students seeking a master's or doctor of musical arts degree.

"We believe music is a critically important and immeasurably valuable part of our society. That's why we are engaged in preparing our students for successful careers in music as performers, teachers, scholars and composers," Scott says.

"We also want our students to have long careers and to be informed music educators, so we pay attention to the effects and potential harm that can be caused by the stress of demanding too much of the body or using it incorrectly. After all, a musician's body plays a role equal to the instrument in the ability to make music," he says.

BY KELLEY REESE kreese@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Multimillion-dollar bequest creates new behavior analysis research program at UNT
• UNT reaches all-time enrollment high for Fall 2003
• Legislative actions advance UNT Dallas project
• UNT celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
• Poet and essayist to speak at UNT Sept. 25
• Staff Council elects officers for 2003-04 year
• Families to share in Mean Green spirit Sept. 26-28
• Interpretational change to holiday pay entitlement

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