About me

I trained as a music therapist and worked in practice and participatory research for twenty five years across dementia, neurological rehabilitation and nursing care. In that time I ran landmark research projects such as a junk orchestra for people living with stroke and head injury in the community, created the UK’s first national music therapy service in care homes, and have been a keynote speaker internationally on music, health and education. I was awarded my PhD in 2015, published my first monograph in 2016, and gained an MBE for Services to Music Therapy and Care in 2017. In 2018 I started a post-doctoral fellowship at the Wellcome Trust / Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I also led the doctoral programme and supervised a number of PhDs ranging from music therapy to drama. I took a break from active music therapy practice in 2024.

I am currently an Independent Scholar, educator, and freelance writer, with a focus on understanding more about Music Work across the whole spectrum of applied music with people. I am an Associate of the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice, a Visiting Research Fellow at Bath Spa University School of Music and Performing Arts, and founder of AERIEL Creative Research. My scholarly activities involve building a practice that is anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and world-building. I support people to create memoirs and text-based content as a ghostwriter, and host an online zine called www.thepontoon.info. I am editing a new international collection of Creative Critical writing on Music Work, and I supervise and teach Music Workers internationally.