The long road to becoming a licensed music therapist

Judith Pinkerton rattles off the definition like a tour guide who’s pointed out the same sights year after year:

“Music therapy is the evidence-based use of music interventions to achieve therapeutic goals provided by, and through, a therapeutic relationship developed with an approved, credentialed music therapist.”

Pinkerton is normally relaxed and quick with a smile, but she gets more formal as she explains what she does at the Music 4 Life Center, drawing a distinction between a music therapist and a therapeutic musician. The former is a boardcertified professional; the latter can be anyone who performs music to comfort, soothe or mentally stimulate someone else.

She’s spent years working to get music therapy accepted as a legitimate discipline.

Pinkerton took up the violin at age 7, under the tutelage of her father, Frank, a musician and founder of the Anchorage Youth Symphony.

She studied at Switzerland’s prestigious Lucerne Music Conservatory after graduating from high school, learning from renowned musicians such as Rudolf Baumgartner and Wolfgang Schneiderhan.

Returning to Alaska, Pinkerton worked as a contract musician and launched a talent agency.

After relocating to Las Vegas in 1989, she performed in shows on the Strip, playing concerts with big names such as Natalie Cole, Andrea Boccelli and Metallica, before landing a full-time gig with Wayne Newton.

She founded the nonprofit Center for Creative Therapeutic Arts and sought certification as a music therapist from the American Music Therapy Association, enrolling at Arizona State University while performing at night and raising three teens.

To become a professional, prospects must be accepted into an accredited university’s music department, then major in music therapy.

After becoming certified in 2002, she worked to get music therapy recognized by the state. She held a function at the governor’s mansion, gaining the support of state Sen. Mo Denis, who helped write legislation to license music therapists. The bill passed in 2007.

“A lot of people just don’t understand the practice of music therapy, and that was the No. 1 thing we had to talk about. That’s why it took two sessions to get it through,” Denis says. “But once people understand what music therapy is, they realize that … it’s something that really can make a difference in peoples’ lives.”

Pinkerton worked to get music therapy accepted as a discipline.