Selected Student Bios

• Ricky Perry

  Ricky Perry is a guitarist, songwriter, and arranger who was born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in Huntsville, AL.  From 2003-2011, he lived in Nashville, TN, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis in guitar performance, composition, and arranging from Belmont University. 

  Ricky has performed, written, and recorded music since the age of seventeen, playing throughout Alabama and Tennessee with the jazz-fusion band, Del, during his college career.  After graduating, Ricky continued to perform, arrange, and record with various Nashville artists.  Most recently, he played lead guitar for Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes, recording and arranging songs on the album Civilized Man.

  From 2010-2011, Ricky was an AmeriCorps member for Community HealthCorps in Nashville and a music therapy volunteer at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.  As an AmeriCorps member, he worked in non-profit clinics providing patient outreach, education, and support in underserved communities.  Here he created the free bilingual music program “Whistle While You Wait/Música Mientras Esperas,” which allowed patients to listen, learn, or play music while waiting for appointments.  As a volunteer, Ricky affirmed his desire to pursue music therapy as a career, playing music for and with children of all ages with various illnesses.

  Ricky is a first-year graduate student at NYU’s Music Therapy program where he is engaged in fieldwork at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy.

• Merrill Collins

  Merrill Collins is a singer/songwriter/puppeteer /storyteller, and broadcaster. In recent years, she has been performing as a puppeteer, singing minstrel and storyteller for children with autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at a summer camp in Connecticut. Also, Merrill has performed as a first soprano with the Fairfield County Chorale, St. Luke’s Choir, the Metropolitan Singers/Greek Chorale Society at Avery Fisher Hall and the opera “Die Fledermaus” with the New Rochelle Opera Company.

  Although music has always been in Merrill’s life, she majored in broadcasting and received her B.A. at Goucher College in Towson, MD. After college, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting and opera. She was accepted into The Circle in the Square Theatre School. After a few years, Merrill left New York for the West Coast. In L.A., she was hired as a radio producer for Dr. Laura Schlessinger on KFI AM640. To keep her music alive, Merrill explored the coffee house scene of L.A. Then, she moved back to New York where she was hired as a co-producer for Jim Cramer’s “Real Money” radio show on CBS radio. After the show ended, Merrill volunteered at a summer camp. There, she discovered her calling to become a music therapist. After being introduced to Dr. Amy Zabin and Karen Nisenson, both graduates of the NYU Music Therapy graduate program, Merrill was compelled to apply to the program.

  Today, she is excited to be a first-year graduate student at NYU Steinhardt in the Music Therapy program and is currently conducting her fieldwork under the supervision of Karen Nisenson at Arts for Healing, a music, drama, and art therapy program for children with special needs, in New Canaan, CT. Music therapy at NYU now feels like the right size musical shoe.

• Luke Schneiders

  Luke Schneiders is a musician that has lived in Brooklyn since 2002. He earned his B.F.A. at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music program, with a specialization in jazz percussion.  Since graduating, he has recorded and toured extensively, in the U.S. and abroad.
  
  Luke has taken several ethnomusicological journeys to countries including Bulgaria, Nepal, Norway, and Ecuador, where he has had the fortune to apprentice under master musicians.  These trips often included a parallel volunteer component, such as teaching English or music, working on rainforest preservation, etc.
  
  In 2010 Luke co-founded Encouraging Arts, a social-benefit organization that designs and executes free, arts-based workshops in underserved communities.  In 2011, E.A. launched its flagship effort “All Together Now,” a songwriting workshop implemented in thirteen South American institutions, including schools, orphanages, and shelters.  Luke returned from this experience certain that music can heal and create positive change.
  
  Luke is proud and thankful to be a member of the NYU Music Therapy community.  There he is perpetually inspired by his professors and classmates, and unified in his passions for music, learning, and helping others.

• Kelli Rae Powell

  Kelli Rae Powell is a singer/songwriter and leads a bluegrass band based in Brooklyn, NY, that plays her original music. She released her second album “New Words for Old Lullabies” at the Paris Ukulele Festival on July 4th, 2009, in Paris, France.
  
  Born in Nebraska and raised in Iowa, Kelli Rae moved to New York City in 2000 after she graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in Theatre Arts. Kelli Rae discovered her passion for music therapy volunteering at a hospice on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. Several of the residents were drawn to Kelli Rae’s ukulele, and she was moved to learn their stories and witness the power of music as it comforted the residents and brought them joy.
  
  Kelli Rae is a first-year graduate student at NYU Steinhardt in the Music Therapy program and is currently conducting her fieldwork at Heartsong®, a music and art therapy program for children with special needs, in Yonkers, NY. Her experiences at Heartsong® are confirming her belief that music is the most powerful tool available for making human connection. Kelli Rae is thrilled to be pursuing music therapy at NYU.

  www.kelliraepowell.com

• Brittany Croley
  Brittany Croley is an oboist, vocalist, and guitarist in her first year at the NYU Steinhardt Music Therapy program. She has performed in various orchestras and chamber ensembles in the U.S., as well as throughout Asia and Europe. Brittany holds a BA in Oboe Performance from Vanderbilt University.
  
  Prior to her acceptance at NYU, Brittany worked as a professional freelance oboist and private music instructor. As a music educator, she worked with young children with a wide range of developmental disabilities, including apraxia and other communication disorders, which led her to discover her calling as a music therapist. As a graduate student, Brittany is doing fieldwork at HeartShare Human Services in Brooklyn, where she works with both preschoolers and school-aged children with various language and speech disorders, cerebral palsy, Autistim Spectrum Disorders, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and Down syndrome. In addition to HeartShare, Brittany is also doing work at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy where she films and indexes music therapy sessions for a stroke patient suffering from hemiplegia and nonfluent aphasia.
  
  In September 2010, Brittany was an intern and digital media coordinator for “Music as a Natural Resource,” an international compendium that was presented in NYC as part of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals Project. She feels very blessed to be a part of the music therapy program at NYU Steinhardt and is very excited to be using her music as a natural remedy to assist others in their psychological and personal development. Brittany’s primary instruments are the guitar and voice, and she is greatly influenced by the thumb picking styles of her Kentucky roots. Besides folk music, Brittany is also influenced by jazz and is also an improvisational pianist. In addition to becoming a music therapist, Brittany also plans to conduct research to further explore the relationships between clinical music therapy and neuromusicology.
• Changho Song
  Music Therapy student Changho Song is a guitarist, songwriter, and recording engineer.
  After taking up the guitar at age 13, he formed his own band and performed various genres of
  music including pop, rock, blues, and jazz. He has since majored in sound recording at Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts in Korea and joined the military band of Capital Defense Command in Korea for two years playing the trumpet.
  
  Changho was drawn to music therapy through experiences using music while working as a volunteer. He has always dreamed of leading a valuable life to help others in need through
  music. When he discovered music therapy, he eagerly embraced the opportunity to join the field as he felt this was his calling. He he was attracted to Creative Music Therapy which can lead self- awareness and self-expression, stimulate potential and attain therapeutic goals. It matched what he has been going though with making music, so he enrolled at NYU Steinhardt.
  
  Presently, Changhho is doing his fieldwork at Lifeline Center for Child Development, under the supervision of Kenji Takeda. After graduation and gaining sufficient clinical practice, Changho plans on developing his own music therapy program based on creative works, sound waves and recording technology. He believes that music is an entity that can brighten anyone’s life.
• Christina Lee

  Music Therapy Student Christina Lee is a Gospel recording artist, Pianist and Music Director. Her journey began at the age of 4 with piano lessons which eventually led to her being accepted at the Pre-College at Manhattan School of Music and later, the Music Conservatory at Purchase College where she received her BA.

  Before her acceptance to NYU, Christina has had the opportunity to perform at numerous venues throughout the United States. Some of her performances were at venues such as the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn with Pastor and Singer Donnie McClurkin, Richmond Christian Center in Virginia with the Women of Praise Tour and at the NAACP ‘Essence of Women’ concert at Bethel AME. She has also worked as the Music Director to New Destiny Fellowship and Shin Kwang Church of NY.

  As a Music Therapy student, her primary instruments are Voice and Piano and she has started her fieldwork at Heartsong in White Plains working with young children with special needs. Before this, her clinical experiences/studies include working with Professor Seung-A Kim (Molloy College) at the Agape Music Therapy program at Arumdaun Church in Long Island and at Margaret Tietz Nursing Home.

  Currently, Christina works as the Music Instructor at The Children’s Aid Society (Drew Hamilton site) as well as the Worship Arts Coordinator for Metro Hope Church located in Harlem’s famous National Black Theater. 
• Julian Silva

  Julian Silva is a percussionist, composer, arranger, director and founder of La Excelencia, a New York-based Latin salsa band. 

  Born in Cali, Colombia, raised in Louisiana, and now based in New York, he is interested in music therapy as a dynamic outlet for both verbal and non-verbal expression, which he found instrumental to assimilating into a new country, culture and social environment.  
  

  Julian has spent the past 9 years working in cancer research in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.  Most recently, his research has focused on the psychosocial effects of cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for bone marrow and stem cell transplant survivors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.    
  

  Julian holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Louisiana State University.  He is a first-year graduate student at NYU Steinhardt in the Music Therapy program.  He believes in the power of music as an effective platform for dialogue, and is dedicated to utilizing music as a catalyst for social change and expression.  
  

  www.laexcelencia.net