Washington, DC, September 1, 2011 – The Levine School of Music is pleased to announce the launch of a comprehensive music therapy program this fall, initially at its Northwest DC Campus and with selected partner organizations. Leanne Belasco, previously at the Kennedy Krieger School, has been named Levine’s first Director of Music Therapy.

Music therapy uses music as a tool to help individuals - from children to seniors - transform and improve the quality of their lives, while addressing each individual’s unique emotional, physical, cognitive and social needs. Reaching beyond barriers of social, communicative, and cognitive limitations, music therapy offers individuals with disabilities a means to develop skills that can be used in everyday life. Through music therapy, individuals can identify and manage various emotional states, and can pursue opportunities for creativity and self-expression.  

Peter Jablow, the President & CEO of Levine stated, “Music therapy reflects Levine’s core values of opportunity and community. Under Leanne’s leadership, Levine will, for the first time in the Washington region, offer a comprehensive program to individuals with disabilities or developmental disorders for whom music would otherwise be unavailable.”

Andrea Farbman, Executive Director of the American Music Therapy Association states, “The music therapy needs of people in the greater DC area are enormous; as Executive Director of the American Music Therapy Association, I am thrilled that such a prestigious institution as Levine has the foresight and leadership to develop a top-notch program to fill those needs."

For more information on the program or to contact Leanne please visit: www.levineschool.org/musictherapy

About Leanne Belasco:
Leanne received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from Duquesne University and a Master’s in Special Education from Johns Hopkins. Most recently, Leanne served as a music therapist for the Kennedy Krieger School’s Montgomery County Campus providing group and individual music therapy services for students with autism spectrum disorders. Leanne takes pride in her ability to provide “creative, structured, and success-oriented music interventions through which students have been able to express themselves and grow as individuals.”