Transformative Talks: Music and Violence

Join us this month as we discuss the effects of music on the human psyche in relation to violence. Can music education, music therapy, music performance, or simple music exposure cause a decrease in the human tendency to hurt or kill one another? Find out on the first installment of the Sing For Your Lives "Transformative Talks" panel discussions.

Founder and Director of Connecticut Music Therapy Services

Jennifer Sokira, MMT, LCAT, MT-BC has been a Board Certified Music Therapist for 11 years and her primary clinical foci are working with children with special needs and with adults in hospice/palliative care. She has authored two chapters and a published research study and has presented locally, regionally and nationally on topics including Rett Syndrome, Children with Physical Disabilities, and on various topics in music therapy business including practice building, marketing and ethics.

Jennifer is the Founder and Director of  Connecticut Music Therapy Services, LLC which was established in 2005 and serves hundreds of individuals throughout CT.  CTMTS employs several music therapists and has recently expanded to Long Island, NY.  CTMTS is currently coordinating community-based music therapy response services in the Sandy Hook/Newtown Community. In addition, as an approved provider of continuing education, CTMTS offers in-person courses and Music Therapy Book Club self-study courses.

Jennifer received her bachelors from Duquesne University and her master in music therapy from Temple University. She is a NY Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. Jennifer has served the profession of music therapy in a variety of capacities, currently as President-Elect of the New England Region and nationally on the AMTA Ethics Board.  She was the recipient of the NER Presidential Achievement Award in 2011.

Dr. Gisela Flanigan is a social entrepreneur/consultant with more than a decade of experience advocating for the arts at local, state and national levels. Her wealth of knowledge and experience includes consultancies, site visits and panel participation with various arts organizations. Dr. Flanigan has given lecture-recital presentations for the College Music Society regional, national and international conferences, and presentations for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Educational Department.

Gisela’s civic and professional affiliations include: former Chair of the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture, Board of Directors member of the Crested Butte Music Festival, the Denver-based non-profit MindSpark (an innovator in the “Maker” movement), the Global Affairs Council for Western Colorado and is the Vice-Chair of Arts for Colorado. She serves on the following College Music Society committees: Careers Outside the Academy and Cultural Inclusion and is Sistema Global Governance Development Committee. She has been a grant reviewer, conference planner and facilitator for Colorado Creative Industries. She is currently the Executive Director for MusicSpark, and El Sistema inspired program and she is now honored to serve as Executive Director for Sistema Global.