Memories from VII World Congress of Music Therapy, Vitoria Gasteiz, 1993

Recommended Citation Ahonen, H., Austin, D., Bright, R., Bunt, L., Clarkson, G., Dvorkin, J., Eisler, J., Hanser, S., Hoskyns, S., Loewy, J., Moreno, J., Odell-Miller, H., Poch, S., Robarts, J., Robbins, C., Sabbatella, P., Sandness, M., Turry, A., Wagner, G., Warwick, A., & Wheeler, B. (2012). Memories from VII World Congress of Music Therapy, Vitoria Gasteiz, 1993. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.15845/ voices.v11i1.578

I remember the warmth of the Spanish music therapists and their hospitality. I remember the vast array of different and exciting presentations and thought, "I will never miss another World Congress." The level of work I witnessed at this congress seemed more advanced than the presentations I had seen at conferences in the USA. Of course there were some of the most experienced and well known music therapists in the world presenting at this Congress.
I also loved being in such a multi-cultural atmosphere, meeting people from other countries, nding ways to communicate when there were language dif culties. Learning, laughing, enjoying new tastes, new sounds, new ideas.
I also have a very vivid and delightful memory of an after dinner stroll with Clive Robbins and some new and old friends. Clive wanted to hear songs by Rodgers and Hart and we sang our way through the streets. It was a magical night.

Ruth Bright
Leslie Bunt I had been elected President in 1990 at the Congress held in Rio de Janeiro; this was both a great honour and a large responsibility too because I was the rst Music Therapist to hold that of ce. (The founding President, elected in Genoa in 1985, was Dr Rolando Benenzon, a psychiatrist who specialised in work with children.) The 1993 Congress took place in Vitoria, in the Northern part of Spain; I had been there three times previously: two of those visits were to be present at special music therapy courses, and one visit was part of a holiday through Europe which my husband and I arranged in 1992. (Because of my association with WFMT and my then-position as President, we were given a wonderful reception by the city's administratorswho were keen to show us what would be arranged for the Congress the following year!) The Congress itself went well: the interpreters did an excellent job, and the programme was an interesting one. (But I felt that it emphasised the view of music therapy as performing rather than having therapy. But that was just my view -others would have differed!) I do not know what my Presidential Address said, but evidently (by my diary notes) it was well received.
My paper was on music therapy and dementia, and -at the end of the paper -a woman stood up, speaking in a very animated way (in Spanish -which was translated for me) about her husband's condition, and of her own poetic compositions. The outcome of this was astonishing and, I am sure, unique! It was obvious that she wanted to be able to talk to me at length, and the translator asked me whether I would like him to forego his lunch break so that he could enable us to have a proper conversation! This we did, and although I cannot recall all the conversation, it was a most moving experience to be able to talk freely with someone from another culture, sharing our ideas about dementia, creativity and relationships. (She sent me some booklets of her poetry later in the year.) I am sorry to say that I cannot recall the title of papers that were given -they were the usual mixture of highly professional and not-so-professional! There had been much discussion beforehand as to who would take over the Presidency, and Cheryl Dileo was elected. So, at the nal session, we had a 'handing-over' ceremony. I had managed to buy a candle-stick for her in Vitoria, and presented this to her (complete with candle!) saying that I was handing this over to her as a symbol of the light continuing to burn under her guidance (or words to that effect!).
Unbelievably, she had bought a pair of candlesticks for me, and she spoke of my having lighted the Federation on its way for three years -so we had the same symbolism in mind! I was also presented with a wonderful bunch of owers from the host committee. (Because I was setting off for home next day, these were not of any real use to me, so I went to the local hospital and asked that they be given to someone who had no visitors -and there was such a person there! I did not hand them over personally but was glad that someone would get them.
Memories from Leslie Bunt I think that this photo was taken at the beginning of the closing ceremony during which I remember Tony Wigram as Co-ordinator of the International Scienti c Committee and Patxi del Campo as General Co-ordinator thanking colleagues for their presentations and for attending the congress. This seventh World Congress of Music Therapy also doubled as the rst of the World Federation. It was a very well-attended event with Tony referring in his greeting in the conference brochure to the 200+ presentations from over 30 countries.

Ginger Clarkson
From the closing session The four overall themes of the congress were: 'Clinical Music Therapy; Music Therapy and Experimental Research; Music and Music Therapy; and Training and "Role" of the Music Therapist.' I tried to attend some sessions from each area but, as at all of these big gatherings, could only make a small selection from the many ne presentations. That is not forgetting all the musical and social events on offer. So when I look again at the programme of events here are some of my personal memories: listening to Karl Pribram exploring links between physics and music in his opening address hearing presentations of such a wide range of clinical work appreciating the evolving mixture of research approaches in music therapy, recalling particularly the "framework for qualitative research" presented by Kenneth Bruscia, not knowing at that time the important rôle he would soon play in my future career as my Primary Trainer in Guided Imagery and Music becoming more aware of the different approaches to training throughout the world and the need for open discussion on levels of competencies and standards hearing Brynjulf Stige talk for the rst time about "music therapy as cultural engagement" and discussing with him my vision for community-based music therapy centres as part of MusicSpace, the topic of one of my presentations appreciating the song that Gianluigi Di Franco composed speci cally for the conference as always at these events spending time catching up with friends and colleagues from around the world and meeting new ones enjoying the warmth of the Basque hospitality epitomised by Patxi and his team and nally enjoying the beautiful city of Vitoria, in particular the old part of the city with those lovely rst oor balconies Years later, after graduating from Fran's GIM training, Irina contacted me, wondering if we could organize a pioneer GIM program in her homeland. The obstacles were enormous. Under the communist regime, the only psychotherapeutic interventions were electroshock and behavioral therapy. There was very little funding. After consulting with Fran, I decided to y to Bulgaria free of charge and to give a GIM Level I seminar to twelve interested psychology and music students recruited by Irina, who served as my assistant.

Memories from Ginger Clarkson
Synchronically, Fran received a phone call from a former GIM client in San Francisco. The woman had just received a large inheritance from her deceased father. As a single person without children, she proposed giving Fran a generous grant to support the spread of GIM in the world, because she herself had bene ted so much from the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music. Fran wrote me and Irina to announce that an "Anonymous Angel" would support an entire GIM training in Bulgaria. Together Fran and I planned and taught the advanced GIM seminars. She ew from California, and I ew from my home in Puebla, Mexico. Amazed that we were able to realize her dream, Irina organized venues for our teaching and therapy sessions. Visiting professors, books, recordings, personal sessions, and supervisions were subsidized by the woman we all referred to as our "GIM Angel." Seven years later, Fran and I graduated a small group of Bulgarians who, against all odds, became Fellows of the Association for Music and Imagery. The World Congress of Music Therapy in 1993 unleashed a chain of karmic events that greatly enriched my life.
A further karmic twist in the story about my memories of the 1993 World Congress of Music Therapy is that, for the past six years, I have been leading GIM trainings in Spanish in Vitoria, Spain, initially as a co-teacher with Denise Grocke, and now with the assistance of Esperanza Torres, who became an AMI Fellow after the rst generation of GIM in that country. This summer I plan to start helping Esperanza train a third generation of Spanish GIM students, as she completes her requirements to become an independent AMI Primary Trainer. Our GIM training programs are sponsored by the Instituto de Música, Arte y Proceso (MAP), under the direction of Espe's husband, Patxi Del Campo, who hosted the World Congress there in 1993.

Memories from Janice Dvorkin
This congress was the rst one that I attended and presented a paper. The paper was later published in the British Journal of Music Therapy. It was an adventure getting to the conference, but once there, it was terri c. I met the British music therapists and excitedly talked about using the Object Relations theory as a basis of work in music therapy. I was invited to the house of a music therapist to go swimming in a nearby lake and dinner. I also attended Clive Robbins' birthday dinner. I was also able to hear music therapists whose work was not readily available at the time. I participated in a panel that described different ideas in music therapy education (as I was the VP of Education and Training for AAMT). I just remember that the weather was perfect, the town and countryside beautiful, and I had a opportunity to tour northern Spain and Madrid with Louise Montello. This congress set the tone for looking forward to presenting at the European conferences and future Congresses. abused 9 year-old, and it was important for people to catch what she was talk/singing either to me or to herself or to the world in general. During the morning Amelia discovered there was no OHP available in the Music School though she did her best to try and produce one, but without any luck.

Memories from Jean Eisler
How things shouldn't happen! I had brought a Spanish translation of the OHP excerpts and whole text with me, so in the end we were promised a postponement (I gathered there were to be several changes in the programme). We were promised a new time each morning, but unfortunately this only materialised on the last full day of lectures, and as 3/4 of an hour at 12.45 in the lunch interval time and in a much smaller venue. Also the previous speaker had been allotted a mere 15 minutes at 12.30 and over-ran by 20 minutes. However we did get going, with a very full impatient audience and myself not exactly at ease. There was an interpreter with a copy of my talk -but of course we were now pressed for time, I had to make short cuts etc etc. Nevertheless though all seemed to go very well, until I was brought down with a bump when one of a group of Spanish members of the audience de antly asked how I managed to TEACH my very articulate and explosive 9 year-old all those songs and free singing! A lesson in never taking anything for granted and stupidly assuming that by then and after my explanations all music therapists and music students would know what I meant by improvisational music making together at least as soon as they heard the tapes and excerpts.
How right Tony Wigram had been in his opening speech to the Congress to emphasize the diversity of our profession (both nationally and internationally) and the importance of developing a tolerance and respect among therapists and between countries and the need for greater understanding and Congresses such as this one. Luckily for me this was offset by the splendid series of excursions and social events that had been included in the programme by our hosts. These included a visit to a local vineyard and special Spanish meal, a drive through the foothills of the Pyrenees and over to the coast and a tour of Guernica that gave us a fascinating history lesson about the old town and its open-air medieval parliament that could be attended by all and sundry in the town 'forum' around the ancient old oak tree. And, to cap it all, there was the grand 'Garlic Festival' at the weekend held throughout the old town, with its wooden stalls and carts loaded with 3 -4 metre-long ropes of choice garlic brought in by the local farmers and land owners, often carrying ten or so of these ropes on their shoulders. In addition there were many other stalls of trinkets, clothes and special food delicacies. And to keep everyone amused there were the groups of dancing girls in their colourful Basque costumes being serenaded and chased by brass band groups of young men also in national costume, and a lot of fun and laughter, being watched by the elders of the town who moved from stall to stall nodding their heads assessing the quality of the goods on offer.

Memories from Suzanne Hanser
My daughter, Leora, accompanied me, and we were treated like Queen and Princess in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Our hosts were extremely welcoming and friendly. They showed us around the countryside, and I will never forget the Tapas! Inside the Congress, there were discussions of quantitative and qualitative research that could have been the impetus for an important contribution to the literature from my dear colleague, Dr. Barbara Wheeler.
We delegates may have brought different languages to the conversations, but we were anxious to dialogue and learn from one another about our perspectives on the eld of inquiry that we all hold dear, namely music therapy. Haro in the heart of the Rioja district, drank some excellent local Rioja and we all enjoyed the pair of huge cranes who were nesting in a chimney right in the middle of the beautiful central square.
At the congress, I particularly enjoyed hearing Inge Pederson's presentations (lecture and workshop) about "self experience", as I had just begun as a programme leader in London in 1991, and was really keen to develop experiential group work there. We were experimenting with ways to deliver this on our programme, but Inge's presentations emphasized that other settings valued this way of working and that felt encouraging. Presentations on research by Aigen and Bruscia also spoke strongly to me. It was really exciting to blend hearing colleagues I knew well (Jacky Robarts, Helen Odell Miller, Ann Sloboda, Tony Wigram) with other names I had heard of in the eld but not heard or met before (for example, Patxi del Campo, Janice Dvorkin, Gabriella Perilli, Joanne Loewy and Gianluigi di Franco). It was really lovely too having some social time with people I had been honoured to meet before, and to be treated in such a friendly way. A spontaneous breakfast with Ken Bruscia was one such highlight! In delivering my own paper, I learnt fast about managing with simultaneous translation: you have to read your paper straight and not interact so much with the audience, which I had been more used to being able to do at English-speaking conferences. That felt hard, but it was good learning.
It was also quite dif cult to combine being at a conference, giving time to one's paper, and the vibe of engaging with colleagues from round the world, with having my family at home in the evenings. In one sense I enjoyed coming away and just switching off in the evenings (as lots of papers and workshops are hard to absorb for ve days solid); but my daughter needed friendly attention and I somewhat regretted missing out on evening entertainment, as I was juggling family life alongside. I suspect that this s a reality of many music therapists, who have young families and want to attend conferences at the time of a family holiday. However I vowed at the time that I would try to keep the two a bit more separate in future -so in the end did not go to another world congress for another nine years as I then had two young children (Oxford in 2002). That was shame, as the memories are vivid and positive, but there are times for these experiences, and I have had more opportunities in recent years, when my older children have been more than happy to let me go and "do my own thing." As a rst congress. I was completely satis ed and enamored. Obviously things went well-as major ties that began to become strung together, have had a lasting impact personally and professionally--so many years later. I was young in the eld then-but this congress shaped my interest on many levels.

I recall giving a presentation with
Edith Boxill titled "Music Therapy for Peace: A Global Imperative". Edith, who passed away in 2005 at the age of eighty eight, was one the great visionaries of our eld who never lost her hope that music therapists might play a role in promoting world peace. Unfortunately I feel her ideas were never fully appreciated in her lifetime. Today, nearly twenty years since that congress, world peace seems more elusive than ever. In 1993 who could have imagined events such as those of September 11, 2001?
Yet now, as we look forward to the next world congress in the great city of Seoul, South Korea, it is sobering to recall that only very recently the long simmering tensions between North and South Korea had reached a critical point. This only serves to remind us of the continuing need for nding peaceful means of international con ict resolution, and today Edith`s ideas seem more relevant and urgent than ever.
I enjoyed interacting with so many wonderful colleagues in Vitoria, particularly Clive Robbins,

Memories from Jackie Robarts
This was the rst World Congress of Music Therapy at which I presented my work. I remember this conference for two reasons: I met Barbara Wheeler who has remained a good friend and colleague over the years -albeit we have met too infrequently. I now rarely attend music therapy conferences, as I teach abroad, or present at small symposia, interdisciplinary ones in particular. At this event Barbara chaired my paper (and that of another UK music therapist, Penny Rogers), both discussing music therapy with sexually abused children. Although by 1993 I had practised music therapy for 12 years, established a music therapy service in a large children's hospital and adult learning disabilities unit, and presented widely, this was the rst World Congress I had attended. Barbara was a warm, supportive chairperson, who saw to it that everything was in pplace and ready for the presentations. As I recall, even to this day, she complimented me on my timing -something I don't always achieve nowadays to that degree of perfection. Barbara skil lly facilitated the discussion that followed my presentation. A challenging question came from one of three (rather well-known) American music therapists, sitting together in the far back row, I remember.
I can see them now -and of course they shall be nameless. I had wondered during my presentation what the movement and whispering at the back was all about! Apparently, my psychodynamic and developmental perspectives had surprised them all, running counter to expectations of clinical work by a Nordoff-Robbins trained music therapist. Up until then I had not realised that NR had such a distinct 'branding' or stereotype. I always hoped that I would grow as a therapist, and had always been interested in children's internal worlds and psychic structure, having bene tted from psychotherapy myself during the 1970s and 80s. I worked on developing my psychodynamic understanding through years of independent study (which continues to this day) and supervision from both music therapists and child psychotherapists. I began to meld psychodynamic and developmental concepts intuitively in my music therapy work -they seemed so naturally linked with music therapy processes. By 1993 I was also using art and song writing too, to expand the symbolic expressive 'pallette' of music whenever this seemed useful to bypass or alleviate defences, which sometimes music itself triggered. So that rst lively 'heckling' from the back row at my rst World Congress I now remember as a warm, invigorating welcome to the fold of music therapy. Barbara steered the discussion to more Clive Robbins interesting, less contentious territory. I remember a friendly meeting of us all afterwards which has continued over the years, renewing our acquaintance at subsequent conferences and visits, home and abroad. That's what World Congresses are all about.
I think that the 1993 World Congress was the rst where simultaneous translation was provided at an MT conference, in a very ne modern conference hall, with vibrant green furnishings like the lush green of the Basque region we were visiting. Certainly, we were all very appreciative of this to Paxti del Campo and his team. It was very unifying (and edifying) for all the delegates, and meant that presentations could occupy a normal 30-45 mins slot.
I believe the rst election of representatives to the World Federation of MT took place here on the nal day of the Congress. There was an 'incident' during the formal proceedings: In a most spontaneous and enlivening fashion, a fracas broke out in the auditorium amongst representatives from one country, all trying to commandeer the microphone to respond to the Chair. It was only momentary, but, at the end of days of presentations, symposia, and round tables, this raw energy surging out of the tidy rows of delegates was a welcome 'reality check' within all the formalities, revealing that passion, politics, and more or less containable chaos are also part of establishing a profession and growing up.

Memories from Clive Robbins
About the 1993 World Congress in Vitoria-Gasteiz: I remember how distinctly European it felt rather than "World." Carol did not go, and for me the most distinctive experience was teaming up with Alan (Turry). It was the rst overseas team teaching we had done and there was a very strong feeling of continuity in carrying the work and presenting it as I had for so many years with Paul and then with Carol. It felt right and strong. Alan and I gave two presentations. The rst we called "A Prelude: Poised in the Creative Now." We presented the working model diagram that Alan later included in his contribution to Michele Forinash's book on supervision, with Alan illustrating by playing some of Paul's work with Anna. We had the audience participate by singing. The musical technicality of he improvisational approach was a new concept for many but seemed to capture people's interest. In the second presentation to all conference attendees, we mainly presented Alan's and Walter's, then my work with Joshua Shaw, which I followed with some of John Buchanan's and Carol's work stressing the importance of improvised songs. Ann (McCrory) was there (this was before she and Alan married), and we put her up in the projectionist's booth high up at the back of the auditorium where we could signal to her to raise and lower the playback sound. The operating technical had no clue as to the sound levels we needed to communicate the content of the tapes, so we improvised a way of signaling to Ann and she guided the technician to raise and lower the sound levels as we needed. Otherwise it would have been a very quiet dull presentation. It was well received particularly by Giulia Cremaschi Trovesi and her students-I remember how they spontaneously applauded a striking piece of Alan's clinical improvisation that resolved an outburst of temper from Joshua. Joshua was blind and had ASD and I knew that Alan had been unsure how his strongly challenging response to Joshua's tantrum would be received by the Congress attendees. Giulia's immediate recognition of the musical and clinical rightness of his courageous intervention carried all the vindication he needed. This started a relationship between the Nordoff-Robbins Center and Giulia that continued and which I would like to have seen developed further.
We also met Iliana Polychroniathou, who later arranged for Carol and me to give a week's course in Athens. This was translated by Dora Psaltopoulou from Thessaloniki.
Among the other colleagues there were Ken Aigen, Barbara Hesser, Dorit Amir, and Diane Austin.
I very much enjoyed the Congress, but the more mature global cosmopolitan feeling of the later congresses was only beginning to develop. But nevertheless it was an important gathering and I believe that many found it a positive af rmation of our profession and an exciting step toward the future.
Memories from Patricia L. Sabbatella The VII Music Therapy World Congress held in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain was the rst international music therapy congress I had ever attended. I moved to Spain in 1989, and was very exciting for me the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge with music therapists from different regions of the world. During the congress I met music therapists from Spain, who became close friends and co-workers. Good As a participant in this World Congress, I was enlightened to learn more about the philosophy and models of music therapy education and training in other countries, as well as the cultural differences. Whereas the entry-level training in music therapy in both the USA and Canada is still at the undergraduate level, I learned that in many other countries it was at the graduate level with degrees or post-graduate diplomas in music therapy. In particular, I was impressed that music therapy students were often required or encouraged to take psychotherapy for one's self-development and that, in fact, many education and training programs were based on a psychoanalytic model. Some other issues that were of great interest to me related to experiential training in music therapy, supervision of music therapy students, and external evaluation of persons completing their music therapy education and training. There was also much discussion about differences in entry-level and advanced training, which interesting enough, is currently being considered by the American Music Therapy Association in 2010. I was most impressed with the number and extent of music therapy education and training programs around the world, including the wide variety of academic and clinical training requirements, including competencies. In considering how these requirements compared to music therapy programs in the USA and whether any could be applied to the standards of NAMT, it seemed to be a real challenge due to the very large number of academic and clinical training programs already established in the USA.
As a result of this wonderful opportunity to share with other music therapy educators and clinicians and expand my knowledge, I was invited to join the World Federation of Music Therapy's Education Commission (which later became the Commission on Education, Training, and Accreditation) on which I served through the World Congress in Washington, DC, in 2000. I placed high value on the personal relationships that I developed with such dynamic music therapists from other countries and the future networking that occurred in the subsequent years. I was also pleased to be able to participate in the early development of the WFMT Guidelines for Education and Training.

Memories from Alan Turry
The rst thing I remember is the bus ride to the conference site. The winding roads seemed to bring us right to the edge of what seemed like an endless turn as we went down a mountain! I was praying we would make it to the World Congress alive! It was so elegant, and the support staff was absolutely impeccable. What an exciting feeling to be around colleagues from around the world in a place that was so interesting, and where we were being stimulated and challenged by sharing our ideas.
When presenting at an international conference, the translator is so important-how you work together, the timing, the sense of understanding emotional content and conveying it, trusting that your ideas are being understood. We had a wonderful translator.
It felt very exotic, especially at night, and the way it was a part of the culture to stay up late into the night. Lots of wine drinking -it seemed to be on restaurant tables like pitchers of water would be in the States.
It was an intoxicating experience, one that I will always think back to fondly.

Memories from Gabriela Wagner
There is no doubt about the growth of the WFMT during the three year period in between Rio de Janeiro and Vitoria Gasteiz. The preparations for this congress organized by the WFMT and the Association for the Study and From the the closing dinner General Coordinator of this event, Tony Wigram, Coordinator of the International Scienti c Committee and all those who collaborated with them this congress was an amazing opportunity of meeting colleagues and exchanging ideas about the diverse spectrum of music therapy.
Carl Pribram´s opening lecture was a super promising beginning.
Taking a short look at the book of abstracts, many of today great ones of music therapy presented their professional experience as clinical music therapists, researchers or musicians and music therapists. As you know, the main subjects dealt by this congress were: Clinical Music Therapy, Music Therapy and Experimental Research, Music and Music Therapy, Training and role of Music Therapists. I think that you might have more information on this issue so I will focus on my personal impressions, especially the ones dealing with Latin American Music Therapy. The attendance to this world congress was incredible. The fact that both Spanish and English were of cial languages was one of the reasons. I think that this congress was also an opportunity of getting to know each other better. Different ways of working towards the professionalisation of music therapy were exposed, and diverse forms and levels of getting organized as associations were shared. There were a lot of misunderstandings too. In order to be inclusive no accreditation was required at the WFMT general meetings, or to be recognized as a representative or as a delegate of a country. Of course voting became complicated. This congress was de nitely a turning point for WFMT. New voting procedures were introduced. The idea of a World Federation of Music Therapy was recognized as a goal among music therapist of different parts who attended this congress but the parliamentary rules for procedures were unknown to many of the representatives. There was also some inconsistency in voting due to the fact that there were countries with several associations and other one without any because they were doing their very rst steps in music therapy. Regulations on this issue were approved during the meetings.
The discussion went on after each meeting. My experience as an American Field Service, AFS scholarship student during my senior high school year turned out to be very useful not only in translating discussions but to help to communicate and to recognize diverse ways of consensus building. There were many exciting moments and today I am happy to see that the changes made then by the old and the new Council have been demonstrated to be useful for WFMT s development.