Carly Simon Visits

by Lesley Mahoney

	Carly Simon visits with Music Therapy students Chris Perry and Marc Davis.
	Photo by Phil Farnsworth

During a February visit with students and faculty from Berklee's Music Therapy Department, two-time Grammy Award winner Carly Simon revealed that she stuttered as a child. That's difficult to fathom given her poise and success as a singer. Simon's mother engaged Carly in song constantly. For example, she taught her how to ask for butter at the table by tapping the request out on her leg and singing the words. "My mother was a [music] therapist without even learning that she could be a therapist," Simon says. "It was a way of getting her daughter to talk."

This personal connection with music therapy has sparked Simon's interest in the field. During her visit, Simon visited classrooms and attended a faculty presentation. "It struck me just how global [music therapy] is, just how much there is to address," Simon says. "I saw that there are 1,001 areas in which you could apply music therapy. There are so many different realms."

Suzanne Hanser, the chair of the Music Therapy Department, was thrilled with Simon's visit. "Her interest in music therapy is a natural extension of her ability to sing out what so many people feel," Hanser remarks.