Transform your love for music into a powerful tool for change.
About
The Community Health Musician Certificate empowers individuals to use music to enhance the well-being of others. This program emphasizes expertise, scope, and boundaries of practice, ensuring that community musicians can create experiences that are safe, meaningful, and impactful for themselves and their participants.
Through curated trainings, hands-on fieldwork, and program development support, participants learn to design inclusive, music-based experiences tailored to their communities' needs. This includes using group music experiences to address challenges like isolation, stigma, and lack of agency, especially among older adults, veterans, youth, and those in peer recovery.
The curriculum covers music, health, and well-being; arts in health research and practice; ethical and cultural considerations; musicianship tools; and community program development. The program blends remote coursework with in-person weekend intensives. After completing the certificate, graduates have access to ongoing supervision, networking, and resources, fostering a supportive community as they continue to grow and expand their programs.
When and Where
Training launches with an in-person intensive at Berklee College of Music, January 11–12, and continues for nine months via remote coursework.
Training concludes with another in-person intensive in September 2025.
Who is this for?
Musicians curious about how music can enhance community health and well-being
Musicians looking to expand their skills to create impactful, music-based experiences
Community leaders and arts administrators eager to use music to build stronger connections
Educators seeking equity-focused approaches to advance arts and health initiatives
Open to participants regardless of prior education
What can I expect?
Small, supportive cohort of like-minded peers
Instruction and mentorship from renowned Berklee faculty and experienced community leaders
Engagement in online modules focused on mastering and applying essential concepts, such as music, health, and well-being, facilitating music-based experiences, arts in health research, and trauma-informed practices
Synchronous online guest speaker series featuring experts at the intersection of community, music, and health
Participants will design and implement community programming with guidance from a dedicated supervisor, and ongoing support in connecting with local community organizations, ensuring their programs are impactful and aligned with community needs
Two in-person weekend intensives at Berklee’s Boston campus, focusing on best practices in community program development
Weekly commitment of approximately three hours
Begins with an in-person intensive: January 11–12, 2025
Anticipated closing intensive: September 2025
Module topics include…
Your Brain on Music: Exploring the Connection to Health
