Concetta M. Tomaino

Dr. Concetta M. Tomaino, D.A., MT-BC, LCAT (born July 30, 1954), is a music therapist in the field of music therapy for individuals suffering the effects of stroke or other brain trauma or are afflicted with such degenerative neurological diseases as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. Tomaino is the executive director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and senior vice president for music therapy at CenterLight Health System, formerly Beth Abraham Family of Health Services.

Biography

Born and raised in New York (the daughter of a green-grocer and what was then called a 'stay-at-home' Mom), Concetta Tomaino made her connection to music early, adopting the trumpet as her instrument of choice (as it remains to this day, though it is joined by the piano and accordion, her main choice for therapy). The first girl in her family to attend college, Concetta enrolled at Long Island’s Stony Brook University in 1972 as a biology major, but, by her junior year, a continuing passion for music moved her to change her major to music.

Forming a synaptic-like connection between music and medicine, Concetta turned her energies to music therapy, creating independent study courses because there was no music therapy program at Stony Brook. Concetta Tomaino graduated from Stony Brook University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and minors in psychology and sciences and an abiding interest in the emerging field of music therapy.

By 1980, Concetta Tomaino had joined Beth Abraham as the only music therapist (then part of the facilities department of recreation) and began to notice patients in the dementia unit responding positively and in some cases with remarkable speed, to music. She delved deeper into the neurological underpinnings as it became clear that music therapy had more to offer patients than a mere diversion from their everyday existence.

It was at Beth Abraham in 1980 that she became acquainted with the eminent and acclaimed visiting neurologist in long-term care, Dr. Oliver Sacks. The author of a breakthrough book called “Awakenings” (later made into a movie starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams), Tomaino found a valuable ally in Dr. Sacks when it came to championing the benefits of music therapy. Indeed, in his newest book “Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain” (Knopf, 2007) Dr. Sacks recounts case-examples of their long collaboration, adding that Connie Tomaino "has been my co-worker and adviser in all matters musical for more than twenty-five years.^[1]"

In addition to her contributions with Dr. Sacks (including his 1995 volume An Anthropologist on Mars), Dr. Tomaino’s work has been featured in such other books as A Matter of Dignity by Andrew Potok, The Mozart Effect by Don Campbell, Sounds of Healing by Mitchell Gaynor, M.D. and Age Protectors (Rodale Press) and covered by television programs and networks as the BBC and such CBS News’ staples as 60 Minutes and 48 Hours.

Concetta Tomaino earned a Masters and Doctor of Arts in Music Therapy from New York University in 1998.

Awards and affiliations

A past president of the American Association for Music Therapy, Dr. Tomaino is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, most notably the Award of Accomplishment from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations; the Touchstone Award from the organization Women In Music, and the Zella Bronfman Butler Award (from the UJA-Federation of New York and the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation) for “outstanding work on behalf of individuals with physical, developmental or learning disabilities.^[1] " She was honored with the Music Has Power Award in 2004 for her outstanding contributions to the field of music therapy and for her vision, leadership, research, and service to the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function.^[2] In February 2008 America.gov, the website of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs, listed Dr. Tomaino as one of the innovators that help reshape reality.^[3]

In addition to her responsibilities as executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and senior vice president for music therapy at Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, Dr. Tomaino is a member of the faculty of the Brookdale Center on Aging and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and serves on the visiting faculty of Berklee College of Music and Shenandoah University.

Previously, she sat on the Certification Board of Music Therapists, the Journal of Music Therapy, and was a member of the advisory boards for the Center for Alternative Research at the Kessler Institute, and the International Journal of the Arts. She was also a Super Panelist participant in the GRAMMY in the Schools program and worked as an adjunct clinical supervisor for several music therapy programs in the New York area.

Other interests

Outside of music therapy Dr. Tomaino enjoys spending time with her two daughters along with such leisurely pursuits as gardening, astronomy, painting (watercolors are the preferred medium) and performing in local symphonies and wind ensembles with her husband of 18 years, music teacher and triple-threat brass player, Walter Barrett.

References

External links

• Institute for Music and Neurologic Function
• IMNF YouTube Nonprofit Channel
• CenterLight Health System
• Innovators that Help Shape Reality
• Music and Medicine: How one woman brought two worlds together
• Therapist uses music to tune into the brain