Sophomore Caucus Hosts Music Therapy Lecture with Tom Biglin

Over 70 students came to room 235 on April 12 for the Sophomore Caucus’s newest lecture on music therapy featuring Tom Biglin (‘85), a licensed creative arts therapist and board-certified music therapist.

Biglin introduced music therapy as “the use of music to improve one’s quality of life.” He discussed his involvement in hospitals and the healthcare community, especially with veterans or trauma patients. The use of music as a therapeutic medium considers the client’s emotional health, communication ability, interests, and goals. Biglin’s role as a music therapist is to understand a patient’s personal experience with music to determine which type of music can best induce a happy, safe, and calming atmosphere for his patient.

Students who attended the lecture found Biglin’s profession to be new and interesting. “When I first heard about this lecture, I thought it would teach us about how to involve music therapy more in our daily lives, more of an extracurricular or a volunteer experience. I didn’t expect to be encouraged to pursue music theory as a career prospect. Mr. Biglin definitely opened up another door,” sophomore Cynthia Or said.

To demonstrate the effect of music on one’s frame of mind and behavior, Biglin asked the students to recall two songs: one that they loved, and one that they hated. He proceeded to explain that by linking certain songs to past experiences, music held the power to evoke powerful emotions regarding those associated memories, hence why people feel so strongly for or against certain songs.

Biglin further displayed this psychological connection between music and emotion by directly playing a guitar piece for the students. They were told not to interpret the technicalities and musical qualities of the song, but rather to feel the sentiment interlaced within the melody.

“Music therapy [is] about forming personal connections, not just between the therapist and the patient, but also patients to other patients. [It] helps patients become relaxed and more confident in themselves, [as it] encourages social interactions,” Or explained.

This lecture is part of an ongoing lecture series coordinated by the Sophomore Caucus. The caucus previously held an art lecture with guest speaker Madeline Schwartzman and recognized the importance of hosting more humanities-based events at Stuyvesant.

Sophomore and Events Department member Saarah Elsayed contacted Biglin through a recommendation from Kenneth Aigen, a music therapist and associate professor of music therapy at New York University. Aigen also mentioned that Biglin was a Stuyvesant alumnus and noted that he might be able to incorporate his experience at Stuyvesant to connect with students on a more personal level.

Sophomore Caucus’s Chief of Staff Eric Han expressed that the lecture was successful for all parties involved. “We [the Sophomore Caucus] were really surprised, as we didn’t expect turnout to be this significant. We had over 70 students attending this lecture in a small classroom. Mr. Biglin was really great. He talked about his career and how students could learn from him and possibly pursue a career in music therapy. It was really educational and fun for everyone [who] attended,” Han said.