UC Berkeley lecturer Melanie Acosta remembers when everything changed for her. She was working as a professional singer in New York City at the time of the September 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, Acosta felt the only people doing meaningful work were the first responders.
Not long after, Acosta got a job on the “Broadway Celebrates America” tour. The cast would travel to different towns, perform a concert about resilience, then talk to audience members in the lobby afterwards. People would open up about how they were trying to cope in the aftermath of 9/11. Many tears were shed.
Acosta described the experience as deeply moving, and she sought out other ways to use her skills to connect with and heal people.
“I went on this quest to find what I can do with music, because it seemed so meaningful,” said Acosta. “Then, I was watching a morning program, and they had a story about a boy with autism. The child learned to connect and open up his world through a combination of auditory and music therapy. Through his therapies, he discovered jazz music, and the program showed him playing amazing music and talking about his favorite musicians. They opened up this way of communicating with him through music, and I thought that was amazing. I had never heard of music therapy up to that point.”
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