E. Thayer Gaston: Leader in Scientific Thought on Music in Therapy and Education

Abstract

E. Thayer Gaston, a prominent figure in American music education, turned to his musical talents when he was financially unable to pursue a medical career. As he became interested in using music as a tool for understanding human behavior, Gaston discovered the possibility of relating music education to medicine. While chairman of the music education department at the University of Kansas, Gaston received en couragement from doctors at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, for his ideas regarding the use of music as an adjunctive therapy for the mentally ill. He then established the first graduate degree program in the United States for training of music therapists. His insatiable thirst for knowledge, dedication to scholarship, and unquestioned integrity led to his preeminent position in this field, and many of his associates referred to him as the “father of music therapy.”

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