Music, Healing, and the Creative Path: Alumni Perspectives on Arts in Health

Named one of Musical America’s 30 Music Professionals of 2019 for her work linking music and medicine at Johns Hopkins, Associate Dean for Innovation in the Arts and Health Sarah Hoover is responsible for advancing initiatives that link the performing arts and health within the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and entities within the university and Baltimore community. Since her arrival at Peabody, Hoover has advocated for the health of Peabody’s musicians and dancers through developing curriculum and co-curricular programs to prevent injury and optimize performance, facilitated the creation of the Peabody Clinic for Performing Artists, and supported the start-up of a research lab in performance science. With partners at Johns Hopkins Medicine and in collaboration with Peabody’s first Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Dr. Kris Chesky, she is laying the groundwork for a transdisciplinary convergence at the intersection of performing arts and health, encompassing research, clinical care, education, and advocacy to advance health in and through the performing arts.

Hoover’s research in the field of arts in health has led to the development of bedside and lobby music programs at Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as creative aging residencies and sensory-friendly concerts. She has launched Peabody Prescribe, a community arts entity within the Preparatory offering arts experiences to support health and well-being developed in collaboration with researchers and clinicians from Johns Hopkins Medicine. Along with her book, Music as Care: Artistry in the Hospital Environment, the leading text for preparing classically-trained musicians to work in hospitals, these clinical and community programs build educational and experiential career pathways for artists in health contexts. To advance professionalization of the field, Hoover serves as a member of the board of the National Organization for Arts in Health, where she is leading the development of a certification process for artists in healthcare.

Hoover is a graduate of Yale University and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Peabody. She received additional training in voice science and holds certificates in Arts in Medicine and Performing Arts Medicine.

Jennifer Davison is an opera singer, founder, and arts and health practitioner and innovator. With over 30 years on opera stages around the world and a passion for the human potential-expanding power of the arts, she is a performer, teacher, trainer, and a pioneer in the emerging fields of NeuroArts and Arts for Health.

She serves on the board of Arts for Health Austria and co-developed “Aufatmen,” a breathing and singing program supporting recovery and management for Long Covid, Chronic Fatigue, and PVS. Through the EU project “CARE,” she created “Serenade for the Soul,” a workshop designed to “Care for the Carers,” now implemented in hospitals, schools, social work, NGOs, and corporate settings.

Jennifer also shares the principles of the arts for stress reduction, resilience, and creativity through the social impact startup ArtWave. 

Japanese American conductor Jotaro Nakano currently serves as music director of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra and the SA’Oaxaca Strings International Music Festival Orchestra. As an impassioned citizen artist, he seeks to connect and inspire diverse communities through the deeply moving and uplifting powers of art and music.

While completing his doctorate at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Jotaro served as the Peabody Arts in Health Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Today, he continues to explore the intersections of arts and healing through his leadership of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra—Boston’s healthcare community orchestra.

Throughout his vibrantly multicultural musical life, Jotaro has shared the stage with musicians across Mexico, the Czech Republic, Romania, and the United States. With every new project, he remains committed to maximizing artistic collaboration to fill the world with wonder and hope.

Lauren Latessa is the founder and executive director of Iris Music Project, where she leads a team of four full-time and twenty part-time musicians running Ensemble-in-Residence programs for senior living communities across Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, and Arizona.

She has dedicated her career to exploring how music can infuse and transform communities. Prior to founding Iris Music Project, Lauren served as Manager of Music Enrichment at the Charles E. Smith Life Communities (CESLC) from 2015–2019. Her innovative work there earned recognition from the Tarisio Trust, the Association of Jewish Aging Services, and National Arts Strategies.

Lauren holds degrees from Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University (Phi Beta Kappa), and Northwestern University.

www.irismusicproject.com

Sean Brennan is a multi-disciplinary guitarist, arranger, and educator based in Baltimore, Maryland. From concert halls to hospital lobbies to graffitied alleys, he performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Baltimore area.

Sean believes strongly in the importance of community engagement and in using music as a vessel for connection and healing. He was recently selected as an artist for the Sound Rounds program, providing bedside music for patients in the Johns Hopkins Hospital system. During his graduate studies, he co-authored the Guitar PD study, which examined the impact of guitar instruction on functional movement and well-being in Parkinson’s Disease. More recently, he has collaborated with the Maryland Association for Parkinson Support.

As an educator, Sean has extensive experience across a wide range of student and teaching environments. He currently serves on the faculty of Peabody Preparatory, Peabody Conservatory, and Notre Dame of Maryland University.