Music Therapy New Zealand

04/01/2026

The Music Therapy New Zealand Office reopens today. We are looking forward to a busy year, including our September 12/13 conference in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Save the date and spread the word! Our conference theme, Te Poutama Hononga: Weaving Connections, celebrates the art of weaving together people, stories, and music, creating patterns of understanding, and community. The te reo name, gifted by Matua Sonny Nehu (University of Auckland Centre for Brain Research) means “the connected journey of achievement and progress”. Each thread represents a unique experience or voice, and through the process of weaving diverse strands, new relationships and meanings emerge. Keynotes and venue will be confirmed soon. The call for presentation and performance proposals is open, closing March 15th - please submit your abstract via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/ba13QjwGcdpXhfKZ6
All queries to admin@musictherapy.org.nz

01/01/2026

Happy New Year! Ngā Mihi o te Tau Hou Pākehă!
Revisiting a 2024 story with the hope for music therapy to become a mainstream option. What are your hopes for music therapy in 2026?

For many, music is a central part of life, but often we don't realise how it helps people psychologically and physiologically.

21/12/2025

Wishing everyone a safe and happy festive season. The Music Therapy NZ office closes on December 22nd and reopens on Monday January 5th. For any urgent matters, please contact stephen@musictherapy.org.nz or info@musictherapy.org.nz

21/12/2025

Great to hear about new music and dementia research at Dr Sam Mehr's Music Lab, in collaboration with Yale University. This story also includes an interview with Registered Music Therapist Collette Jansen.

Researchers at the University of Auckland have been given an $850,000 grant to investigate the power of music for people with dementia. The collaboration with Yale University in the US aims to find out why patients still respond to music even as their memory fades. Felix Walton has more.

19/12/2025

Congratulations to Music for Life on another successful year supporting music therapy participants in the Wellington area.

Our work banner arrived! Our lovely therapist and admin, Karina Auer worked on it for us. We are all ready for our next workshop.

19/12/2025

19/12/2025

A few days left to see spectacular Christmas lights in Dairy Flat and help raise funds for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre.

The amazing Herbert whānau are hosting a Christmas lights fundraiser to celebrate the season! From now until December 24, for a gold coin donation to Raukatauri you can view their spectacular lights, and even get a photo in Santa's sleigh. The address is 132 Top Road, Dairy Flat, Auckland.

19/12/2025

🙌🎶💗 Congratulations to Southern Music Therapy on a wonderful year of service delivery, new initiatives, team growth, and music therapy student support.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yfwdpdfk

29/11/2025

Creative advocacy from the British Association for Music Therapy.

The Smiley Charity Film Awards is the world’s biggest campaign to promote cause-based films. Nearly half a million members of the public have voted in the…

10/11/2025

Huge congratulations to Mauri Tui Tuia | Creative Therapies NZ for this amazing and very well deserved recognition for their trauma-informed creative support for tamariki.

Next up is the Creative Northland Excellence in Creative Industries Award

Congratulations to this year's winner: Mauri Tui Tuia - Creative Therapies NZ 🎉

🎙 From the Judges:
“Mauri Tui Tuia exemplifies innovation and impact in the creative industries, bridging art, health, and education through trauma- informed, culturally grounded creative therapies. Serving diverse communities across Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau, their work reaches tamariki, whānau, educators, and iwi partners creating measurable social and wellbeing outcomes.

As Aotearoa’s only organisation uniting arts, music, and dance movement therapy, Mauri Tui Tuia is forging new pathways in an emerging market, demonstrating commercial sustainability while redefining how creativity drives community resilience and inclusion based right here in Tai Tokerau.”

Also, a massive well done to our finalist:
✨ Turner Centre

Northland Business Excellence Awards powered by Northpower & Top Energy NZ and proudly presented by NZ Chambers of Commerce Northland.

30/10/2025

Kiwi music therapists at the recent Australian Music Therapy Association's 50th anniversary conference - from the left, Dr Ajay Castelino (now a postdoc researcher at the University of Melbourne, NZ Registered Music Therapists Shona How (Waikato), Amodini Jayawardena (Northland) and Carlos Riegelhaupt (Wellington), and Melbourne-based music therapist Russell Scoones. MThNZ values our close connection with AMTA.