Profiles

Erinn, a credentialed music therapist, has worked with people of varying ages and abilities and has brought interactive and participatory musical experiences to a diverse range of healthcare, educational, and community settings. Since 2009, Erinn has directed the ACTion Choir, a choir of adults with disabilities that often collaborates with other groups to put on community performances in Grand Rapids. Erinn frequently presents lectures and workshops on inclusion in the arts as well as the use of music for health and wellbeing. She is the Continuing Education Coordinator for the state music therapy association Michigan Music Therapists.

At Calvin University, Erinn is an adjunct instructor in the music department. Much of her work takes place within the Calvin Prison Initiative, where she directs the Handlon Tabernacle Choir, a choir of incarcerated undergraduate students. Erinn also teaches music courses for CPI and looks for ways to nurture musical leadership and musical bridge-building within the CPI community.

Erinn’s work with non-traditional performance groups led to a research interest in the social dimensions of musical performance and a desire to understand how people separated by social differences might encounter each other in these events. She is currently completing a PhD in music therapy at Goldsmiths College/University of London where her research focuses on audience engagement in therapeutically-oriented choral performances.