In the past 5 years, Spectrum has become home to an amazing team of instructors, therapists, and administrative professionals who are passionate about making Spectrum an awesome place to explore the arts! Our team is what makes the magic happen here, and we are proud to work alongside such talented individuals! In this new series, we’ll be highlighting a member of our team and sharing a little bit of their personal journey into the arts.
This month, we’re so excited to feature music therapist, Hayley Richbart!
Hi, everyone!
My name is Hayley Richbart and I am one of the Music Therapists on staff at Spectrum Creative Arts. I began working at Spectrum in August 2018 after graduating from Molloy College with my bachelor’s degree in music therapy. While at Molloy, I completed a year-long music therapy internship in an early intervention setting where I learned a developmental and music-centered approach to music therapy. Working at Spectrum, I have expanded this practice in so many ways with the support and assistance of all the wonderful music therapists on staff. I have loved learning new techniques for my practice, trying a variety of approaches to music therapy, and diving head-on into the song writing process in order to begin writing my own material for sessions! I am currently working as a school-based music therapist at Spectrum and am looking forward to utilizing my knowledge and love of early childhood work as I begin running a few Groove 2 Grow classes this summer!
My journey toward where I am today began when I was very young. I have been a musician and have loved music since I was little. I began singing in my school chorus and playing percussion in my school band as early as I could. Later, I began taking piano lessons and started performing in community musical theatre productions, expanding my love for music in a variety of ways! When preparing to go away to college, I began becoming very interested in psychology and learning about how our brains work. With this interest in mind while also not wanting to leave behind this love of music that I had, I applied to college as a major in music therapy. Choosing that path allowed for me to continue to make music while at the same time, learning about how that music was affecting the brain that was listening.Early childhood work has always been an area of interest for me because of the interest that I have on how our brains work and how music affects them. When children are young, the very basic elements of development are occurring. While working with this population, I was able to learn and eventually fully understand the ways that each element of music can assist and foster this basic development. Early childhood work allowed for me to see firsthand the effects that music has on your brain.
Some fun facts about me:
- I am the second of four children in my family and I was born and raised in Barker, NY (about an hour West of
Rochester). Growing up in a large family, I am very close to my sister and my brothers and I always love when we get to spend time together!- I love to travel to unique areas of the globe. Last summer, I took a month-long trip to Kenya in order to volunteer at an orphanage for people with special needs. While there, I absolutely fell in love with the culture and atmosphere of Africa.
- My favorite animal is the elephant. I collect elephant figurines and absolutely love anything with an elephant on it. I have loved them since I was a little girl and my love for them continues even to today!
I love to learn new things, expand my horizons, and explore what the world has to offer! I am very excited to finish up my first year as a Spectrum employee and dive right into year two. Hopefully I will see you around! 🙂
