Quality faculty are important no matter what area of music therapy you choose to pursue. The music therapy faculty at the Frost School of Music have decades of experience training students to work in a variety of music therapy contexts.
Shannon Kay de l’Etoile, Professor
Shannon de l’Etoile, Ph.D., is an Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Music Therapy. A board-certified music therapist and member of both the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), and the Southeastern Region of the AMTA, Dr. de l’Etoile is pleased to share her expertise.
In addition to her experience as a clinician, Dean de l’Etoile received recognition as a Fellow of the Robert F. Unkefer Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy. She currently serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Music Therapy and served a member of the editorial review board for Music Therapy Perspectives.
Dean de l’Etoile has worked with adults living with mental illness, children and adolescents living with emotional and behavioral disorders, adults and children living with developmental disabilities, and adults and children living with neurologic disorders. Her current focus is on the study of infants’ responses to music.
Dean de l’Etoile joined the Frost School of Music faculty in fall 2001. A widely published author, Dean de l’Etoile earned both her bachelor and master’s degrees in music therapy from Colorado State University. She received her doctorate in music education with an emphasis on music therapy from the University of Kansas. Prior to her current appointment at Frost, she taught music therapy at the University of Iowa and at Colorado State University. Dean de l’Etoile was previously a research associate for the internationally-recognized Center for Biomedical Research in Music in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Teresa Lesiuk
Teresa Lesiuk, Ph.D., is an associate professor and the program director for the Music Therapy program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. She is a board-certified music therapist and a member of the American Music Therapy Association and the Southeastern Region of the AMTA. Dr. Lesiuk is also the North American representative of the Education and Training Commission of the World Federation of Music Therapy.
Dr. Lesiuk began her career teaching junior high school choir, band, and general music in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. After beginning her music therapy work, Dr. Lesiuk provided music therapy to diverse clientele including people living with dementia, dual diagnoses, and children with developmental disabilities. She also coordinated an academic program for music therapy at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and helped to develop and grow the music therapy program at University of Windsor. Dr. Lesiuk researches the role of music in high stress occupations such as air traffic control and computer information systems development. She has published several studies of her work in Psychology of Music, Arts in Psychotherapy, Journal of Music Therapy, Information Management Resources Journal and the International Journal of Information Management Professionals.
Dr. Lesiuk is also an accomplished applied researcher. She created a music therapy program based in mindfulness meditation for women with breast cancer. Research about this program has been published in Oncology Nursing Forum and Healthcare. Dr. Lesiuk has collaborated with the Movement Disorder Team from the Miller School of Medicine to examine the cognitive, motor, and psychosocial outcomes of piano training for adults with Parkinson’s Disease. This research was funded by the GRAMMY Foundation and the University of Miami Provost Award. The most recent publication from this work has been published in Healthcare.
Dr. Lesiuk presents regularly at regional, national and international conferences. She is also an accomplished pianist and enjoys teaching functional piano techniques to all the music therapy majors.
Dr. Lesiuk received her BM in Music Education and Master’s of Education from the University of Manitoba. She received her Master’s of Music in Music Therapy from Colorado State University of her PhD from the University of Western Ontario.
Kimberly Sena Moore
Dr. Kimberly Sena Moore, Ph.D., MT-BC is a board-certified music therapist and an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at the Frost School of Music. As a distinguished therapist, researcher, and scholar, her clinical and research efforts have helped adults and children with diverse emotional, psychological, and medical needs. In her role as the Clinical Training Director for the school’s music therapy program, Dr. Sena Moore oversees the clinical training for all undergraduate and graduate music therapy students, teaches foundational and methods courses in music therapy, and supervises graduate student research.
Dr. Sena Moore joined the program in 2014 following years of professional practice. She has worked with children who have a history of complex trauma, as well as children, adults, and older adults with medical or rehabilitation needs. Her work continues through clinical research that explores the role of music in facilitating emotion regulation development in neurodevelopmentally at-risk children.
A gifted scholar and communicator, Dr. Sena Moore has shared her studies at regional, national, and international conferences. In addition, her research has been published in distinguished publications such as the Journal of Music Therapy, Music Therapy Perspective, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and Imagine, and has been featured in such widely read publications as Psychology Today, Redbook, and CURE.
Dr. Sena Moore continues to use her knowledge and expertise to expand awareness of and access to music therapy services for those with special needs. She currently serves as Regulatory Affairs Associate for the Certification Board for Music Therapists. This position allows Dr. Sena Moore to consult with music therapists across the country on how to advocate at the state level for legislative and policy issues that impact music therapy practice in their states. Dr. Sena Moore also serves as the Associate Editor-Communications for the Journal of Music Therapy, a position that finds her involved in online dissemination of the latest music therapy research.
Aside from her extensive efforts as an advocate and practitioner, Dr. Sena Moore also serves as one of the original co-hosts of the Music Therapy Round Table podcast. Her blog, “Your Musical Self,” can be found online at Psychology Today. Dr. Sena Moore also founded and manages the long-running Music Therapy Maven blog.
Prior to pursuing her career in academia, Dr. Sena Moore founded and directed Neurosong Music Therapy Services, Inc., a private practice that provided music therapy and music instruction programs in northern Colorado. She holds a B.M. in Music Therapy from the University of Iowa, an M.M. in Music Therapy from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. in Music Education, with an emphasis on music therapy, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Studying Music Therapy at the Frost School of Music
Are you interested in studying with world-class faculty in an intensive music therapy context? The faculty at the Frost School are committed to helping you gain real-world experience as you work towards your music therapy goals. Whether you’re interested in research, working with populations, or teaching music therapy yourself, the Frost School of Music provides a strong foundation for all of the music therapy majors who enter through the program.
