Tonight I am going to see Ben Folds perform! Beyond his great music, many music therapists love his understanding of and advocacy for music therapy. Back in January of 2013, Ben said, “I’m not a Music Therapist but I believe in it strongly enough to bring attention to it... It’s safe, cost effective, and in some cases even insured. It incorporates some heavy science and research, and, most importantly, it gets results.” You can click here to read the rest of his 653-word Facebook post. Later that month, Ben chose Music Therapy as the community service he wanted to represent when performing in Washington, D.C. for the National Day of Service; the American Music Therapy Association recognized this contribution with a writeup. He has advocated for our profession, visited a Music Therapy Conference, and recently, he has even collaborated with prominent neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Levitin to write an open letter to the President of the University of North Dakota. UND currently intends to close their music therapy program, but Ben has joined the national response protesting to keep the program open; If UND saves the program, he will self-fund a “benefit performance/lecture with the intent of helping raise money to support its budget.” Final note for all music therapist Sinfonians – Ben’s an honorary!