Today’s guest on baselines is Samantha Schoeler Jones. This episode continues with our international theme, but allows for a hiatus from the people I met on my America trip, as we follow Sam’s own extraordinary journey which took her to the other side of the northern hemisphere. There are few people who can claim to have a more colourful answer to ‘how did you become a music therapist’ than Sam

Samantha completed a Bachelor of Music in Performance in flute at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with the late Richard Gill as the Dean in 1991. After graduating, she commenced her performance career, which included performing casually with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about teaching flute, Samantha taught extensively across Perth, including having a teaching position at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. In 1995, she was accepted into the Franz Liszt Hochschule für Musik in Weimar, Germany, to complete further studies with Professor Robert Winn, former Principal Flautist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. In 1997, Samantha moved to Berlin to complete a degree in Music Therapy at The Institute fuer Musiktherapie. On returning to Australia in 2004, she decided to combine her experience as a music therapist and educator completing a Diploma in Secondary Education at The University of New England. Between 2007 and 2017, she worked as a classroom music specialist with the Department of Education, teaching and conducting recorder ensembles, choirs and school band programs across several schools in the Blue Mountains.  As a Registered Music Therapist, Samantha has worked with Sing&Grow since 2012 first as a contractor before becoming a clinical specialist in 2017 and Community Partner with Mission Australia in their Communities for Children program, providing early intervention music therapy services to families and children 0-5 in South West Sydney.