Board of Directors

SUSAN WEST, Ph.D. – PRESIDENT

Dr. Susan West is an award winning educator, musician, composer and arranger with over forty years’ experience developing pre-tertiary music programs and post-graduate teacher-training.  Dr West the developed the Music Outreach Principle, a philosophy of shared altruistic music making, which formed the foundation of her Music Engagement Program established in Canberra, Australia. Her philosophy and approaches are now used across the globe, particularly in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and New York State.  Read more about Susan>>

GEORGIA PIKE-ROWNEY, Ph.D. – VICE-PRESIDENT,  SECRETARY

Dr. Georgia Pike-Rowney is a practitioner and researcher focussed on enhancing human potential and wellbeing through the arts from a historical perspective.  A singer, educator, community outreach facilitator and trans-disciplinary researcher, she splits her time as co-Director of the Music Engagement Program, and Friends’ Lecturer and Curator of the Classics Museum at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia. Read more about Georgia>>

ANNE ALLWOOD, M.A. – TREASURER

Anne Allwood was born in the UK and moved to the US in 1997.  Educated at Oxford and London Universities, she has been a high school teacher for over forty years.  Mrs. Allwood has participated in numerous outreach programs that engage with residents through music in a variety of care and educational settings, the locations of these programs ranging from Europe and America to Australia. She founded and led a school-based initiative that brought high school students to a local nursing home where they incorporated the repertoire of the Great American Songbook into a program of uplifting weekly visits.

Executive Director

PETER MUIR, Ph.D.

Dr. Peter Muir is a world-class musician whose work is guided by a passionate belief in the power of music to transform people’s lives.An internationally renowned pianist, singer, and musicologist, equally at home in classical, jazz, and blues styles, his work has been described by the New York Times as “potent.” As an educator with thirty years experience, he has taught everybody from beginners to professionals, and has developed a unique approach to teaching people with disabilities.  Read more about Peter>>