Music is Therapy for the Human Soul

One of our members passed along an excerpt of an inspiring welcome address speech given to the parents of students at the Boston Conservatory on September 1, 2004, by Dr. Karl Paulnack, director of the Music Division: 

You're not here to become an entertainer, and you don't have to sell yourself. The truth is you don't have anything to sell; being a musician isn't about dispensing a product, like selling used cars. I'm not an entertainer; I'm a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. You're here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well. ​

The full text of the speech is beautiful, and something every musician should take to heart.