“Improvisation is a landscape of hope.” - ALAN TURRY, DA, LCAT, MT-BC

“Dr. Alan Turry is one of the most respected music therapy practitioners of clinical improvisation, and his research based on his own clinical work has been inspiring music therapy students and professionals worldwide. As an internationally renowned music therapy educator, he has trained hundreds of music therapists from many different countries. It is certain that he will continue to contribute to the field of music therapy as a practitioner, researcher, and educator.”

- Dr. Dong Min Kim, Professor, 

Head of the Graduate Programs in Creative Arts Therapy, Jeonju University

Director of the Korean Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Training

“His clinical work

was frequently a teaching subject at the Master Course of University of Macedonia

where I graduated. His work is a source of inspiration.”

 - Emmanouil Basis, MT

University of Macedonia, Greece

“Alan Turry uniquely stands out with his stunning abilities of clinical improvisation and related research. He also has been a tremendously creative organizer and effective administrator for developing Nordoff-Robbins music therapy in many Asian countries. It is not just his technical teaching skills that impress me, however. Dr. Turry is always a great joy to work with, because of his amazingly positive attitude and cultural sensitivity. His caring, empathetic and creative way of teaching were valued not just by myself, but also by our students.”

- Kana Okazaki-Sakaue, DA, MT-BC, ARAM,

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapist

Associate Professor, Department of Human Development and Environment

Kobe University, Japan

“Alan is a very experienced, supportive, knowledgeable supervisor and teacher. He is also a passionate and inspiring person. He has been giving insightful and practical comments and guidance with a variety of resources and examples in supporting my clinical work and professional growth!” 

- Diana Chan Tsz Kwan, MCMT, BA(Mus), NRMT, RMT(AustMTA) Founder of Revive Music Therapy limited & Music Within

Member of Hong Kong Music Therapy Association 

“Alan is an expert in clinical improvisation and is an extraordinary professor. With sensitivity he adapts the experiences to culture diversity. His Workshops and keynote presentation at the International Nordoff Robbins Symposium in Argentina marked a before and after in the local community.”

- Marcela Lichtensztejn, MT-BC, LCAT

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapist 

Director of the Music Therapy Program and Researcher at the School of Health Sciences, Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales, Buenos Aires, Argentina

“Alan demonstrated a great understanding of his profession and he was extremely generous with his knowledge, which I consider is a key quality in a teacher. On the other hand, as an international student, I witnessed Alan's qualities to understand the challenges that this implied for me and my classmates that came from other countries. He was always open to listen to our concerns and helped me a lot to understand and embrace my personal advantages and shortcomings to become a better clinician and a better person too.”

- Pepe Benavides, Psychologist 

Bachelor in Music, MT MA, Chile

“Our local music therapy professional Association Centro Toscano di Musicoterapia  (Tuscany Music Therapy Center) invited Alan to teach to our association’s members one week per year from 2010 to 2014. He was very sensitive to the Italian musical heritage that came out from sharing our recorded video material and he led us through live improvisations based on this musical archetype. What I found really impressive that while teaching us Alan also took a lot of care in treating our group interactions issues. Before this work with Alan there were a lot of conflicts in our association. After the first week we had with Alan we could talk and play music with each other in a new way. I think he really taught us how to work clinically utilizing the music because we had this experience with him as his ‘clients’. Another great point regarding the work with Alan through these four years consisted in the personal musical enhancement that he gifted us. Actually he enhanced every single participant in developing her/his own musicianship starting from the point at which they were. For example for some reason a few of the music therapists in our group did not want to use their own instruments in their music therapy sessions anymore and in the end they totally changed their attitude and they also started playing their instrument in public events as well. One could provide many other examples about the variety of musical inspirations he provided for each of the participants.” 

- Paolo Pizziolo, PhD

Music Therapist 

Centro Toscano Musicoterapia (CeToM)  

Registered at Italian Professional Association of Music Therapy AIM 385/2021

“Alan Turry has been my friend and colleague for 35 years. His work inspired me tremendously. His fantastic musicianship together with his kind and warm personality influenced my music therapy clinical work as well as my teaching and researching. Some of my former students were fortunate enough to go to NY and study with him. They found Alan to be a very nourishing and inspiring teacher and loved the work he has been doing in the NR Center. I interviewed Alan several times for various research projects and used some of his clinical examples in my lectures all over the world.

Alan is a kind of teacher, researcher and clinician who touches the heart of his students and clients and changes their lives. He is a loving and caring human being, very respectful of others, has a special musical gift and musical clinical knowledge that he is sharing with such generosity with his students, clients, supervisees and colleagues.” 

- Dorit Amir, DA, ACMT

Founder and former head of the Music Therapy Program, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

“Alan was and still is one of my biggest inspirations ever. Since I took the first piano Improv lesson with him and he immediately found the right harmony for the melody I was playing at the piano, I felt that the Music Therapy field was my path and I also felt so grateful and privileged at that moment.

I had the privilege of filming the sessions of a great child, Joshua, and therefore the honor of listening to Alan and Clive working with him for a period of time, almost two years. I have no words for such amazing experience feeling his musicianship, listening abilities and warmth towards the child while helping him to grow and become a free and joyful person. Alan creates magic moments within the music and he definitely touches everyone's heart.

I feel honored to have had the opportunity to know him and learn from his knowledge and his music.”

- Alicia Lorenzo

Coordinator at the Music Therapy Program at the Autonoma University of Madrid ( Spain)

Secretary of La Fundación Musicoterapia y Salud (Spain)

“In studying with Professor Turry I learned a lot, not only in terms of music therapeutic techniques, but also in terms of how to relate with different client populations and how to bridge the gap between my musical competence and my intuition. I left the course richer and more in contact with myself, I am grateful to have met him.”

- Cristina Grifone, Music Therapy trainee

Codarts Rotterdam | University of the Arts

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“Dr. Alan Turry is an inspiring and passionate teacher. He is able to connect with our non-native English-speaking students in a very sensitive way. Fully aware of the different cultures and cultural diversities in our student population, he has a warm and positive personality, meeting every student in the process where they are and what they need in that moment. Working with Music in Music Therapy was a real gift for our students.”

- Carola van ’t Hof,  Med  BA  RMTh
Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer Master Music Therapy
Codarts, University of the Arts, Rotterdam – Netherlands

“Throughout the years it is my great honor to be able to continue interacting with Alan. Now at an international capacity, Alan continues to inspire, I have yet to see a place that does not welcome Alan. I believe it is not only because he is an amazing musician/music therapist/human-being, but it is the way that he takes joy in doing music therapy, the breadth of his knowledge and the way that he teaches by example, with a genuine warmth, openness, and acceptance. When working internationally, it is especially important to approach other cultures with enough cultural sensitivity and understanding. Alan takes great care in learning about the needs, values and the cultural influences that shape the individual’s situation. Whether it is an introductory talk, a workshop, or an online intensive class he is always able to teach with clarity and interact with authenticity.”

- Min-Min Cheung, MA, MT-BC

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapist

Tempo Rubato Music Therapy Center, Shanghai, China