First Name:
Laurelle
Last Name:
Cartwright, MMT, MT-BC
Main Title:
Lecturer in Music Therapy
Office Location:
Room 456, Broyhill Music Center
Phone Number:
828-262-8213
Email:
Type:
Area(s):
Laurelle Cartwright is a native of The Bahamas, a Caribbean archipelago with over 700 islands and cays. She was born and raised in Nassau, the country’s capital city on the island of New Providence. In 2013, she earned her bachelor’s degree in music education at The College of the Bahamas. She was also awarded the Bachelor of Education Leadership Award. Laurelle taught first through ninth grades on two Bahamian islands for a total of five (5) years. As the sole music educator at these schools, Laurelle formed and directed several music groups, including lower primary handbell ensemble; upper primary marching band, goombay drum ensemble and recorder ensemble; and junior high choir.
In 2018, Laurelle attended Appalachian State University as a combined equivalency/master’s graduate student in music therapy. She became a board-certified music therapist in 2021 and worked as a graduate practicum supervisor at the university and as a part time music therapist within Exceptional Children (EC) Department at Watauga High School. The following year she earned her master’s in music therapy degree and certificate in emotional and behavioral disorders. From 2022-2023, Laurelle worked at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) in Cincinnati, Ohio as a fellow. In 2023, she became a Neurologic Music Therapist through The Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy. Her clinical experiences include preschoolers with speech and language impairments, children to young adults with various intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), children and adolescents with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), children to young adults with medical needs, dialysis patients and older adults in hospice. Her love for music and desire to help people fuel her passion to use the innate therapeutic qualities of music to meet individuals’ physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and psychosocial needs while allowing them to be their authentic selves. Laurelle’s long term goal is to establish music therapy in The Bahamas as it does not formally exist in the country.