Publications, Media & Insights
My work brings together research, practice, and community engagement to explore how music, culture, and the arts can support community and individual empowerment, wellbeing, learning, and social change. Below is a selection of publications, videos, invited talks, interviews, and media that reflect the ideas informing my consultancy, research, and professional practice.
I have published over 50 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, books and book chapters covering topics from music therapy, music education, community music, social work, and psychology, to policy, research methods, technology, program delivery, critical cultural studies, and sustainable arts practice. Collectively, these pieces have been cited over 2,000 times and cover a range of disciplines. Below is a short list of selected publications, please click here for a full list of my published pieces.
Can’t access a title? Just get in touch and I will send you a copy.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
The development of a decision matrix to guide and support the provision of effective arts programs in schools
International Journal of Educational Research Open • 2022
A 3-year research study undertaken in partnership with education and industry partners to develop a comprehensive decision making matrix to support schools and policymakers in the implementation and provision of effective school arts programs.
Music, social cohesion, and intercultural understanding: A conceptual framework for intercultural music engagement
Musicae Scientiae • 2024
First in a series of articles which develop a framework to understand and guide meaningful and culturally safe intercultural engagement through music.
Music Technology and the Hip Hop Beat Making Tradition: A History and Typology of Equipment for Music Therapy
Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy • 2018
Introduces a historical framework for understanding beat making technologies in music therapy and other music-based wellbeing modalities, while also arguing for culturally informed approaches.
Recommendations for the investigation and delivery of music programs aimed at achieving psychosocial wellbeing benefits in mainstream schools
Australian Journal of Music Education • 2014
Recommendations for the implementation school music programs which promote student wellbeing outcomes, and how to capture these outcomes through research and evaluation.
Understanding sustainability in school arts provision: stakeholder perspectives in Australian primary schools
Music Education Research • 2017
An interview study that identifies the various ways schools understand and approach sustainability in school arts provision, and key strategies for supporting sustainable arts programming.
What Young People Think About Music, Rhythm and Trauma: An Action Research Study
Frontiers in Psychology • 2022
This article used multiple methods to investigate claims regarding the ability for rhythmic music activities to support regulation in young people living with trauma. Findings emphasise the role of safety in supporting young people over rhythmic activities alone.
Books & Chapters
Colonialism and Music Therapy
Barcelona Publishers • 2022
An edited book collection exploring the influence of colonialism on music therapy training, practice and theory. With 25 chapters from 54 contributors, this book covers and a wide range of topics to identify the ongoing impacts of colonialism on the profession.
Samplers, MIDI-Controllers, Digital Audio Workstations and Positive Youth Identity Development: Two Examples from Practice in ‘Youth Work, Music Production and Measurement’
Palgrave Macmillan • 2024
A chapter drawing on research and practice to explain links between music technology & positive youth identity development.
Global Inclusion and Healing Through Therapeutic Beat Making in ‘Music for inclusion and healing in schools and beyond: Hip hop, techno, grime, and more’
Oxford University Press • 2023
A chapter explaining how the Therapeutic Beat Making model facilitates healing & inclusion across generations and continents.
Videos, Podcasts & Webinars
Three bite-sized snippets from a book launch interview about my chapter in Youth Work, Music Production and Measurement, where I give a brief overview of my approach to investigating music and wellbeing in schools
A video recap of a full-day professional development session on Hip Hop, beat making and wellbeing delivered alongside Dr Elliot Gann from Today’s Future Sound for CARCLEW, a community arts organisation for youth, in Tarndanya (Adelaide), SA
A video of an interview for the Hello Music Podcast with Karen Kim, founder and director of Hello Music - a national music education advocacy and training org based in Naarm (Melbourne) - we discuss intercultural music, Hip Hop & music education
In this webinar with executive founding director of Hip Hop Heals UK, Kiran Manley, I talk about my career & journey as a scholar & practitioner, my approach to working in academic spaces, research/evaluation, & share some practical music & wellbeing tips
Media
Selected Radio Interviews
Hip Hop and healing
Counterpoint • 28 Aug 2017 • ABC Radio National
I discuss the origins of Hip Hop in New York and its growing use in therapeutic and educational spaces across the globe with Amanda Vanstone, former Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
The Rise Of AI and Its Impact on Music Production
Arts and Culture • 17 June 2024 • 2ser 107.3 Sydney
In this interview I discuss the emergence of AI-based music creation software which generates whole songs via simple prompts, alongside the rise of AI in music production more generally and why this wont spell the end of human music making
Hip hop: a ‘positive and generous force in our society’
Sunday Morning • 8 Oct 2017 • Radio New Zealand (RNZ)
This piece unpacks the negative connotations of Hip Hop and ‘Rap’ music, highlighting the culture’s history of resistance & community, the impact of capitalism & the record industry, and its ability to engage youth for positive health & education outcomes
Hip Hop Music Therapy
Drive • 3 Aug 2017 • 2ser 107.3 Sydney
This conversation covers an introduction to music therapy as a broad collection of health and wellbeing approaches, before delving into the growing amount of music and wellbeing practices which centre Hip Hop, and the growth of research in this area
Using Hip Hop to build resilience and improve mental health
Life Matters • 19 Oct 2017 • ABC Radio National
Alongside Professor Raphael Travis, we discuss the healing potential of Hip Hop using international research, theory, and examples of local programs like Sisters and Brothers
Hip Hop Therapy
Weekend Breakfast • 30 Jul 2017 • 2ser 107.3 Sydney
Here we discuss the various uses of Hip Hop in schools for both wellbeing and educational outcomes, its value as a culturally responsive way of engaging youth, and insights into how to approach and leverage challenging and positive lyrical content
Selected Media Articles
No, AI doesn’t mean human‑made music is doomed. Here’s why
The Conversation • 12 June 2024
This article discusses the rise of generative AI in music creation, the challenges it presents, and why it wont stop humans making music
The Healing Power of Hip Hop
The Conversation • 27 July 2017
Alongside the Professor Raphael Travis (who wrote the book with the same title) this article challenges negative stereotypes of Hip Hop culture and uses our research to explain its potential in therapeutic, educational and other spaces
The trouble with teaching music in our schools
Pursuit • 23 May 2017
Drawing on research from a 3-year Australian Research Council study, this article explains the structural, political and practical challenges facing music provision in mainstream schools in this country
Building intercultural engagement through music
Pursuit • 13 Feb 2023
With colleagues Dr Trisnasari Fraser and Professor Jane Davidson, this piece discusses how the arts can support intercultural understanding & briefly introduces an engagement model that promotes both social cohesion & harm reduction
The importance of offering quality music education
Education Matters • 4 April 2017
Edited by Toli Papadopoulos, this article broadly describes how we can understand quality in music education, why its important for students to have access to it, and how it can support numerous forms of student engagement
Hip Hop’s Healing Power
Pursuit • 27 July 2017
Here Professor Raphael Travis and I speak to the therapeutic, educational value of Hip Hop, while also discussing the tensions between its reputation for promoting antisocial content, and its historical role as a catalyst for positive social change
Invited Keynote Speaking Engagements
Therapeutic Beat Making and Applications of Hip Hop for Working with Trauma-Affected Populations
International Childhood Trauma Conference • 2025 • Naarm (Melbourne)
A collaborative keynote sharing practice approaches, case examples and research insights for working with trauma-affected youth using Hip Hop and music technology
Introducing a Therapeutic Approach to Collaborative Beat Making
Global Uses of Beats and Lyrics for Healing and Learning: Therapeutic Uses of Hip Hop in the US & Australia • 2017 • Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
A keynote introducing three music technology-based group music improvisation procedures developed for music therapy
Beat Making and Rapping for Engaging Trauma-Affected Youth: Practical Activities and Research
International Childhood Trauma Conference • 2025 • Naarm (Melbourne)
A collaborative keynote including workshop activities and research insights on relationships between rhythm, safety and regulation when working with trauma-affected youth
The Role of “The Passionate Individual” in School Arts Provision
Music, Schools and Wellbeing Symposium & Think Tank • 2017 • The University of Melbourne, Naarm
A keynote describing how many schools rely on “passionate individuals” for school arts provision, as based on a 3 year postdoctoral study with school and industry partners in Naarm
Sustainability of School Based Arts Programs: Education, Mental Health & Social Justice
Hip Hop, Health and Global Justice Conference • 2018 • Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
A keynote outlining institutional and policy factors affecting the sustainability of arts programs in mainstream schools, and their impact on mental health and larger social justice goals
Building partnerships with mainstream arts and education sectors for sustainable arts practices
Australian Music Therapy Association Conference • 2016 • The University of Melbourne, Naarm
A keynote outlining key strategies for building and maintaining research partnerships with major industry and education sector stakeholders, using examples from a 3 year postdoctoral study