Testimonials

Dr Michael Viega

Associate Professor of Music Therapy
Montclair State University

I have known Dr. Alexander Crooke since 2015 as a colleague and collaborator. We were introduced by Dr. Katrina McFerran at the University of Melbourne, who recognized that we shared similar interests in areas related to music technology, youth empowerment, Hip Hop and electronic dance music, and social justice.

Upon meeting Dr. Crooke, I quickly recognized the importance of his scholarship. What struck me first and foremost was that his knowledge came from his genuine love for dance culture: the artistry, the rituals, the sustaining relationships that form out of shared music experiences, and the healing that can occur in electronic music spaces. Dr. Crooke’s scholarship lives in an intersection that not only informs the field I am in, music therapy, but also music education, community music and health, and music and social justice. His work exemplifies the importance of collaboration, partnership, sustainability, and shared participation when it comes to the healing affordances of music and music technology.

Dr. Crooke’s research has direct implications for music therapy practice, especially for those who utilize music technology in health-oriented spaces. First, his work has demonstrated that when using music technology in music therapy, practitioners must have a solid foundation in the sociocultural histories of the music gear they are using. I use his article “Music Technology and the Hip Hop Beat Making Tradition: A History and Typology of Equipment for Music Therapy” in every class I teach on this subject. I usually follow that up with the article he wrote with Dr. McFerran, “Improvising Using Beat Making Technologies in Music Therapy with Young People.” Together, these two articles support the necessity for culturally centered approaches for using music technology when working with youth. His most recent article, “Samplers, MIDI-Controllers, Digital Audio Workstations and Positive Youth Identity Development: Two Examples from Practice,” will certainly be added to that list.

Dr. Crooke’s research and practice have influenced the fields of school counseling, social work, and psychology as well. He has collaborated with leaders in those fields, such as Dr. Raphael Travis Jr. in social work and Dr. Elliot Gann in psychology, creating culturally sustainable Hip Hop programming for youth. His work has inspired me to consider music’s role in health across many disciplines, not just music therapy, and to invite all stakeholders to the table when it comes to researching and exploring music technology’s health affordances.

As part of the Interlocutors Collective on the topic of colonialism in music therapy, Dr. Crooke invited me to write a chapter on Hip Hop in music therapy. He encouraged me to bring in other authors who were indigenous to the healing traditions found in Hip Hop. His knowledge, respect for Hip Hop, and collaborative spirit helped guide that chapter, centering cultural narratives and dialogue as the primary sources of knowledge. It was an absolute honor to work with him on that project. 

It is always a joy to collaborate and work with Dr. Crooke, knowing that his scholarship blossoms from his genuine love and deep respect for all forms of electronic dance music and its role in supporting liberation for marginalized and oppressed peoples. In addition, Dr. Crooke is an amazing musician and producer himself. I have witnessed him create and build synthesizer music modules and make outstanding experimental music from them. I have the utmost respect for Dr. Crooke’s musicianship, scholarship, and humanity. It has been a pleasure to work with him as a colleague, but also to get to know him as a loving and kind human being with a passion for spreading the word about the transformative and healing affordances of electronic dance music.