BY BEN VERDE
A Prospect Heights resident
made history last month, when
he became the fi rst Grammywinning
music therapist to win
in the prestigious award show’s
62-year history!
Jon Samson, who treats kids
and adults alike in his Prospect
Heights practice, won the award
for Best Children’s Album for
his record “Ageless: Songs for
the Child Archetype.”
“That was of course very
exciting,” Samson said. “I defi -
nitely didn’t expect it, but I was
sure hoping for it.”
Samson, a native of Johannesburg,
South Africa, works
in private practice, as opposed
to most other music therapists
who work within institutions,
which he says allows him the
freedom to work on his own
music.
The musician released “Ageless”
last summer, which featured
12 upbeat tunes including
“Bye, Polar Bear,” “Love is not
a Race,” and “Video Game” that
focus on different aspects of a
child’s psyche, or the “child archetype,”
COURIER L 20 IFE, FEBRUARY 14-20, 2020
according to Samson,
who offered Robin Williams’ record
“Pecos Bill,” which won
Best Children’s Album in 1989,
as an infl uence.
“Ageless” is Samson’s
fourth album, and he attributes
its smashing critical success to
the record’s ability to transcend
age barriers and appeal to the
kid in all of us.
“While my other three albums
were all branded as ‘Kids
Album’, my fourth release is
truly intended to reach all humans,
no matter what number
their age,” Samson said. “We
all have a child within that
needs to be nourished and expressed.”
Samson says he hopes his
role as the fi rst music therapist
to receive the award can help
chart a path forward for his fellow
music therapists.
“Traditional music education
tends to be more left brain,
more academic than it is right
brain, creative, intuitive,” he
said. “The approach is not conducive
to cultivating a positive
emotional experience.”
In contrast, Samson says he
focuses on fostering a child’s
creativity, emphasizing the
importance of improvisation
over root memorization, which
can result in emotional pieces
such as “Concentration Camps
for Creativity” an improvised
song by a child named Darya,
which Samson says was the result
of her frustrations with her
heavy workload from school,
which was stifl ing her creative
energy.
Jon Samson with his Grammy Award at the Staples Center in January.
Photo by Robby Klein/Getty Images
CHILD’S PLAY
Prospect Heights music therapist wins
Grammy award for his children’s album
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