For over a decade, international orchestral conductor Peter Shannon, PhD and Dr. Jacqueline Huntly, physician and physician leadership coach, have collaborated to develop Music into a sophisticated, focused tool within the Health Humanities. Their innovative scientifically-grounded programs offer healthcare professionals a unique lens through which to understand their own profession, using professional musicians and the creative force of music to combat burnout and enhance self-care.
Comprehensively, they have also developed programs to train professional musicians to work effectively in a healthcare setting. These unique programs, drawing on the discipline of Mind-Body medicine, offer orchestral musicians an opportunity to engage in a way that can truly affect change in their communities, collaborating with cancer centers, hospitals, and hospices to benefit patients, healthcare staff, and the musicians themselves.
Dr. Peter Shannon is a professional Irish-American orchestral conductor and humanities scholar. He has held multiple positions with professional orchestras both in Europe and the United States, including serving as Artistic Director of the Savannah Philharmonic (2007–2019) and The Jackson Symphony (2014–2025).
Dr. Shannon's PhD in musicology was funded by the Irish Research Council. Using the late symphonies of Franz Schubert as a lens to exploring illness and healing, it has been praised for advancing music within the health humanities. Peter is the Founder and President of the American Institute for Music and Healing (AIMH) and an Affiliate Professor of Bioethics & Medical Humanities at Mercer University School of Medicine. He currently serves as a Visiting Scholar with the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and was a Visiting Instructor in 2024 at CCARE at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
His work, developed in collaboration with leading international scholars such as Prof. Paul Gilbert and Dr. James Doty, establishes music and compassion as functional, evidence-based drivers of innovation. By integrating these elements into medical education and clinical care, Dr. Shannon provides a necessary framework for healthcare sustainability and the advancement of the medical profession.
Learn More About Dr. Shannon
Throughout her clinical career and now her physician coaching career, Dr. Huntly has explored and innovatively incorporated tools drawn from mind/body medicine, the humanities, positive psychology and leadership coaching into her work. She brings her passion for holistic healing and personal and professional thriving to her collaboration with Peter Shannon as they expand the unique role of music in the healthcare environment.
Learn More About Dr. HuntlyAIMH seeks to build resilience in musicians and healthcare professionals through engaging in performance and addressing issues of burnout. Music therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. The following is core to AIMH:
AIMH programs focus on building a powerful connection between musicians, patients and healthcare professionals.
AIMH musicians are versatile and professionally trained, performing a wide range of music on their instruments.
AIMH programs like Nurturing the Inner Healer use musicians and live music as a pathway to promote well-being and self-care in healthcare professionals.
“We encountered a couple who was very appreciative of our playing. The husband chose a surprise song for us to play for his wife getting treatment. He chose Amazing Grace. They listened as they cried. We played some more songs and they would not stop thanking us.”
- Elise, violinist