Amanda
Maestro-Scherer, MA, MT-BC
(she/her)
Board Certified Music Therapist,
Owner & Founder of Maestro Music Therapy
Amanda Maestro-Scherer, MA, MT-BC was born and raised in Ithaca, New York and graduated in 2007 with honors from the music therapy program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She completed her Master’s Degree in Music Therapy from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 2014, and conducted research for her thesis on original songwriting with parents of hospitalized infants. She is on the music therapy faculty at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, in addition to managing Maestro Music Therapy.
Amanda has worked in a variety of settings during her career including in medical settings, hospice care, mental health, in schools with children with special needs and refugee youth, as well as adult addiction recovery and individuals with eating disorders. She served as the team lead music therapist and internship director at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah from 2012-2018 and has trained over 30 interns from schools across the country. She continues to be an active supervisor for Berklee College of Music practicum students, and is passionate about clinical musicianship and supporting new professionals.
Amanda has specialized training in NICU music therapy, Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapy, and Neurologic Music Therapy and has studied the Nordoff-Robbins approach to clinical improvisation as well as the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music. Her approach is music-centered, and she specializes in songwriting and improvisational music therapy.
In addition to her clinical experience, Amanda has co-authored a chapter in a 2020 publication on music therapy in pediatric palliative care, called HeartSongs of Pediatric Palliative Care (Russell Hilliard, ed.). She is in the process of authoring two chapters on
pediatric palliative care for a new edition of Music Therapy in End-of-Life Care, with Barcelona Publishers (Cheryl Dileo, ed.). She is active on a national and international level, frequently teaching about clinical songwriting and end-of-life care. She is a regular instructor for the Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapy (HPMT) training through the Center for Music Therapy in End-of-Life Care.
Amanda is a proud Filipina-American, raising a sweet kiddo named Julian, and baby named Wesley with her husband Zach.
Maestro Music Therapy was established in Tompkins County in 2020, and Amanda brings the experience she has had working in numerous populations for over fifteen years, to serve Upstate New York.
Jo Shavel, MT-BC
(she/her)
Board Certified Music Therapist
Jo Shavel, MT-BC (she/her) graduated from the music therapy program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts with Summa Cum Laude honors in 2023. She completed a six-month internship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where she provided music therapy services throughout the hospital, assisting patients and families in expressing and exploring thoughts and feelings regarding illness, hospitalization, and related stressors as well as provided developmental support and opportunities for relaxation and socialization to hospitalized patients.
During her time as a music therapy student at Berklee College of Music, Jo gained experience facilitating a wide range of music therapy interventions in a variety of settings including children’s music groups, early intervention, mental health, and adult day habilitation. Jo’s approach is client-centered and strength based.
She is a rhythm-based music therapist and has been playing drums for over nine years. She is also proficient in guitar, piano, and vocals. Jo is passionate about incorporating drumming, percussion, and rhythm into music therapy sessions.
Jo provides services throughout Tompkins and Cayuga Counties. She works with many children in Tompkins County school districts, providing IEP based music therapy services and consultation to classroom teachers, as well as co-treatment with occupational, physical and speech therapists. She works with adults with disabilities in Ithaca and Auburn, NY, providing group services through day habilitation programs as well as individual therapy in group homes. Jo also sees private clients out of our music therapy studio and will be running community based group work for children during the summer.
Jo’s favorite genre of music is bluegrass and she is currently learning to play the banjo.
“[Throughout] this process Amanda and Jo have been lifesavers. They have made every step of this sometimes not-so-easy process [of accessing services for my son] enjoyable. Always willing to listen and give advice, I can’t remember a time we weren’t greeted with a smile and warm environment.”
