Sorrento Valley Group Wins NEA Grant to Support Military Music Therapy Program

Resounding Joy, a Sorrento Valley nonprofit that provides music therapy, has received a $10,000 federal grant to support its Sounds of Service program.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) chose the organization for a Grants for Arts Projects award.

The Sounds of Service military music therapy program honors the contributions of service members year-round by offering access to free music. Participants – almost 400 annually – benefit from a variety of events, including informal jam sessions, songwriting workshops and one-on-one clinical music therapy sessions.

Barbara Reuer, Resounding Joy CEO and founder, called the grant “a testament to the benefit of music therapy for military service members, veterans and their families.”

“We are so appreciative of our granting partners who ensure that our military music therapy program can grow and help even more San Diego residents,” she said.

Other programs offered by Resounding Joy include Ariana Miller Healing Notes, which provides free music therapy sessions to thousands of ailing children. Sounds of Community provides music therapy and music wellness programs to support individuals, families and local agencies. 

This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards, totaling nearly $28.8 million, that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 funding.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide,” said NEA chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “Projects such as this one with Resounding Joy strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy.”