MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A classroom assignment in a Miami-Dade County Public Schools elementary school has grown into a nonprofit organization that has delivered more than 16,000 interactive music sessions for people living with neurological and developmental conditions across three states.
Mind&Melody, a nonprofit co-founded by Miami-Dade schools graduate Cristina Rodriguez, uses live, interactive music to engage children and adults with autism, dementia, intellectual disabilities and other neurological conditions in healthcare and community settings.
The organization now serves more than 2,000 participants annually in Florida, New Mexico and New York, bringing together professional and student musicians to create music alongside participants rather than perform for them.
Rodriguez, a 2011 graduate of Coral Reef Senior High School, traces the organization’s origins back to her time in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
As a fifth-grade student at Dr. Gilbert L. Porter Elementary School, Rodriguez attended an after-school orchestra program started by music teacher Michael Erwin. Initially hoping to play the violin, she was assigned the cello instead — a decision she says changed the course of her life.
Rodriguez said she had immigrated to the United States from Venezuela at age 7 and said music became a way to connect while learning English and adapting to a new country.
“I would come home from school, close the door to my room, and practice for hours without noticing how much time had passed,” she said in a MDCPS news release.
Rodriguez continued studying music through Southwood Middle School’s music magnet program before earning one of four freshman cello positions at Coral Reef Senior High School.
While at Coral Reef, Rodriguez developed an interest in the relationship between music and neuroscience.
She said internships at Jackson Memorial Hospital and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis introduced her to neurological research and reinforced her interest in how music could support health and well-being.
That interest later evolved while volunteering at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital formerly known as Miami Children’s Hospital, where Rodriguez envisioned using interactive music to engage patients during treatment.
The concept became Mind&Melody, which was founded to use music as a tool for communication, engagement and social connection for people facing neurological and developmental challenges.
Unlike traditional performances, the nonprofit’s sessions encourage participants to sing, play instruments, move and create music together with musicians, an approach designed to foster interaction and engagement.
The organization has since expanded its programming beyond hospitals into memory care communities, schools, rehabilitation centers and community organizations.
Rodriguez was recently recognized as a L’Oréal Paris Woman of Worth for her work leading Mind&Melody, an award that honors women making significant contributions through nonprofit organizations.
Rodriguez said the recognition also highlighted the role Miami-Dade County Public Schools educators played in her own development.
Today, Mind&Melody continues to partner with healthcare providers and community organizations to expand access to interactive music programs for individuals and families affected by neurological and developmental conditions.
Click here if you would like to learn more information about the nonprofit.
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