Jacob Dorfman Of Wesley Enhanced Living Stapeley On How Live Arts Helped Teach Courage, Authenticity, Vulnerability & Career Success
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
“Live arts taught me to stay true to my authenticity. I learned that through practice, I can keep the music and myself as authentic as possible.”
The stage is a powerful platform for personal and professional growth. Through live arts, individuals learn to embrace vulnerability, project authenticity, and muster unparalleled courage. These experiences not only shape artists but also prepare them for varied career paths with a distinctive edge. From actors and dancers to directors and behind-the-scenes creators, the lessons learned in the limelight often translate into profound career success beyond the footlights. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jacob Dorfman.
Jacob Dorfman is the Community Arts Coordinator for Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley. With three years of experience and a Bachelor of Music Therapy from Temple University, Jacob helps the community’s residents, during group and one on one sessions, express their emotions, wants, and needs through the vehicle that music creates. Most recently, and through various news outlets, Jacob has been highlighted for his work on a project called “Heartbeat Songs”. This project is originally derived from therapeutic work that Jacob and his fiancée Gabi (a Hospice Music Therapist) worked on while interning together. “Heartbeat Songs” combines the human metronome (heartbeat) along with the resident’s favorite tunes to create a musical memoir that encapsulates their life stories. It also serves as a therapeutic tool for families, caregivers, and loved ones, by providing them with a lifetime of memories through song.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career in live arts?
“Thank you for having me! My name is Jacob Dorfman, and I am the Community Arts Coordinator for Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley. I have a bachelor’s in music therapy from Temple University and I have been involved in the live arts all throughout my life. In fact, music touched every aspect of my life growing up, including at home. My grandfather was a local performer in my hometown of Glassboro, New Jersey and served as a great role-model for me on my music journey. My mom also had a large part to play in my love of music. From the time I was little she played many different genres of music around the house, exposing me to its therapeutic impact. After I graduated high school, I was a little unsure of what I wanted my future to look like. I’ve always been deeply rooted in music but, as I grew older, I discovered how much I enjoyed lending a helping hand whenever someone needed it. Through hashing these two loves out in conversation with a family member who happens to be a Speech Language Pathologist, she recommended researching Music Therapy! Thus, my career path was set.”
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
“When I started my career, I worked as a hospice music therapy intern. To the average person, this may not sound like the most uplifting job, but it was the most enriching, interesting, and fulfilling opportunity. Through this internship, I was given the chance to share music with people at the most vulnerable stage of life, the end… I saw people who were deemed nonverbal sing along with their favorite songs, people who couldn’t remember the names of their family members remembering song titles from the 40s, and people who were no longer responsive have their heartbeat match a tempo of a song. This is where I truly saw the impact that music can have on a person and where I found my biggest inspiration.”
Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
“I believe the ability to easily build rapport with individuals is instrumental to my success and a key component for careers in a therapy-based field. I do my best to lead each session with an open mind, allowing residents to truly see a glimpse of who I am at heart, while we connect over music. I also think my ability to be a team player has pushed me to provide the best care possible for those interested in my sessions. At Wesley Enhanced Living Stapeley, we work as a care team to bounce ideas off one another and determine a game plan that serves residents’ interests while providing the best care possible. And at the end of the day, quality musicianship is vital for music therapy. Without this skill, I would not have the ability to be comfortable within sessions and trying new techniques. Through my musical training, dedicated practice, and using my educational guidance, I’ve learned to open my heart as well as my music to those willing to listen.”
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. How has a live performance experience directly influenced a critical decision or leadership style in your professional career?
“Live performance has directly influenced my professional career by showing me that it is always best to lead with your heart. Through my years of live performance, I have found that people and audiences are more responsive to a musician (or clinician in a professional sense) who is trying to convey a certain feeling or emotion. Not only that, but when a listener feels you are pouring your heart out into something, they become more open to sharing their own personal experience as well.”
Can you describe a moment on stage that taught you a profound lesson about vulnerability and how you’ve applied that lesson offstage?
“When you go to school for music degrees of any kind, you have what is called a ‘jury’, which is basically your final exam. You spend an entire semester preparing a piece of music, and at the end of the term, you perform for a panel. This experience really taught me the importance of vulnerability and acceptance. At the end of the day, perfection is not the primary goal of music therapy. Instead, our goal is to do the best we can musically, while also maintaining authenticity to meet the needs and wants of the people we serve.”
In what ways has the discipline and creativity demanded by live arts shaped your approach to career challenges and opportunities?
“Live arts have taught me to bend and not break. It’s important as humans, as we move through life, to remember that challenges and opportunities presented to us are not meant to break us. Instead, we learn to bend, soaking up opportunities and dedicating ourselves to experiences that serve enriching purposes.”
How do you think the authenticity required in live performances has impacted your personal brand or leadership identity in your career?
“Authenticity plays a huge role in music therapy. When you lead a session, if you walk in and your mind is not focused or dedicated to the experience, your clients or residents will see right through you. It’s important to be your authentic self and stay true to the music you are playing. It’s critical to represent the artist or song as much as you can, to ensure everyone in the session has an enjoyable and transformative experience.”
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways That Live Arts Helped Teach Courage, Authenticity, Vulnerability and Career Success?”
1 . “Live arts have taught me courage. I used to deal with a lot with stage freight and anxiety. I learned that going into a performance and doing it with a purpose, for example dedicating that time for a resident, patient or client, has really helped me through that. With repetition comes comfortability and I am glad I now have the courage to do what I love without a second thought.”
2 . “Live arts taught me to stay true to my authenticity. I learned that through practice, I can keep the music and myself as authentic as possible.”
3 . “Live arts taught me that vulnerability is not a weakness. There is a power in accepting when you are wrong and where you can improve. If I am sitting with a colleague and they inform me that my performance needs work, it’s powerful to have the vulnerability to listen and adapt to that feedback.”
4 . “Live arts taught me that with career-success comes perseverance.”
5 . “Live arts taught me that career-success includes effective time-management skills.”
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
“The movement I would start to bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people would be an experience that teaches person centered care. At the end of the day, we are all humans, and I am a firm believer that putting a label on a human life is inhumane and unethical.”
How can our readers further follow you online?
“If you’d like to know more about heartbeat recordings, you can check out my fiancée’s and my website at musicalmemoirs.org for more information. If you’d like to learn more about my music therapy work at Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley, visit www.wel.org/community/stapeley-senior-living/.”
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Jacob Dorfman Of Wesley Enhanced Living Stapeley On How Live Arts Helped Teach Courage… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.