Our Mission
Connected Chords LLC uses music therapy to provide opportunities for growth, support, and community. We are dedicated to building and fostering collaboration to create an accessible and caring environment for our clients and families to thrive in.
About Jewel Allgaier MT-BC
Jewel Allgaier (she/her) is a board-certified music therapist originally from Eastern Washington. She relocated to Oregon in 2019 to pursue her degree at Pacific University and fell in love with the greenery and culture of Oregon. She has remained here since, deciding she wanted to plant her music therapy practice roots in Hillsboro!
She has over 15 years experience working with people with disabilities as a camp team lead, a teaching assistant at an autism school, a nanny, and during her various practicum placements and internships. Jewel believes that the world needs to be more accessible and is dedicated to advocating for her clients and community members.
In her free time Jewel loves to read, spend time outdoors, go thrift shopping, and spend time with her fiance. She loves to be creative in her life and usually has many ideas running in her head.
What got her into music therapy?
Jewel always makes the statement that she is not a “typical” music therapy student. Most people who go into music therapy are diehard musicians who didn’t want to be performers but wanted to keep music in their profession. Jewel loves music (she played violin for years and sang in different choirs) but it wasn’t her life. Instead she like the connection, inspiration, and community building that music can foster. She isn’t a diehard musician but she is a passionate therapist.
Growing up she knew she wanted to work with children and people with disabilities but she didn’t want to be a regular therapist. She noticed how music can break barriers, reach people in different ways, and can be used with almost anyone. Once she found out music therapy she knew it was for her.
Now that she is certified she knows that this was the right choice. She loves having music be the tool she uses to connect with clients and reach their goals. She feels beyond grateful to be where she is.
Growing up with an autistic older sister really opened Jewel’s eyes to the lack of support and resources for families. She saw her family have to fight for equity for her sister in almost every situation. As she grew up she started seeing the lack of accessibility for disabled people and realized she wanted to make a change. And although she can’t make all the big changes she wished she could, she does know the biggest difference she can make for families is being a team player and being a support for their child. She remembers how much of a difference one understanding and empathetic support person can make. This inspired her to dream of a world where people get the support they need and do not have to fight over and over for it.
This created the idea for Connected Chords, a practice that is devoted to creating community as well as implementing a neuroaffirming music therapy practice in an area where there is none. She hopes this practice can create a safe place for both clients and families to build connections and support.