Cathy DeWitt

Musician • Speaker • Consultant • Author

An eclectic professional musician and speaker, Cathy DeWitt has shared the stage and the airwaves with leaders like Marianne Williamson, authors like Alan Cohen and Bernie Siegle, musical icons including Pete Seeger, Garrison Keillor, Florida folk legend Will McLean, and jazz pianists Rob Bargad and Dave Frishberg. A nationally published writer, producer, award-winning jazz composer, and songwriter, she is the bandleader for the jazz quartet MoonDancer and the all-woman folk/bluegrass band Patchwork, a favorite on the Florida festival circuit. Her radio show, “Across the Prairie”, previously aired on WUFT-FM, the University of Florida’s NPR affiliate, now airs on Gainesville’s new community station, WMBT 90.1FM, the Wombat. Cathy is active in the Posi (Positive) Music movement, touring and presenting at New Thought churches and organizations, and recording and publishing many songs in Unity and Empower songbooks.

In 1995 she found an unexpected setting for her musical versatility: the Shands Arts in Medicine program at UF Health in Gainesville, Florida, where she created a pioneering, world-renowned Music in Medicine program. From piano playing in the hospital lobby to elevator singalongs, from hallway guitar concerts to bedside harp in the ICUs, Cathy used music to transform the hospital environment and the patient experience. She soon became a consultant, helping others to start or expand Arts in Medicine programs in their own facility, and to utilize the healing power of music in their own settings, both corporate and personal. Her presentations have informed and inspired people from all walks of life, creating community with her unique blend of musical skills, spiritual understanding, and compassionate communication. Her upcoming book, The Five I’s: A Guide to Creative Caring at the Bedside describes the process of her healing music practice.

Music & Healing

Cathy offers specific workshops and residencies to help you successfully experience and share the healing power of music in your facility. Her programs are user-friendly and designed to produce results right away.

Arts & Aging

Cathy provides training, workshops, keynotes, and seminars at universities, geriatric facilities, and palliative care centers. She is a Certified Arts & Aging Artist Trainer and was a speaker for the National Center for Creative Aging.

New Thought Music

Cathy has been a Unity Music Director and touring New Thought musician for over twenty years. She can provide the musical Sunday service message or all the music that accompanies the service, as well as interactive workshops and Unity retreats.

Live Performances

Cathy performs on piano, harp, and guitar. Her musical groups play jazz, swing, pop, R&B, folk, and bluegrass. She produces specialty shows like Tapestry Rewoven, Woodstock Revisited, and Both Sides Now: Celebrating the Music of Joni Mitchell.

Cathy was terrific at grasping the operational aspects of our program. She offered concrete, actionable, appropriate advice. I’ve been having a great time implementing the programs we discussed with great results.

MaryAnn Tobaz

Tidewater Arts Outreach

As someone who works with hospice and hospital patients using music, her workshop was exactly what I needed! Her enthusiasm, knowledge, and ability to make it fun made for an inspirational event!

Kathleen Morris

Samaritan Evergreen Hospice

Cathy is an extraordinary artist, musician, healer, and transformational leader.

Rev. Marciah McCartney