Biography

Maggie Clifford has an interdisciplinary background in music composition & performance, academic teaching & research, and community engagement. She has recorded music for film (e.g. ELENA, 2013; Grammy-nominated The King, 2017), facilitated participatory music events in in-patient settings across the US, and recently signed with record label Spirit House Records on her most recent single (Come the Rain, 2022). Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Clifford moved from NY in 2004 to attend Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Before settling in Gainesville, Florida in 2014, she spent extended periods living and working outside of the US, in places such as India, Brazil, and western Europe. 

Clifford completed a master’s degree at the University of Florida in Environmental Education and Communication in 2016, and is currently writing a doctoral dissertation on climate change communication and "digital climate art" in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, DC. She is co-author on several inter- and multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed publications that range in focus from dynamic digital cultures to climate literacy within Extension. As a visiting faculty member in the Center for Arts and Medicine, Clifford is teaching the Music in Medicine undergraduate certificate courses. In collaboration with the CAM's community of scholars, students, practitioners, and participants, she plans to apply qualitative and quantitative methods to new and existing research efforts on music and health that focus on community engagement and resilience.