ABOUT
Where Research Meets Practice
THE ORIGIN QUESTION
I found myself navigating an institutional crisis that was collapsing toward failure. Formal communication had broken down. Trust was shattered. A non-negotiable deadline loomed. I wasn't hired as a mediator, I had no formal mediation training. Yet I successfully facilitated relational repair using capacities I couldn't fully name. When I retold this story, my thesis advisor asked the catalytic question: "If you didn't learn this in mediation training, where did you learn it?" The answer: 46 years of musicking—the sustained, relational practice of making meaning through music. This discovery became rigorous research at Soka University's Graduate School of International Peace Studies in Japan.
THE RESEARCH
My MA thesis, "From Musicking to Mediating: Embodied Knowledge in Professional and Intercultural Conflict Mediation," identifies a critical pedagogical gap: While conflict is understood theoretically as EMBODIED, AFFECTIVE, and TEMPORAL (E-A-T), lived in bodies, circulated through emotions, experienced across fractured timelines, most professional mediation training remains COGNITIVE-PROCEDURAL (C-P). Through critical embodied autoethnography and genealogical investigation, my research demonstrates how four cultivable capacities enable practitioners to engage conflict at the E-A-T level:
- ATTUNEMENT: Polyphonic awareness of relational fields
- REGULATION: Co-regulating nervous systems through embodied presence
- TEMPORALITY: Navigating competing timescales
- IMPROVISATION: Adaptive action within ethical constraints
These ARTI capacities aren't innate talents, they're systematically cultivable through sustained relational practice. My research traces how decades of musicking as classical guitarist, chamber musician, music therapist, and choir director cultivated these exact capacities.
BACKGROUND EDUCATION
- MA International Relations and Peace Studies Soka University, Japan (2026) Thesis: From Musicking to Mediating
- Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
- Certificate in Marketing Universidad de La Sabana / Universidad Santa María La Antigua
- Certificate in Coaching Belbin Methodology
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- 30+ years across: - International organizations (UNDP, UNICEF)
- Cultural production and artist management
- Knowledge management and digital systems
- Organizational development and strategic communication
MUSICAL PRACTICE 46 years as:
- Classical guitarist
- Chamber musician
- Music therapist
- Choir director and conductor
- Artist manager and producer
CURRENT
- Completing MA thesis (Graduation Ceremony March 2026)
- Guest Educator, Peace Boat Voyage 123 (April 2026)
- Founding Vice President, Asociación Panameña de Musicoterapia )
WHAT I'M BUILDING
In Harmony Academy translates rigorous research into accessible, practical resources for:
- INDIVIDUALS navigating personal or professional conflict
- PRACTITIONERS seeking to develop embodied capacities their formal training didn't teach
- ORGANIZATIONS committed to building relational intelligence across teams and communities Everything is grounded in research but designed for real-world application.
PEACE BOAT VOYAGE 123
This April, I join Peace Boat's 123rd Global Voyage as Guest Educator, bringing embodied conflict navigation practices to participants from over 30 countries. This voyage serves multiple purposes:
RESEARCH: A living laboratory testing whether relational intelligence cultivated through musicking transfers across profound cultural and linguistic difference.
PRACTICE: Piloting the ARTI framework in an intensive, intercultural learning environment.
DOCUMENTATION: Gathering case studies and testimonials that will inform future program development. The experience will directly shape In Harmony Academy's offerings, demonstrating what works across diverse contexts.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY →GET IN TOUCH
I'm always interested in conversations about:
- Practice-based research in peacebuilding
- Music and embodied approaches to conflict
- Partnerships and collaborations
- Speaking and workshop opportunities
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/vilmaesquivel/
📍 Currently based in Tokyo, Japan
