Biography/Contact

Headshot/Bio/Resume:

Todd Frazier is the Gerald H. Dubin, M. D. Presidential Distinguished Centennial Director in the Art of Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital’s System Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM). A composer and graduate from the Eastman and Juilliard Schools of Music, Frazier believes the arts offer a unique and dynamic common denominator in strategic collaboration that inspires innovation and transformation, while keeping us firmly in tune with our humanity. He has spent 30+ years forging and supporting education, research and accessibility collaborations between education, medicine, and arts & culture communities in America, creating several new institutions. leading to hundreds of new employment opportunities for collaborative artists, and becoming an active researcher, speaker, advocate and author in the field of Arts in Health.

The mission of CPAM is to effectively translate the collaborative potential of arts and medicine to the holistic healthcare environment of the Houston Methodist System of 8 hospitals. To achieve its mission CPAM supports collaborative areas of; specialized health care and wellness education for performing and visual artists; purposeful integration of the performing and visual arts into the hospital environment; clinical therapy that utilizes the arts in support of patient and hospital goals; research that harnesses the broadest potential of the arts in therapy, rehabilitation and human performance; and education and outreach that connects the arts in health field across disciplines, inspiring creative thinking and discovery. Since joining CPAM in 2011, Frazier has led the center to become one of the largest and most comprehensive programs of its kind in the nation, receiving the 2023 Texas Medal of the Arts Award from the Texas Cultural Trust, “spotlighting Texas leaders who fuel our state’s economy, improve our health and well-being, and enrich our cultural heritage”, the 2019 International Hamilton Award from the National Organization for Arts in Health, “celebrating the best use of the arts in employee engagement”, and the 2017 Business Council for the Arts Award from Americans for the Arts, “recognizing the best businesses partnering with the arts in America”.

As a composer, Frazier has a love for writing and studying sacred choral music, exploring the music of J. S. Bach, and composing music inspired by historical events and extra musical materials with a goal of illuminating words, ideas and experiences to inspire and motivate listeners. The most recent examples from a body of over 100 compositions are“Buffalo Altar; A Texas Symphony”, a story about Texas for orchestra and narrator with writer Stephen Harrigan and actor Barry Corbin, “Save the World: In Memoriam Richard Smalley”, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the discovery of nanotechnology; “Breath of Life”, an opera in two acts set in a hospital and intended to bridge medical and arts communities through the story of a man’s second chance for life through a heart transplant procedure, and “We Hold These Truths” an oratorio based on the life of Thomas Jefferson, where the first movement, based on the Declaration of Independence, received its premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington D. C. by the National Symphony Orchestra with soprano Renee Fleming and conductor Christoph Eschenbach.

Frazier is the founding President of the National Organization for Arts in Health, founder of American Festival for the Arts Summer Music Conservatory, and co-founder of Houston Arts Partners. He has been recognized by numerous organizations including the American Academy of Arts and Letters and on the occasion of the Juilliard School’s 100th anniversary in 2006, Frazier was recognized as one of 100 distinguished alumni and profiled in the Juilliard Journal’s “A Quiet Revolution: Juilliard Alumni and The Transformation of Education in America Through the Arts.” In 2016 he was awarded the Luminary Award from the Eastman School of Music “recognizing individuals who have given extraordinary service to music and the arts at the community and national levels”, and in 2022 he was awarded the Eastman Centennial Award “recognizing individuals who exemplify Eastman’s mission and legacy through their commitment to artistry, scholarship, leadership, community engagement, and philanthropy.”

Contact:

todd@jtoddfrazier.com