Rate My Professor Ronniet Orlando

Dr. Ronniet Orlando is a researcher specializing in music psychology and psychoneuroendocrinology, with a focus on the therapeutic effects of music interventions. Holding a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) with Honours from Edith Cowan University (ECU), Orlando completed a Doctor of Philosophy at ECU in 2018. The doctoral thesis, "Comparing live to recorded music and stories using multiple psychoneuroendocrine and psychological measures," supervised by Professors Craig Speelman, Anne Wilkinson, Veer Gupta, and Ralph Martins, explored the comparative impacts of live music, recorded music, and story readings on anxiety, pain, and immune function. Through analysis of salivary biomarkers including cortisol, alpha-amylase, secretory immunoglobulin-A, interleukin-1beta, and pH, as well as subjective scales for anxiety, pain, emotion, and absorption, the study with university students and clinical patients (palliative care and surgical) revealed that live music yielded more positive health outcomes than recorded alternatives, underscoring its superior therapeutic potential.

Orlando's scholarly contributions include key publications such as the 2018 PhD thesis, "The Effect of Music Teaching Method on Music Reading Skills and Music Participation: An Online Study" (2012, ICMPC-ESCOM Joint Conference, co-authored with Craig Speelman), which found that initial note-reading instruction fosters better music reading proficiency and ensemble involvement over rote learning, and "Use of salivary biomarkers to compare live and recorded music" (2016 conference paper). Affiliated with ECU's Cognition Research Group during doctoral studies, Orlando is also associated with Murdoch University's Centre for Healthy Ageing, where contributions were acknowledged in "Music for dementia: Current evidence, future direction." With expertise in cognitive neuroscience, affective neuroscience, music education, and performance on violin, viola, and cello, Orlando bridges academic research and practical music applications for health and wellbeing.