About Bernadette (Sound Healing)
Bernadette is a Brennan Healing Science practitioner, Reiki practitioner, and sound therapist who creates music and therapies to support healing from chronic illness, stress, grief, and trauma. Combining clinical training with lived experience, she offers online and in-person sound-therapy workshops, live music for yoga, qigong, and meditation classes, and tailored sessions for individuals and care programs.
Her interest in music and media began as a child cast member on PBS’s Emmy-winning ZOOM (1972), and led to early collaborations as a soprano chorus member with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After an injury in 1989 she turned to complementary medicine, completing a four-year certification at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing and Reiki training. Since 2013 she has served as a Cancer Care practitioner specializing in sound therapy at the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden in Harvard, MA, and has worked extensively with cancer survivors and trauma-affected populations.
A classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Bernadette performs on Alchemy crystal singing bowls, guitar, keyboards, and voice, and produces her recordings in Logic Pro X. She holds a BA in telecommunications and music from Indiana University, studied music theory and composition at Wellesley College, and completed DAW and songwriting certification courses at Berklee College of Music. She has released three healing albums — Radiance (2005), Light Embracing (2012), and Reiki Healing Wisdom (2015) — and is currently recording her fourth album focused on trauma release, pain management, and spiritual growth.
To learn more or book a session or workshop, contact Bernadette
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Bernadette Yao is a composer, healer, and multimedia producer who blends sound, voice, and energy medicine to support relaxation, creative renewal, and holistic well‑being. As founder and executive producer of Yao Music (since 2005), she composes and records music specifically designed for healing and therapeutic settings; her albums Radiance (2005) and Light Embracing (2012) were both named Top Sellers in the New Age: Energy Healing category at CDBaby. Bernadette performs live for yoga classes, workshops, hospitals and healing centers, and leads sound meditation and mind‑body music therapy workshops.
A certified Brennan Healing Science Practitioner and Reiki practitioner, Bernadette maintains a private healing practice and has developed ongoing Mind‑Body Music Therapy programs—most notably at the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden. Her work integrates training in energy consciousness, hands‑on healing, and therapeutic sound to help reduce stress, soothe chronic pain, and restore balance to the nervous system.
Before focusing full time on healing arts and music, Bernadette built a long career in public broadcasting and television production. She has served as producer and host on community affairs programming (Asian Focus), worked on series and documentary productions at WGBH/PBS, and WHDH TV (including Holiday Entertaining with Martha Stewart, and award‑winning documentary on Violence Against Asians), and contributed as an associate producer to FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman.She also worked at WGBH’s FRONTLINE and has appeared frequently as on‑camera pledge talent for WGBH and PBS. Earlier in her career she was a cast member on WGBH’s ZOOM.
Bernadette holds a B.A. in Telecommunications (minor in Music) from Indiana University, completed professional certification at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, and pursued music production coursework at Berklee College of Music (Pro Tools 101; Producing Music with Reason, and Songwriting). She volunteers as a Reiki practitioner in hospital settings and enjoys yoga, art making, travel, hiking, swimming, time outdoors with her husband and dog; she also cherishes visiting with her children and grandchild.
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