InHarmony Academy
Two Panamanian practitioners. Twenty years of shared work between Panama and Japan. One platform for embodied, relational, and intercultural learning.
The Founders
InHarmony Academy emerges from over two decades of shared artistic practice, research, and intercultural collaboration between Vilma Esquivel and Patricia Vlieg — developed across Panama, Japan, and international platforms.
Their work is the foundation of Bridges for Dialogue, the cultural diplomacy platform of which InHarmony Academy is the educational arm. Both hold MA degrees in International Relations and Peace Studies from Soka University, Tokyo (2026).
“Music is not what we do — it is how we think, how we relate, and how we build what matters.”
Co-founder · Executive Director
Classical Guitarist · Music Therapist · Peacebuilding Researcher
Executive Director, Bridges for Dialogue · Founder, InHarmony Academy
An interdisciplinary researcher and practitioner working at the intersection of music, peacebuilding, and conflict transformation — with over three decades of experience across international institutions, artistic practice, and embodied learning.
Born in Panama and based between Tokyo and Panama City, Vilma Esquivel has built a practice that moves fluidly between clinical music therapy, cultural diplomacy, UN institutional work, and academic research. Her 2026 MA thesis at Soka University — From Musicking to Mediating: Embodied Knowledge in Professional and Intercultural Conflict Mediation — established the theoretical and methodological foundation for the ARTI framework that underlies InHarmony Academy’s learning experiences.
Vilma trained as a music therapist at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., studying under Myrna Sislen. She is the founder and first president of the Panamanian Association of Music Therapy, and led the advocacy process that resulted in the approval of Panama’s Music Therapy Law — a landmark achievement in the field. She is also a HealthRHYTHMS® certified facilitator.
Her career spans more than 15 years within the United Nations system — including UNDP, UNICEF, and the Spotlight Initiative — where she led intercultural programs and institutional coordination across Latin America and the Caribbean. A decade directing corporate communications further deepened her capacity to hold the full arc of complex intercultural projects, from vision to execution.
As co-founder and executive producer of Bridges for Dialogue, Vilma has been present at every stage of the Panama–Japan bilateral cultural relationship — from the 2019 Cabanga Japan Tour to the Peace Boat Residency 2026, where she lectured aboard as a researcher and practitioner. She is currently a Visiting Researcher at the Min-On Music Research Institute in Tokyo.
Credentials & Affiliations
MA International Relations & Peace Studies — Soka University, Tokyo, 2026 (with honors)
Music Therapist — The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.
Founder & President — Panamanian Association of Music Therapy
Advocate — Panama Music Therapy Law
HealthRHYTHMS® Certified Facilitator
15+ years — UN System (UNDP, UNICEF, Spotlight Initiative)
Visiting Researcher — Min-On Music Research Institute, Tokyo
Lecturer — Peace Boat Global Voyage, 2026
Author — From Musicking to Mediating (Soka University, 2026)
Co-founder & Executive Director — Bridges for Dialogue
Co-founder · Artistic Director
Singer · Pianist · Composer · Researcher
Artistic Director, Bridges for Dialogue · Co-founder, InHarmony Academy
An internationally acclaimed Panamanian artist whose practice moves across performance, composition, poetry, research, and intercultural dialogue — and whose sustained relationship with Japan since 2011 is the artistic foundation of Bridges for Dialogue.
Patricia Vlieg is a singer, pianist, guitarist, composer, arranger, and poet whose work integrates Latin American traditions, jazz, and world music into a practice grounded in intercultural encounter. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, she received the Quincy Jones Award, the Solo and Ensemble Award, and the Professional Achievement Award — among the institution’s highest recognitions. She also completed vocal studies at the New England Conservatory of Music.
Her discography traces an artistic journey from Tus Promesas (2001) to Origen (2005), to A una Cantora (2011) — a celebrated tribute to Argentine legend Mercedes Sosa — and Cabanga (2015), a portrait of Panama through its most emblematic songs, later released in Japan. Cabanga became the artistic foundation of the Panama–Japan bilateral cultural relationship, and its 2019 Japan tour — organized with the Embassy of Panama in Japan and the Min-On Concert Association — marked a turning point in the platform’s development.
Patricia’s collaborators span the breadth of Latin American and international music: Paquito D’Rivera, Lila Downs, Cheo Hurtado, Aquiles Báez, Oscar Stagnaro, Mark Walker, Berta Rojas, Juan Quintero, Luna Monti, Lilián Saba, and Japanese percussionist Tomohiro Yahiro, among others. Her fluency in Japanese has allowed her to integrate deeply into artistic and academic circles in Japan — a rare and distinctive capacity in the bilateral cultural field.
She is the creator and host of Puentes y Diálogos (Bridges and Dialogues), a weekly series of conversations and artistic collaborations with international artists across disciplines. In 2024 she curated the 架け橋 (Kakehashi) – Bridges Concert in Tokyo, commemorating 120 years of diplomatic relations between Panama and Japan. She has been recognized by the Ambassador of Japan in Panama for her sustained contributions to Japanese cultural understanding and intercultural bridge-building.
Patricia holds an MA in International Relations and Peace Studies from Soka University, Tokyo (2026) — the academic grounding of a lifelong practice at the intersection of art, diplomacy, and human encounter.
Credentials & Affiliations
MA International Relations & Peace Studies — Soka University, Tokyo, 2026
Berklee College of Music — Quincy Jones Award, Solo & Ensemble Award, Professional Achievement Award
Vocal Studies — New England Conservatory of Music
Author — Sounds of Identity (Soka University, 2026)
Creator & Host — Puentes y Diálogos (international arts series)
Recognition — Ambassador of Japan in Panama, for intercultural bridge-building
Lecturer — Peace Boat Global Voyage, 2026
Co-founder & Artistic Director — Bridges for Dialogue
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