What happens when the ideals of Dalcroze education collide with the realities of public school teaching? Join Anthony Molinaro in this special online workshop to find out!
What happens when different rhythmic levels interact? Find out with America's newest holder of the diplôme supérieur, Dr. William Bauer, Saturday October 26, 2024.
Jean Marc Aeshimann brings “Singing With the Body” to the New York Chapter of the Dalcroze Society of America, March 6th, 1-4pm.
Veronique Aeschimann leads an introduction to Rhythmic Movement Training International for the New York Dalcroze chapter.
Dalcroze Eurhythmics: Musicianship from the Inside Out! Jeremy Dittus leads NYC’s annual Dalcroze, Orff, Kodaly Joint Chapters workshop Saturday, March 2nd, 10am-2:30pm.
Michael Joviala and Dawn Pratson
NYC debut of Locomotors w/ special guest Marty Ehrlich!
Michael Joviala and Dawn Pratson are the core members of Loco Motors, an improvising group which weaves together the separate ecologies of somatic awareness, Dalcroze eurhythmics and the jazz tradition of open-form improvisation, sometimes known as ‘free jazz’. In this online workshop, musicians will experiment with techniques to create music for improvised movement, in such specific ways as going with/going against; resisting/accepting; leading/following; supporting/countering; beginning and ending. This is an immersive, participatory workshop in which all instruments are welcome. Workshop-goers will participate both as musicians and movers. No experience necessary, just an open mind, body and spirit!
DSA Members: $10
Non-members: $20
Michael Joviala is an improviser, composer and teacher who lives in Brooklyn, New York. In 2021, he earned the diplôme supérieur from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. He directs the Dalcroze Program at the Lucy Moses School in New York City, and teaches at the Diller-Quaile School of Music, Columbia University and the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Dalcroze Academy. Michael also created and directs the group Locomotors, an improvising ensemble for music and movement, inspired by the practices of Dalcroze and the tradition of free jazz.
Dawn Pratson is an interdisciplinary artist – dancer, choreographer, musician – and educator, with a background in creative arts in therapy. She earned her Dalcroze License and Certificate from the Longy School of Music of Bard College under Lisa Parker and Anne Farber. Dawn was on the faculty of the Longy Dalcroze programs from 1997 until 2015, and currently teaches for the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Dalcroze Academy. More info at https://dawnpratson.com.
Ruth Alperson:
Bringing the Page to Life with Dalcroze Eurhythmics
Dalcroze eurhythmics is an approach to learning music through natural body movement. Jogging, walking, stretching, and simple gestures, provide us with many elements in music, including rhythm patterns, articulation, phrase, and nuance. In a Dalcroze class, these elements are explored and developed through improvising, in movement, singing, and instrumentally, often with partners, and in groups. Our workshop session will focus on a variety of music subjects, inspired by a beautiful musical work from the repertoire that will be presented in our session.
During this two-hour workshop, we will explore these subjects, in a eurhythmics session. Exercises in solfège will help us grasp the melodic and harmonic elements in our work, while developing our inner hearing. We will devote time as well to improvising for movement.
The experiential nature of the Dalcroze work will encourage us to internalize elements of our piece as we work toward meaning.
Please note: You are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes for moving, such as sweatpants and tees, and to work barefoot, or to wear non-slip socks, or slippers with flexible, thin-soled shoes.
Ruth Alperson stepped into her first eurhythmics class at Oberlin College, where she studied with Inda Howland; she continued Dalcroze studies in eurhythmics, solfège, and improvisation at the New York Dalcroze School with Hilda Schuster. Ruth earned the Licentiate from The Dalcroze Teachers Training Course in London, England, under the direction of Elizabeth Vanderspar, and the Diplôme Supérieur from L’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland. Ruth has a Ph.D. in Arts and Humanities from New York University. She is a former faculty member of NYU, the Manhattan School of Music, and L’Université Laval, in Quebec City, Canada. She has presented Dalcroze workshops across the United States, in Canada, Mexico, The Dominican Republic, England, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia. Ruth is a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies (ICDS). She is Dean Emerita of the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, New York.
An afternoon of Eurhythmics, Solfege, Improvisation and Movement with Gregory Ristow, Dawn Pratson and Michael Joviala
12:00pm-1:45pm: Collaborative Improvisation with Dawn Pratson and Michael Joviala.
Engage with freely improvised and composed music in specific ways such as going with/going against; resisting/accepting; leading/following; supporting/countering; beginning and ending in order to create spontaneous long-form structures in music and dance. Note: this workshop is associated with the New York Dalcroze Chapter’s artist residency, in it’s pilot year with the music and dance collective “Loco Motors”.
2:00pm-4pm: Solfege and Eurhythmics with Greg Ristow
Dalcroze Solfege Games for All: We'll play, and learn how to teach, games to build musicianship that can be adapted for students of (almost) any age and experience!
Spatial Subdivision: In a classic Eurhythmics lesson, we'll explore the interaction of levels of subdivision with pulse and each other through movement and improvisation.
To register for this event, click here.
Gregory Ristow is associate professor of conducting and Director of Vocal Ensembles at the Oberlin Conservatory, where he also teaches courses in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. For sixteen years, he taught Eurhythmics and conducted choirs at the Interlochen Arts Camp. His writing on Eurhythmics appears in the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, the American Dalcroze Journal, Being Music (The Canadian Dalcroze Journal), and Theory and Practice. He holds the Dalcroze Certificate from the Juilliard School (Robert Abramson) and the Dalcroze License from the Longy School of Music (Anne Farber & Lisa Parker). Additionally, his studies with Herb Henke, Marta Sanchez, Stephen Moore, Karin Greenhead, Ruth Alperson, and Louise Mathieu all deeply impacted his teaching. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Oberlin Conservatory and the master's in music theory pedagogy, master's and doctoral degrees in choral conducting from the Eastman School of Music.
Dawn Pratson is an interdisciplinary artist – dancer, choreographer, musician – and educator, with a background in creative arts in therapy. She earned her Dalcroze License and Certificate from the Longy School of Music of Bard College under Lisa Parker and Anne Farber. Dawn was on the faculty of the Longy Dalcroze programs from 1997 until 2015, and currently teaches for the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Dalcroze Academy. More info at dawnpratson.com.
Michael Joviala is an improviser, composer and teacher who lives in Brooklyn, New York. In 2021, he earned the diplôme supérieur from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. He directs the Dalcroze Program at the Lucy Moses School in New York City, and teaches at the Diller-Quaile School of Music, Columbia University and the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Dalcroze Academy. Michael also created and directs the group Loco Motors, an improvising ensemble for music and movement, inspired by the practices of Dalcroze and the tradition of free jazz.
Rhythmic values can be described as simply longs and shorts, and these longs and shorts can combined into several different combinations, or 'rhythmic modes.' In this Dalcroze Eurhythmics workshop, where the body experiences music theory in movement and games, participants will discover and experience the four most common rhythmic modes in a joyful environment consisting of movement, group activities, and improvisation, with an ending application to a piece of composed music. A pedagogy talk-back will follow the eurhythmics session.
DSA members: $20
Non members: $35
Students: $10
Online Observation + Recording for 2 weeks: $15
Katie Couch (BM, MME) earned the Dalcroze Certificate (2013) and License (2015) from the Dalcroze School of the Rockies. During 2016-17, she studied at l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland, working towards the Diplôme Supérieur.
Currently, Katie works along the Colorado Front Range as a Dalcroze teacher for both children and adults. She is on the faculty of the Dalcroze School of the Rockies where she trains future Dalcroze teachers online in improvisation, solfège, and pedagogy. Katie also volunteers for several committees of the Dalcroze Society of America, most notably serving as chair of the Publications Committee.
Sean Hartley is a teacher, writer, composer, conductor, and producer. A longtime faculty member of Lucy Moses School and Special Music School, he is currently Director of Theater@Kaufman at the Kaufman Music Center in New York, and the elementary chorus director at Special Music School, He produces two annual concert series in Merkin Hall: Broadway Close Up and Broadway Playhouse. He has written several musicals, including Cupid and Psyche (with composer Jihwan Kim) for which he received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Lyrics, and Prelude To A Kiss (with playwright Craig Lucas and composer Daniel Messe) which was commissioned by South Coast Repertory Company and which opens fall 2023. TV credits include Disney Channel’s The Book of Pooh and Bear in the Big Blue House. He frequently lectures on musical theater history, for One Day University.
Tickets available at the door
$20 for members of the Dalcroze Society of America
$40 for non-members
$10 for students with valid ID
NY Dalcroze is excited to present an online Improvisation workshop with Michael Joviala!
With Spring's arrival, and with new hope in our hearts, we have asked Michael to help us refresh and revive our musicality in that most Dalcrozian of subjects: Improvisation.
In Michael's words: "What is your sound as an improviser? Having your own unique sound is one of the highest aspirations shared by jazz musicians, but it’s also something that improvisers of all stripes and genres can benefit from, especially those who, like Dalcrozians, teach through the medium of improvisation.
"During this session we’ll both improvise and listen to ourselves improvising. As we play (players of any instrument, including voice or movement, at any level of musical and improvisational experience are welcome), we’ll explore the difference between improvising and practicing improvisation. We’ll work with our spontaneous reactions to what we hear, think and feel when we improvise and when we hear ourselves improvising. We’ll talk about ways to sustain this practice beyond this workshop (how does 5 minutes a day sound?) with a goal of strengthening your connection to yourself as a creative artist, whether you are in the classroom or on the concert stage.
"Nervous about improvising in front of other people? Not a problem for this workshop. Sound (and cameras for movers) will be turned off as you improvise while I guide you through the process. We’ll come together as a group to share experiences and gain inspiration from each other."
Participation guidelines: For full participation, workshop attendees should have access to a space in which they feel free to make as much sound (or movement) as they wish, uninterrupted and unencumbered. They should also have the ability to record and listen to themselves while also participating online.
Our presenter, Michael Joviala, is a beloved Dalcroze teacher and improvising musician in NYC. He was recently awarded the esteemed Diplôme Supérieur from The Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Geneva.
$15 for members of the Dalcroze Society of America
$20 for non-members
10 for students
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
We will explore the nature and logic of music written in 5 by experiencing how it moves. We will improvise patterns, sing, conduct, and investigate some examples of this rare meter in the literature -- including a surprising instance by Chopin and the ever popular "Canon in the Round" by our own Anne Farber. 5-time is often characterized as needing to divide into two-plus-three, or three-plus-two, but Dalcroze experience proves it can be just as natural and intuitive as 4-time and 3-time.
Aaron Butler is an active musical director, accompanist, and teacher in New York City. He is a specialist in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, is the musical director for Mind The Art Entertainment, and is a founding member of Sound Narcissist. He is comfortable in a variety of musical styles—from baroque through contemporary classical, opera, Broadway, and improvisation. Faculty: Lucy Moses School, Bloomingdale School of Music. M.M. (piano), Longy School of Music; Dalcroze Certificate & License, Longy School of Music; Artist’s Diploma (piano), Brandeis University; B.A. (Music and Physics), Amherst College. Piano with Lois Shapiro, Lanfranco Marcelletti; Dalcroze with Lisa parker, Anne Farber, Ruth Alperson; Figured Bass with Frances Conover Fitch, Peter Sykes. More information at aaronplayspiano.com
All regular workshops are $20 for members of the Dalcroze Society of America, $40 for non-members. Student rates are $10 for members of the DSA, $20 for non-members. Please show a valid Student ID.
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
The annual TriChapter workshop hosted by NY Dalcroze
Tri-chapter workshops are $20 for members of the DSA, $30 for non-members. Student rates (with valid student ID) are $5 for members and non-members.
Cash or check accepted.
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
As a means of enriching and enlarging our movement repertoire to respond to/create music, we will explore natural rhythms that accompany movement. This natural rhythm can be inspired by the breath, the heartbeat or other bodily rhythms, by spatial pathways and other spatial elements, or by moving in relationship, among other variables.
We will be introduced to Laban’s 5 types of phrases: impulse, impact, swing, rebound, continuous, and choreograph individual sequences that will retain their own rhythmic integrity while responding to environmental influences, including recorded music. We will improvise with these phrases with each other and with music, engaging in a dialogue which informs and enhances both the music and the dance.
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Dawn Pratson started out as a musician playing flute, piano and singing, then immersed herself in modern dance and many other movement forms, including martial arts, folk dance, Laban Movement Analysis and somatic studies, which culminated in graduate work in dance/movement therapy. Her early career balanced teaching dance, practicing as a creative arts therapist, and advancing her dance training and performing.
In 1997 she was hired to teach movement in the Dalcroze program at the Longy School of Music which she did for 15 years and which led to earning her license in 2004. She was the founding music specialist at the Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School in Philadelphia, where she taught from 2005-2015. Currently she directs the Philadelphia Dalcroze chapter, is an artist in residence at Mascher Space Cooperative in Philadelphia and teaches workshops around the country. This past summer, Dawn presented her work at the International Conference on Dalcroze Studies in Katowice, Poland.
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All regular workshops are $20 for members of the Dalcroze Society of America, $40 for non-members. Student rates are $10 for members of the DSA, $20 for non-members. Please show a valid Student ID.
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
In this evening of music making, Stephen Neely will offer excerpts from his Eurhythmics for performer training classes at Carnegie Mellon University. Utilizing improvisation and movement to awaken the attentions, the role, and the responsibilities of the performing artist, the Dalcroze strategies provide deeply powerful tools for both artistic, personal, and social awareness. We will explore these different outcomes of the Jaques-Dalcroze classroom, as participants play, collaborate, and explore through the three-hour workshop. Come join us for a joy filled night that will demonstrate the many ways that these Dalcroze strategies can awaken the artistic spirit, teach communication between players, and foster deep musicianship in the participating actors.
Stephen Neely, Carnegie Mellon Assistant Professor in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Dalcroze License, and past President of the Dalcroze Society of America, is a conductor, teacher, singer, and clinician. He is the Director of the Carnegie Mellon Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center and Director of the Pre-College programs at Carnegie Mellon School of Music. He teaches Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Dalcroze Pedagogy for the Carnegie Mellon School of Music and has taught every BFA in Music Performance and Composition at CMU since 1999.
He taught Dalcroze Eurhythmics and directed the Opera Workshop at Pittsburgh's High School for the Creative and Performing Arts from 1994–2018 and served as Chorusmaster for Opera Theater of Pittsburgh from 1999–2010. Stephen was featured as the Hangman in Leonardo Balada’s early operas Hangman, Hangman and the world premiere of The Town of Greed for the Naxos label, and he was a featured speaker at TEDxCMU 2012. He enjoys traveling to present hands-on workshops and clinics in the US and around the globe focusing on the overlaps between music, the body, esthetics, performance, experience, and design. Stephen Neely is currently completing a PhD in Interaction Design at the Carnegie Mellon School of Design (5/2019).
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Watch: What Moves You? Stephen Neely at TEDxCMU 2012
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Please arrive 15 minutes early to register at the door.
All regular workshops are $20 for members of the DSA, $40 for non-members. Student rates (with valid student ID) are $10 for members of the DSA, $20 for non-members.
Cash or check is accepted. (Sorry, we are unable to take credit cards)
The annual TriChapter workshop hosted by The Kodaly Organization of New York.
As music educators, we have the unique opportunity to provide rich musical experiences for all children in our school settings. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore quality repertoire and practical ideas that are appropriate for teaching grades K-5. Specifically, strategies for fostering skills in singing, part work, inner hearing, memory, improvising, creating, and collaboration will be offered, along with ideas of how these skills function within a spiral curricular structure.
The temperature of the workshop space varies throughout the day. We recommend you dress comfortably and bring a sweater or scarf for layering.
Please join us immediately following the workshop for a social hour at:
New York Beer Company
321 W. 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
Dr. Leigh Ann Garner teaches elementary classroom music at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Hastings, MN. She is the Director of the Kodály Institute at the University of St. Thomas, where she teaches Levels I and II pedagogy. In addition Garner taught on the Kodály faculty at Wichita State University. She is the co-author of Music and Movement, a music curriculum for children ages 1-5, and also is a contributing author for MacMillan McGraw/Hill music textbook series. Garner currently serves on the board of the Organization of American Kodály Educators. She holds an Ed. D. from the University of St. Thomas, an M.A. in Music Education from the University of St. Thomas, and a B.A. in Vocal Music Education from St. Olaf College.
Tri-chapter workshops are $20 for members of the DSA, $30 for non-members. Student rates (with valid student ID) are $5 for members and non-members.
Cash or check accepted.
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
Joy Kane believes You ARE the Music and as such has written lyrics, composed songs and invented games which incite movement and gesture that match the words, intervals and action of the music. Be on your own body percussionist as you live tunes that explore church modes, “un”-romantic waltzes. Spanish Blues, uneven phrases, odd meters, and challenging intervals. The goal is a multi-sensory experience; a fun and unforgettable way to BE the music.
You are the Music is a collection of six progressive song books meant to combine singing, gesture and movement. Each book contains scores and an accompanying CD, and will be for sale for at the workshop.
We will also explore Joy Kane's latest publication Paws and Claws, a new ergonomic approach to piano technique.
"Kane's books provide a valuable addition to our repertoire, and I am thrilled to have new resources to use and recommend. As supplementary material for children's classes, or for students in professional studies coursework, this collection can serve many individuals in a variety of contexts."
- Jeremy Dittus, American Dalcroze Journal, Fall 2009
Joy Kane was trained as a modern dancer and classical and Jazz musician. The Dalcroze Method provided the perfect outlet for her skills as a mover, musician and teacher. In 1995 Joy was granted an "Honoris Causa" or honorary PhD in Dalcroze Eurythmics from the Institute Jaques Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland. Joy has taught at the summer dance program at Connecticut College American Dance Festival, The Sorbonne, The Cleveland Institute of Music, the 92nd Street Y and the extension program at Juilliard Music School as well as at the Scola Cantorum and Universities and Conservatories throughout Europe. During a 30 year career teaching performers and teachers of dance, music and theater, she developed a series of songs to enliven and inform her teaching of the Dalcroze Method.
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All regular workshops are $20 for members of the Dalcroze Society of America, $40 for non-members. Student rates are $10 for members of the DSA, $20 for non-members. Please show a valid Student ID.
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
Is music making happening when notes are not being played? In this Dalcroze class, we'll experience the sound of silence together and embody the space in-between the notes. We'll then take our new physical knowledge about rests and apply it to measure shape.
Mimi Y. Hsu is a Dalcroze Eurhythmics Instructor lives in New York City. A native of Tainan, Taiwan, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in voice performance with a minor in piano at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, followed by studies to Dalcroze certification at The New York Dalcroze School, and the License Program at The Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. Her Dalcroze studies were with Robert Abramson, Dr. Ruth Alperson, Anne Farber, Lisa Parker and Philip Burton.
Her extensive teaching includes Avenues The World School NYC, CPSM Queens College, the Diller-Quaile School of Music, Greenwich House Music School, Hoff-Barthelson Music School and The School at Columbia University; and clinic-residences: Beijing Central Conservatory, the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Summer Dalcroze Academy, Music Education Workshops/Dalcroze Program at DePaul University, Chicago.
She is quite active in merging Dalcroze Education with the Suzuki Method; her work in this area has taken her all over the United States as a clinician for summer Suzuki institutes. She is series co-director of the Mind-Body Studies in Performing Arts Festival at Greenwich House Music School - a multi-disciplinary program combining Dalcroze, Feldenkrais, European Mask/Clown/Movement and Multi-Arts Performance. Her performance/educational projects include: Da Jia Hao, an original Music/Movement/Mandarin Language CD and children’s opera productions of The Magic Flute, Hansel & Gretel, the contemporary North Wind of the Sun, and Memories of Childhood cross-cultures concert. She is the past president of Tri-State Chapter, Dalcroze Society of America. Mimi enjoys food & paragliding while she travels.
All regular workshops are $20 for members of the DSA, $40 for non-members. Student rates (with valid student ID) are $10 for members of the DSA, $20 for non-members.
Ursula Stuber holds the Diplôme Jaques-Dalcroze (Geneva) and the Diplôme Eutony Gerda Alexander (Geneva). She is retired professor of Université Laval, Faculty of Music, where she developed over 40 years the principles of Eutony and created a dynamic and efficient approach of body awareness for musicians. Her research activities and publications focus on somatic education and prevention of muscular-skeletal dysfunctions. She gives art seminars and workshops in Europe and North America. Her specialized area of teaching covers the musician’s sensory-motor control, posture and gesture. In 1995, she co-authored the audio-visual document "Tuning The Body To The Music" and a few years later she created an ergonomic chair for musicians. She also was head of the Eutony-training school in Québec City and is the main teacher of the Master’s Eutony program at Université Laval.
The workshop will give participants the opportunity to experience the main principles of Eutony:
Transport
Weight distribution within the conscious interplay of antigravity forces through bones and joints. Exploration of stretch reflexes in skeletal muscles and their relationship with gesture and posture.
Touching
Awareness of the skin and dynamic touching, including the Drawing-technique.
Contact
Contact-technique on the instrument; its implication for muscle tone, ergonomics, and the quality of sound and movement.
Private lessons will be available on August 15 for the application of those principles to musical performance. Please email mattie@dalcrozeusa.org to schedule a lesson.
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All regular workshops are $20 for members of the Dalcroze Society of America, $40 for non-members. Student rates are $10 for members of the DSA, $20 for non-members. Please show a valid Student ID.
We encourage you to bring your own yoga mat or blanket, and your instrument.
Andrew Goldman, Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University
"In this talk, I will present an overview of work on the neuroscience of musical improvisation. I discuss what this work contributes to an understanding of improvisation, and also offer cautions against over-interpretations of the data. I present two recent experiments I have conducted. The first examines differences in the way experienced improvisers categorize musical structures. Different ways of organizing knowledge may facilitate the ability to improvise. The second study concerns improvising dancers. We showed that experienced Contact Improvising dancers show stronger signs of motor simulation while observing others moving. I interpret these findings within a broader framework I have developed for conducting scientific work on improvisation."
Andrew Goldman is a cognitive musicologist from San Diego, CA. He completed his PhD in 2015 at the University of Cambridge with Prof. Ian Cross on the cognition of musical improvisation. He is currently a Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at Columbia University, and an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the music department. His current work focusses on developing theories of improvisation that are compatible with explanatory frameworks from cognitive science and neuroscience. He also conducts EEG experiments to test these theories. His work has been published in music theory and music psychology journals. Andrew also co-organizes Columbia’s Embodied Cognition Reading Group and the Comparing Domains of Improvisation discussion group. Andrew is also a concert pianist and composer. In 2014, Andrew’s original musical “Science! The Musical” was premiered in Cambridge, UK.
Adult students of the Dalcroze method are invited to attend "Jaques Therapy," a free informal study group, at Lucy Moses School. We love to share what we're working on in class, questions we have about our own teaching, and your favorite activities for your students. Whether you’d like to figure out how to modify a lesson for a new space, or if you just need some more canon exercises in your life, join us for some Jaques Therapy!
