EMBODIED & EXPRESSIVE BODY MAPPING WORKSHOP
WHEN: Sunday, January 28, 2018, from 2pm until 5pm
WHERE: Grace Episcopal Church, 4 Madison Ave at Kings Road, Madison
FEE: $35.00.
Please register in advance at https://harmonium.yapsody.com. Professional development hours are available for New Jersey teachers. For assistance or more information, please contact manager@harmonium.org or 973-538-6969. To sign up to receive updates about Harmonium events, please CLICK HERE
Harmonium Choral Society presents a choral musicianship workshop on body mapping with clinician Heather J. Buchanan, PhD. The workshop is appropriate for all singers.
Effective breathing is at the core of our artistry – yet it eludes many singers. Removing the mystery and developing mastery is possible when singers have correctly mapped the structures and movement of breathing. This session will take participants through the important steps for experiencing and teaching balanced breathing effectively to singers of all ages in the choral setting.
Body mapping is a self-inquiry somatic, mind-body education technique designed to teach musicians skills of self-evaluation and change for performing with sensory-motor integrity. The underlying premise of body mapping is the importance of understanding the neurophysiological connections in the human body that lead to freedom of movement and the skills for embodied performing. Body mapping is ideal for communicating crucial movement concepts related to performance with ensembles and large groups of musicians, hence the core ideal Embodied & Expressive from which musical, educational, and artistic outcomes derive.
Australian born conductor Heather J. Buchanan is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities in the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. She conducts both mixed-voice curricular choirs, the 170-voice Chorale (symphonic choir) and 65-voice University Singers; and two extra-curricular project-based chamber ensembles, Vocal Accord and Prima Voce (women's choir). Choirs under her direction have earned critical acclaim for their “heartfelt conviction,” “new-minted enthusiasm and vibrancy,” being a “marvel of diction, tuning and rhythm”, “impeccable dynamics and diction,” “vibrant sound,” “eloquence”, and for singing with the “crispness and dexterity of a professional choir.” During her tenure, the Montclair State University choral program has been recognized for its ongoing successful performances with world-renowned artists and celebrated professional musicians in national and international venues.
Harmonium Choral Society, based in Morris County, is one of New Jersey's leading choral arts organizations. The 100-voice choral society has been recognized for its musical excellence and innovative programming, and has commissioned and premiered works by Amanda Harberg, Matthew Harris, Elliot Z. Levine, Harmonium's composers-in-residence Mark Miller and Martin Sedek, and others.
Directed by Dr. Anne J. Matlack of Madison, Harmonium’s season consists of four subscription concerts held in December, March, April, and June, as well as numerous special events and partnerships. Harmonium, known for its eclectic programming, choral excellence, and community spirit, sponsors commissions and musicianship workshops, as well as an Outreach Chorus that performs in schools, nursing homes, and other venues. Harmonium sponsors an annual High School Student Choral Composition Contest, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in the 2016-17 season. This innovative program won the prestigious Chorus America Education and Outreach Award. Harmonium has toured internationally to England and Wales, Eastern Europe, Northern Italy, Spain and Portugal, and Greece and Turkey, and most recently traveled to the Baltics in the summer of 2016.
To learn more about Harmonium, please visit Harmonium.org.