Selfhood and voice as the path towards it have been the overarching theme of this blog since I started writing in 2019. My preoccupation with this topic has permeated my own artistic practice, my research and my work with students for many years now–probably for the better part of my life, even before I knew how to name it.
It was brought once again to the forefront as I met with my students just over a week ago for our annual “Celebrate the Grads” event. Our tradition is to send off our graduating class each year by sharing our thoughts about their journey and our place in it along the way. These conversations are always touching and meaningful, and the things my students say about one another are often insightful and almost always poignant and very personal. The graduating students then are offered an opportunity to respond to these reflections, and bring their own learnings and experiences to the table. What struck me deeply this time around, especially because I am currently preparing a conference poster presentation on our studio teaching model, is how much the learning seemed to revolve around our inter-relational model, and how much it came back to the growth of self.
Indeed, one student’s reflection specifically addressed selfhood as a learning outcome. As she framed it, she felt her vocal journey over the last two years of being in my studio represented a “return to my Self”. She talked about the feeling of having “lost” herself over her time at university, and that the deep work on her voice, embodying her sound, building her self-confidence and feeling deeply seen and listened to by her peers helped her find her way back to her whole Self through singing. I was deeply moved by this admission, and seeing the result of this work–a young woman with burgeoning self confidence and agency, who can now sing with her whole body when she puts her mind to it–I felt its truth.