I am on my way home now from a whirlwind visit to the Hochschule fuer Musik Luzern (Conservatory of Music Lucerne) in Switzerland. The impulse to visit began just over a year ago, when I met my new friend and colleague, Dominique Regli-Lohri through another dear friend and colleague, Carol Bauman. They had met one another through their Dalcroze training (in a nutshell: teaching musical foundational skill through movement) and Dominique came to Laurier to find out more about the work we are doing there. We discovered a mutual love for and belief in the embodiment of music making–indeed, we both feel intrinsically that movement and physical connection are at the root of all music-making. (I don’t think this would much surprise folks of other cultures, particularly in African and South Asian countries, but it seems to be news to many of us who are trained in the traditional Western European Conservatory style).
Although Swiss students tend to be much more reserved than their Canadian counterparts, they do seem to have relative ease to connect meaningfully to their bodies in music training and performance. Day after day, I witnessed physical freedom, bravery in movement and a willingness to experiment with new physical tools. The “Music and Movement” program of study in Lucerne is groundbreaking to me. While at the Hochschule, I met so many like-minded folks who bring joy in movement and discovery to everything they do. This joyfulness was infectious. In particular I loved the feeling of community, the sense of togetherness and the freedom in moving as music was made.
We don’t have to make much of a stretch to bring this quality into all music training. We can do this one piece of information at a time, one person at a time, one community at a time. I can’t wait to share my newfound enthusiasm and ideas gleaned from my Lucerne colleagues and their marvellous students. I feel hopeful and excited about the ways in which we can all grow together in music.