The ASO newsletter - helping you stay connected to Alexander Technique related research.

The ASO Newsletter - 23rd Edition

This month we release a discussion about the Healthy Young Musicians research project carried out at the Junior Royal Academy of Music in the UK. This innovative project involved a series of Alexander Technique group lessons for young musicians at the Academy and included a research study running alongside to assess student change and progress in terms of mindset, health and well-being.

This articulate and optimistic conversation covers the background of the project, what they did, and what was discovered in the study. The collaborative approach taken by presenters helps pave the way for greater health in young musicians (as observed in the promising and positive responses of the young musicians) and provides a positive demonstration of the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration as a modern and positively impactful way to better understand and share the Alexander Technique.

Research at the Royal Academy of Music

References

• NHS Digital &Thandi, S. (2021, September 30). Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2021 - wave 2 follow up to the 2017 survey. NHS Digital. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2021-follow-up-to-the-2017-survey

• Fernholz, I., Mumm, J., Plag, J., Noeres, K., Rotter, G., Willich, S. N., Ströhle, A., Berghöfer, A., & Schmidt, A. (2019). Performance anxiety in professional musicians: a systematic review on prevalence, risk factors and clinical treatment effects. Psychological medicine, 49(14), 2287–2306.

• Kok, L. M., Huisstede, B. M., Voorn, V. M., Schoones, J. W., & Nelissen, R. G. (2016). The occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints among professional musicians: a systematic review. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 89(3), 373–396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-015-1090-6

• Nagel, J.J. (1987). An Examination of Commitment to Careers in Music: Implications for Alienation from Vocational Choice. Dissertation Abstracts International 42, 1154-115.

• Steemers, S., van Rijn, R. M., van Middelkoop, M., Bierma-Zeinstra, S. M., & Stubbe, J. H. (2020). Health Problems in Conservatoire Students: A Retrospective Study Focusing on Playing-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders and Mental Health. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 35(4), 214–220. https://doi.org/10.21091/mppa.2020.4029

• World Health Organisation. (2021, January 18). Adolescent and young adult health. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescents-health-risks-and-solutions

Presenter Biographies

Julia Duschenes graduated from the London Centre for Alexander Technique and Training (LCATT) in 2003 and has since been teaching in private practice, for Hertfordshire Music Service, at the Royal College of Music and LCATT as well as at Junior Royal Academy of Music.

Helen Kuby’s musical career includes vast experience in horn playing, pedagogy, outreach, research, and musician wellbeing - focussing on performance psychology. In addition to horn teaching at the Junior Royal Academy of Music, Helen teaches the Healthy Young Musician module focussing on performance psychology alongside Alexander Technicians Judith Kleinman and Julia Duschenes. Completing a Performance Science MSc at the Royal College of Music, Helen’s research focuses on intervention practices for the psychological wellbeing of adolescent musicians. Extending research practices, Helen works as the Research Coordinator on the Music, Migration & Mobility project at the Royal College of Music. Her research here focuses on developing music students' artistic citizenship through research-led performance projects. Awarded with an Open Academy Fellowship upon graduation, Helen freelances as a workshop facilitator with many organizations including the English National Opera, Royal Academy of Music, and Wigmore Hall. She worked as a contributor to the City of London Sinfonia ‘Sound Young Minds’ project which won the RPS Impact Award. Helen also runs the Education Department for Bath Festival Orchestra in collaboration with the Bath Festival. Supported by the Hilda Martindale Trust, Helen graduated with a Masters in Horn at the Royal Academy of Music. Helen has a prolific freelance career encompassing a wide genre of music including classical, pop, jazz and musical theatre. She is honoured to have been invited to perform as a soloist including at the Muswell Hill Music Festival and the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra (UK). She is the adjudicator for the brass round of the Roccoco International Strings Competition.

Judith Kleinman: Originally training to be a musician at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Judith went on to be a member of the English National Opera and performed with the LSO, London Classical Players. The mind body connection involved in practising and performing music fascinated her. In order to explore this connection more deeply, Judith trained to be an Alexander teacher with Mr. Macdonald and Shoshanna Kaminitz qualifying in 1989 and went on to train to be a Tai Chi and Yoga teacher in London. Judith’s career as an Alexander teacher has been focused on integrating the work into educational and performance practices. She is part of the Alexander team at the Royal College of Music and head of department at the Junior Royal Academy of Music. She is also an assistant head of training at LCATT. Recently she has been a visiting teacher at The London School of Musical Theatre. For the last twenty-five years, Judith has collaborated with Sue Merry to build connections between the worlds of Alexander and Education. Together they created a thoughtful training for AT teachers interested in working with children of all ages in schools and colleges. This project, known as 'The Developing Self' held its first conference at Regents Park College in 2000, they presented the STAT memorial Lecture that year. The Developing Self has become a platform for videos and discussions about Alexander in Education. These, including the talks of their virtual Alexander conference's 2020/21 that can be found at www.thedevelopingself.net . They have recently started a project known as The Ready List for the general public and the Education world, with a website www.thereadylist.com, and are now running workshops and making videos for schools on ‘The well-being Hub”, taking AT work to hundreds of school children. Judith has been an active part of the STAT. She sat on the STAT council for 10 years and coordinated the STAT Education Special Interest group for many years.She directed the group that created the Education satellite section of the STAT website and has produced several short films on different aspects of Alexander in Education. Judith gave the Memorial lecture for STAT in 2014. Judith has written several books including ‘The Alexander Technique for Musicians’ with Peter Buckoke, published by Bloomsbury in 2014, and The Alexander Technique for Young Musicians a reference book aimed at key stage 3 students. Further publications include Alexander in Secondary and Tertiary Education a book for teachers looking to integrate Alexander Principles in their teaching. This year Judith’s new book Finding Quiet Strength was published by Quickthornbooks, highlighting the aspect of creativity, self-regulations and the emotional Intelligence and embodied awareness the work of conscious choice can develop. Continuing in her work to create dialogues between different modalities, Judith programmes the Interesting Talks series of lectures and workshops which brings other disciplines in dialogue with the Alexander Technique. She regularly writes articles and gives workshops and talks on Alexander in Education in Europe, the USA, and the UK both to the wider public and the Education world.

Thank You

Thank you for being here and supporting research on the Alexander Technique and its teaching. Special thanks to Judith Kleinman, Helen Kuby, and Julia Duschenes for their generous contribution to this post. To all community members who have contributed so far, your work is appreciated and making a difference!

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