Develop healthy practice habits at Indian Hill and at home! The study of music requires many hours of disciplined and repetitive practice. Musicians do some of the most complex and demanding physical movements of any profession. So, it’s essential that students do everything possible to prevent excess muscular tension and stress while practicing or performing.
Here at Indian Hill Music School, we support the healthy study of music by
offering the Alexander Technique, a program with a long history of helping
instrumentalists perform with less stress and the likelihood of injury. Lessons
in this technique can greatly enhance the enjoyment and fulfillment of being
a musician.
Experiencing excess tension while practicing or performing can lead to
problems like backache, stiff neck and shoulders, or in the extreme, carpal
tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injury. Due to the pain and limitation that
these conditions cause, free coordinated movement is reduced significantly
and affects the musician adversely in all areas of life: physically, emotionally,
psychologically and spiritually.
Lessons in the Alexander Technique involve sensitive hands-on guidance and
simple conversation where students learn how to make changes in patterns of movement during practice time. They will also learn skills to reduce physical, emotional and mental tension, and fatigue during practice and performance as well as in everyday life.
Improvements are noted in:
- Coordination
- Eyesight
- Listening ability
- Posture
- Voice resonance
- Breathing
- Mental alertness
- Performance
- Creativity
A number of prominent musicians have publicly endorsed the Alexander Technique: Yehudi Menuhin, Paul McCartney, Sting, Julian Bream, James Galway and the conductor Sir Adrian Boult, to name but a few. Besides Indian Hill, you’ll find Alexander Technique instructors at many other schools, including The Boston Conservatory of Music, the Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York, The Royal College of Music in London, and The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Indian Hill Music School has two internationally certified Alexander Technique instructors on staff, Jamee Culbertson and Sonora Rose Thomas. In addition to offering private lessons to students, Sonora and Jamee will be providing support for the IHMS faculty for students’ music lessons throughout the year.
For more information or to sign up for individual instruction in the technique, call (978) 486-9524.
About our IHMS Alexander Technique Instructor:
Jamee Culbertson is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and teaches musicians, performers, athletes, martial artists and people recovering from injuries. A former Board Chair of ATI (Alexander Technique International), she currently serves as Chair of the ATI Vision Mission Team. Jamee also teaches at The Ninth House Holistic Center in Arlington.
THRESHOLD CHOIR
A Healing Chorus at Indian Hill Music School 
VIEW OUR BROCHURE!
Coordinator/leader: Pam Espinosa
Participation in this program is FREE. Group meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month
from 7 - 9 pm.
What is a Threshold Choir?
Threshold Choirs honor the ancient tradition of singing at the bedsides of people who are struggling, some with living, some with dying. The voice, as the original human instrument, is a true and gracious vehicle for compassion and comfort.
How did the Threshold Choir concept start?
In 2000, Kate Munger of Inverness, California founded the first of what she thought would be primarily local Bay Area Threshold Choirs, for women who are called to sing at the bedsides of people in need. Today there are about 800 singers in more than 45 choirs throughout North America and overseas. Indian Hill Music School faculty and staff members read an article about Kate Munger in “Real Simple” magazine and were inspired to bring such a group to the east coast.
Who can join Indian Hill's Threshold Choir?
Indian Hill's Threshold Choir is
open to both men and women. The main criteria for membership are feeling a shiver down your back at hearing about the Choir, and, along with a 6-month commitment, one should be able to carry a tune. A "fancy" voice is not necessary.
How often does the choir rehearse?
Members rehearse about twice a month on Wednesday evenings. In addition to singing, members enjoy socializing, networking and an occasional mini-workshop with a local musician or spiritual leader.
What songs does the choir sing?
Our repertoire is chosen to respond to individual musical taste, spiritual direction and physical capacity. Our singing might include rounds, chants, lullabies, hymns, spirituals and classical choral music.
Do I have to sing at a bedside to be part of the choir?
No. Singers may join the choir and attend rehearsals and will never be expected to sing at a bedside until ready. It takes an average of one year to learn the repertoire. Time is also needed for members to address and deal with their own issues surrounding death.
Do all members of the choir visit bedsides at once?
No. When invited, choir members visit the bedsides in small groups of two or three and invite families and caregivers to join them in song or to participate by listening. The small groups are typically made up of one “anchor” (a strong singer who knows the repertoire well) and two “sails,” singers to support the anchor.
Is there a cost to sing in the choir or to have choir members sing at a bedside?
No. The service is our gift; there is no charge (except for the purchase of music.) Of course, we gratefully accept donations for our ongoing expenses.
How do I join the Threshold Choir at Indian Hill?
Call the office at 978/486-9524 to join the choir.
Why should I join the Threshold Choir?
The choirs provide opportunities for people to share the gifts of their voices in compassion and truth at life’s thresholds. It is a sacred, delightful way to build community and be part of a unique, co-created adventure.
About Kate Munger:
Kate Munger agrees with Rumi who says, “Let what you love be what you do.” She is a singer/songwriter who lives with her family, sings, works, and swims along the shores of Tomales Bay in Inverness, California. After leading community singing and round singing circles for over three decades, Kate conceived and founded the first Threshold Choir in March of 2000, for women who are called to sing at the bedsides of people who are dying, ill, in coma, and newborns and incarcerated women. Today more than 45 choirs and 800 singers across the nation and overseas inspire comfort and healing at bedsides, while nourishing the women who sing. These choirs are a way for singers to express gratitude for the rich gift of singing in their lives, offer a deepening of the act of “being” with people who need healing, and bring together a magnificent community of huge-hearted, collaborating, creative women who know that true service heals everyone.
A composer of hauntingly beautiful melodies and harmonies, Kate compiled the moving and widely sourced choir repertoire, and produced both Threshold Choir CDs, Listening at the Threshold (2003), and Tenderly Rain (2006). Kate is a popular speaker among palliative care professionals and at conference, and she directs the Bay Area choirs personally, including the Santa Cruz Threshold Choir.
Kate also founded and directs the Midnight Choir, a coed choral adventure that brings lullabies and songs of hope and spirit to the homeless on the street, in doorways, and in shelters. She also leads a choir for women inmates at Marin County Jail; women from the Threshold Choir volunteer their time to sing in this weekly choir. Kate also leads singing as part of nonviolent demonstrations and vigils, adding harmony and collaboration to the political and social justice arenas.
Learn more about Kate Munger and Threshold Choirs at www.thresholdchoir.org and youtube.com.
