Musica Anima

A Student of Life.

Last month I had the opportunity to learn from some titans in the world of choral and vocal music at the YPC National conference. I attended masterclasses and workshops alongside fellow choral directors from around the nation.

Intellectually, my favorite classes were with the fantastic voice pedagogue Shanelle Woods, but my absolute favorite experience was in a conducting masterclass where one of my fellow classmates was a young man who navigates life without the sense of sight. He was there to learn how to musically communicate with his body, even though he had no reference point himself as to what that looks like.

If you know you know. I got about halfway through the piece he was conducting before being overwhelmed by the energy of the moment and proceeding to ugly cry. 😆

This young man wasn't in his head overanalyzing what he looked like. He conducted straight from his Heart center, and those of us singing for him responded accordingly. Magic. Pure magic. I will forever hold that experience in my Heart pocket. 🥹

Sing by Heart, friends. Always sing by Heart. And if you get the chance to conduct? Do that by Heart too. ❤️