From the Outside In - Waking up the Facial Muscles and Pharyngeal Spaces
Holly Clemans and Ruth Kasckow
In this 50 minute session, LBMEs Holly Clemans and Ruth Kasckow collaborate for a workshop on mapping the facial muscles of expression and the muscles within the oral cavity & vocal tract. Our facial muscles are highly mobile and allow us to express a full range of human emotion. They are unique, as they are the only muscles that move skin, rather than all other muscles that move bones around joints. Developing an awareness of these muscles and their movements can enhance one’s musical expression and tone quality. Accessing muscles within the oral cavity and pharynx allows musicians to fine tune elements of timbre, dynamic range, and intonation, and play with more ease. Playful, interactive activities and movement explorations will be experienced.
Holly Clemans has been active as a soloist, orchestral, & chamber musician, and university flute instructor for many years. She maintains a private studio in southeast MI, gives clinics, presents workshops on both Body Mapping and teaching, performs with two flute choirs, and freelances in SE MI. She is researching the psychological & physical effects of embouchure dystonia in wind players, as well as methods of retraining. Her degrees include a B.M. in Music Education - Hartt School of Music, an equivalency degree in Music Therapy - Western Michigan University, and a M.M. in Flute Performance - University of Michigan.
Ruth Kasckow enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, flute instructor with private studio in Los Angeles, and Body Mapping Educator since 2010. She recently completed her Franklin Method Level 2 Teacher Training and is currently training for Level 3. She integrates both Body Mapping and Franklin Method in her teaching to help musicians better understand their bodies in movement for improved performance and overall well-being. Her degrees include a BA in Music from Goucher College and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts.
