ORLENA'S ORBIT 

In my first year at Western University at the Don Wright

Faculty of Music, I was introduced to professor Jennifer

Moir when singing in her choir: Les Choristes. I had

never experienced choral music-making facilitated

through an educational approach such as Moir's which

provided me with a deep sense of autonomy and

community unlike any previous music-educational

experience. In 2015, professor Moir suggested I attend

the VoiceCare Network a summer educational learning

program that revolves around the understanding that a

welcoming environment, which encourages independent

thinking, can allow all humans to access their innate capability to sing with expressive skill (VoiceCare Network, 2015). At the VoiceCare Network, I learned pedagogical skills in conducting, vocal health, and performance anxiety that allow me to support choristers to develop a deep sense of autonomy through an incredibly joyful and fulfilling learning approach that has now become my passion.

Through VoiceCare Network I met movement educator, Babette Lightner and her work: Language of Wholeness. Lightner's work in movement is a new educational approach that focuses on healthy cognitive perspectives in movement gesture, as well as skill acquisition, structure and coordination (Lightner Method, 2017). Lightner's work has been fascinating and incredibly applicable to my teachings in music education, as will be seen throughout the articles and worksheets attached on this website. 

About a year after meeting Lightner, she introduced me to one of her educators in which much of her work is based, David Gorman. His work titled LearningMethods, is an educational process that teaches how to explore, understand and solve problems and issues of life and work (LearningMethods, 1998). It is an extension of the Alexander Technique in the sense that we are navigating the human system but extending it out into the realm of our conceptions and misconceptions. Since meeting David I have continued studying this work as it has now become embedded in my teachings in music education, as will also be seen throughout the articles and worksheets attached throughout this website.

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This website is the accumulation of my educational experiences (thus far) working with Moir, Lightner and Gorman. The work of these three educators have had a transformative impact on myself as an educator, artist and human. I chose to dedicate my Capstone Project to these learning approaches because I believe it has the ability to carry similar impacts on any individual who encounters it. This website features information about these educational approaches, about myself and my experiences in this work-specifically in the context of private vocal teaching. Under Articles & Resources I have created a series of reading materials explaining these educational approaches, as well as worksheets for more concrete activities to experiment with in one's own teachings. Under Research Blog, I feature journal writings from my experiences teaching with these educational approaches varying from beautifully proud moments to challenging ones. It is my hopes that those experimenting with this educational approach might find it useful to learn from my experiences.

It is my hope that the writings throughout this website will be of interest and of use to voice educators and learners in search of more student-led teaching approaches, as well as alternative approaches from traditional vocal pedagogy.