User:J. Schaeffer

Overview
In order to fulfill my graduate course work requirements at the Longy School of Music, I was enrolled in a class entitled "The future of Classical Music", led by Isaiah Jackson. A large portion of the class is focused on Wikipedia as a potentially powerful and central source of information. Its unique format allows anyone to update information on any topic at any time - ideally eliminating dated material and keeping a finger on the pulse of what is current as well as what points to the future. For 'classical' musicians who live in a world of music that was, for the most part, formed in the late 1800's and crystallized in the first half of the 20th century, it behooves us to take a look at and participate in the culture of our time. Contributing to Wikipedia is, arguably, a way begin this process.

Over the course of the fall 2008 semester, our class examined and contributed to Wikipedia. The following is a link to our class page, and below it is a link to our blog site, where we posted and discuss information regarding current events pertaining to classical music. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Futureclass

http://fcm07.blogspot.com/

For the summer of 2009, I embark on the self-directed project of editing the Wikipedia Dalcroze page.

Interests
My major area of study at the Longy School of Music is Dalcroze Eurhythmics, which can be described as "an approach and philosophy of music cognition through movement". Through my contributions to Wikipedia, I hope to bring some clarity and insight into this lesser-known area of musical knowledge.

I am also interested in the many fields that complement and are complemented by Eurhythmics: music therapy, movement analysis, dance, dance therapy, spirituality, philosophy, human development, quality musicianship, community building, among others.

framing the article
To approach the world of Dalcroze Eurhythmics, I am going to begin by focusing on the biography of Emile Jacques-Dalcroze himself. Though the work itself and the body of knowledge he engendered stands on its own, knowing its genesis secures the foundation on which a clearer understanding of Eurhythmics can be built. All the bigger and pertinent questions pertaining to eurhythmics - why movement, why eurhythmics, what's the point, who is this for, etc. can initially be approached by looking at Dalcroze's life and his investigations, which by virtue of being empirical in nature, were born out of his life experience.

The current article on Dalcroze is really just a stub. I hope to expand the article to include a more comprehensive biography which provides information not only on his pedagogical work but also as a composer. As I envision it, in addition to being a source of biographical information in its own right, this article could serve as a portal into the world of Dalcroze Eurhythmics.

Also interesting to note: the article's french counterpart is much more developed and may be a good source of information.

All preliminary work on this article will take place in my sandbox.