Lea Pearson

Body Mapping for Flutists

Lea Pearson will be offering the class "Body Mapping: What Every Flutist Needs to Know About the Body." It will take place in the afternoons, just after lunch, so participants can attend the morning and evening Masterclasses.

Discomfort among flutists is common. It makes practicing uncomfortable and creates limitations in our playing. Sore backs, sore necks, hand problems and inadequate breathing are common among students and professionals alike. Musicians can improve their body use and achieve a higher level of playing by learning about the body's natural ways of moving and supporting itself. Flutists gain information to help themselves and their students enhance performance as well as prevent pain and injury.

The course is presented in a fun, creative and supportive atmosphere. Through discussions, visual presentations, and active participation, flutists learn how the body is designed to work and how its use affects their playing. Each class participant will have an opportunity to play for Lea in class.

In addition to taking the course, any Wildacres attendee can schedule private lessons with Lea for in-depth work on personal issues.

 The course is presented in six segments:

1. About movement, Body Mapping, the senses and attention in playing;
2. The core of the body and the places of balance;
3. Your four arm joints and how to use them;
4. Breathing - how it works and how to improve it;
5. Your legs and how they move as you play; and
6. How to put it all together.

Lea Pearson's recent book, Body Mapping for Flutists: What Every Flute Teacher Needs to Know About the Body has received extensive praise from teachers and students alike. She was a 1998 Fulbright Scholar at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where she studied with Liisa Ruoho. Formerly a performer with the South Bend Symphony, she holds a B.A. degree from Hampshire College, an M.A. from Stanford University and a D.M.A. from Ohio State University. Her teachers have included Katherine Borst Jones, Frances Blaisdell and Doriot Anthony Dwyer.

Lea is a certified Andover Educator, presenting Body Mapping workshops and masterclasses world-wide. She specializes in performing music of Black women composers.

You can find out more about Lea at http://web.mac.com/flutibia.

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