KEYNOTES

Michael Dartsch, University of Music Saar, Germany

Sandra Lutz Hochreutener, University of the Arts Zurich, Switzerland

Teresa Leonhard, Universitatea Lucian Blaga, Romania
 

„Young children and artistic behavior. 
Theoretical considerations about exploration, communication, and improvisation and practical implications“
Michael Dartsch

The keynote will reflect about artistic behavior in general and show the potentials of young children for engaging in artistic actions. In particular perceptive and explorative behavior, which includes forms of communications as well, leads to artistry and can be supported by teachers and educators. Important options of artistic activities are fantasizing in improvisation and comprehension of songs and pieces. All this begins in everyday life and can culminate in differentiated art practice.

Michael Dartsch holds a Dr. in pedagogy and is Professor of Music Pedagogy at the Hochschule für Musik Saar, where he works as head of the study programs Elementary Music Pedagogy and Instrumental Music Pedagogy. His research interests cover questions according the didactics of music. Among his numerous publications are: "Musik lernen – Musik unterrichten. Eine Einführung in die Musikpädagogik [Learning music - teaching music. An introduction in music pedagogy]" (Breitkopf: 2014), "Mensch, Musik und Bildung [Man, Music and Education]" (Breitkopf: 2010), “Didaktik künstlerischen Musizierens“ [Didactics of artistic music making] (Breitkopf: 2019). He is one of the editors of: "Handbuch Musikpädagogik. Grundlagen – Forschung – Diskurse [Handbook of Music Education. Basics - Research - Discourses]" (Waxmann: 2018) and led the project “Musical education right from the start” for the “Verband deutscher Musikschulen” [VdM; German Association of music schools], which culminated in the music education plan for the elementary level of the VdM.

The sounds turn somersaults and the harmonica is mourning.
Healing effects of music making – a contribution of music therapy
Sandra Lutz Hochreutener

Children love making music – or, as we say in music therapy, they love playing with music. Joyful and sincere at the same time they explore the sounds of the instruments and try out different tunes and rhythms to express their feelings and to interact with others. With inexhaustible inventiveness, they create musical play scenarios in which they can realize, redeem and transform themselves and their circumstances.
The keynote will give insight how music therapy supports growth-enhancing processes by using this affinity of children to play spontaneously with music.

Sandra Lutz Hochreutener graduated as an elementary school teacher in Switzerland, studied music therapy at the Vienna University of Music and Arts, did post-graduate studies in childhood and adolescent psychopathology at the University of Zurich, got her doctorate degree at the University of Music and Theatre, Hamburg, and is a government approved psychotherapist.

Since more than 30 years she is the head and a lecturer of the music therapy study program at the Zurich University of the Arts. She also runs a private practice for music therapy and psychotherapy.

One of her core research interests is the praxeology of music therapy with children. Among her various publications are: "Musiktherapie als Wissenschaft. Grundlagen, Praxis, Forschung und Ausbildung [Music Therapy as a Science. Basic Theories, Practice, Research and Studies]" (Eds., ISBN 978-3-033-01158-8: 2006), "Spiel – Musik – Therapie. Methoden der Musiktherapie mit Kindern und Jugendlichen [Play – Music – Therapy. Methods of Music Therapy with Children and Adolescents] (Hogrefe: 2009)", "Musiktherapie in pädagogischen Settings. Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung [Music Therapy in Educational Settings. Impulses of Practice, Theory and Research]" (Eds; Waxmann: 2019), "Lebendigkeit mit Musik. Gerda Bächli – Pionierin der Elementaren Musikpädagogik und der Musiktherapie. Filmportrait. [Vitality with Music. Gerda Bächli – Pioneer of Elementary Music Education and of Music Therapy. Film Portrait] (Reichert: 2019).

The Aesthetics of Simplicity.
Exploring an elementary Path in the Search for the Fundamentals of Music
Teresa Leonhard

Something is considered simple (from Latin simplex, literally ‘onefold’) when it is not complex or demanding. Yet philosophy challenges this view, emphasising the holistic and even divine nature inherent in the figure one. In music pedagogy, the elementary as the path to the nucleus takes the shape of polyaesthetics/(syn)aesthetics; it is physical and expresses itself through shared exploration, communication and improvisation. This lecture investigates the notion that this very aesthetics of simplicity – the basis of early childhood music instruction – is not only useful with regard to age-appropriate learning but also makes it possible to recognise the foundations of music and challenges us as an ‘open work’ (U. Eco).

Dr. phil. Teresa Leonhard is an austrian researcher, performance artist and university teacher based in Sibiu (Romania). She is a senior lecturer in „Music and Movement“ at the department for teacher training at “Lucian Blaga” University and director of the inclusive dance company „Dis.Place“. From 2017 to 2019 she has been working additionally as a research associate at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. She was director of many cultural projects as „Austrian Cultural Days 2019 in Sibiu“ or the two-years art project „Rădăcini/Roots“ with children of Roma-communities sponsored by the „Salzburg Festival“. Her transdisciplinary work including academic research, art and educational contexts arises from the interspace of music, movement and language and the search for the simple and the imperfect as a source of creativity – no matter if she is working with children, students, elderly people or men and women with and without disabilities. Her research centres on issues of aesthetic education, harmonics, eurythmics, performance studies and phenomenology of the body.