Music club to host program for area musicians, performers
A unique educational opportunity for area musicians and performing artists will be hosted by the Hot Springs Music Club at 3 p.m. Oct. 2 at Grand Avenue United Methodist Church. Clifford Hicks, a certified trainer in the Alexander Technique and clinician for more than 25 years, will demonstrate through a Master Class presentation the physical and musical benefits of the technique. Local musicians will perform and Hicks will work with them to explain and demonstrate the technique to optimize their performance.
The Alexander Technique was developed by the Australian actor, Frederick Matthias Alexander, in dealing with his own physical tension in public performance. His approach and techniques in freeing the body and mind of tension have benefited and enabled countless musicians, dancers, actors and public performers to not only perform better but also extend their careers. The technique is basically a way to feel better and move in a more relaxed and comfortable way, a news release said. Stress, tension and harmful habits are identified and alternative approaches are recommended.
The Alexander Technique has a long history of helping instrumentalists and singers to perform with less stress and less possibility of injury. Those involved in the performing arts encounter some of the most complex and demanding physical movements of any profession, the release said. Musicians and dancers always have the challenge of practicing and performing the same complex muscular actions over and over again. By helping musicians release unnecessary tension in their bodies, the Alexander Technique makes possible a performance which is more fluid and lively with less stress, pain, and rigidity.
This approach to performance through the technique has been endorsed by prominent musicians such as Yehudi Menuhin, Paul McCartney, Sting, James Galway and conductor Sir Adrian Boult. It is also taught at the Julliard School of Performing Arts in New York, The Royal College of Music in London, The Boston Conservatory of Music, The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and at many schools of music, universities and colleges.
Hicks grew up in North Carolina and Tennessee and graduated from Memphis State University in 1972. He received his certification as a trainer in 1992 from the Virginia School for the Alexander Technique. His motivation in learning to teach the method came from his personal experience of the benefits in easing his own back pain and tension. He taught the technique for two years in Charlottesville, Va. in Robert Fripp’s Guitar Craft workshop. Fripp is a renown guitarist who played with David Bowie and his own band, King Crimson. Hicks also taught the Alexander Technique for 10 years to students at Interlochen Arts Academy’s boarding school for performing arts students at Interlochen, Mich.
Presently Hicks has a private practice in Benton and teaches the technique through the Community Music School at UCA in Conway. He also gives annual workshops for the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Arkansas State University music department and the Southern Arkansas University music program. He has association with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and periodically offers lessons and workshops at the ASO rehearsal hall. Recently, he joined the faculty of the Adventures in the Arts Program at the Pulaski Heights Methodist Church in Little Rock. Hicks’ wife, Bethany, teaches history at Ouachita Baptist University. They have three children and Hicks has an older daughter who is professor of philosophy at Kansas State University.
Any performer in the arts dealing with tension and pain in performance/practice or anyone wanting to learn about this technique is encouraged to attend this informative program. Hicks will also be available to consult with individuals after the program.
Contact Kathie White at 520-7272 for more information about the event.