Artists Seminar Series Brochure
Download the Brochure in PDF format.
^ TOP ^
Seminar Series
New Triad for Collaborative Arts was founded in 2002 to introduce innovative performance techniques to classical musicians. New Triad’s renowned artistic development specialists offer presentation skills steeped in drama, movement, and psychology that make performances more accessible to audiences. New Triad group sessions and private coaching hone performers’ individuality and unique interpretations, as well as increase physical expressiveness.
The following programs are offered in New Triad’s Seminar Series. New Triad can be engaged to present one or more of these exceptional Seminars at your institution, or if you and your faculty prefer, we will design a customized program to meet the needs of your students and faculty, ranging from two of these Seminars to a multi-day residency.
For information on how to present New Triad at your institution:
Contact Dr. Arlene Shut at
(212) 971-9782 or ashrut@newtriad.org
“To me the New Triad experience was the powerful reminder of what we are ultimately doing on the stage as performing artists — telling the story. And that tale begins from the intake of air in the wings, with the first step on the stage, every gesture of our body is capable of drawing the audience nearer to our heart, to the essence of the music we play.”
Konstantin Soukhovetski, 2006 Participant in New Triad Seminars, Winner of Juilliard’s William Petschek Award and 2007 First Prize and Audience Favorite Awardee at the New Orleans International Piano Competition.
For Instrumentalists, Chamber Music Groups and Singer-Pianist Teams:
Music/Drama Fusion - Debra Wiley
The focus is on analyzing the dramatic of the music so the two can be integrated. The principles of script analysis are applied to lyrics and/or musical elements that create dramatic subtext and psychological intention. The course introduces the performing artists to tools that will help them:
- Interpret the material in a logical way
- Create an actable, rather than a conceptual point of view
- Clarify possibilities for collaboration between musical partners and between performers and their audiences
The goal is to help the performers better understand the meaning and context in which a musical story is being told.
Debra Wiley is a director, an internationally acclaimed acting teacher and coach, and a singing voice specialist. She has taught and directed performers at major music and acting schools in New York, and teaches annual master classes in Europe. In her private studio in Manhattan, Debra teaches singing and acting techniques, and specializes in integrating music and theater. She earned her Masters from NYU in both Acting and Opera.
Expression through Body-Awareness/Mastering Deportment - Alyssa Dodson
Performers learn to tap into personal energy by:
- Discovering one’s internal physical structure
- Learning to isolate muscles while identifying and releasing tension
- Eliminating stereotypes for more physical eloquence in performance
Performers are guided to specifically increase their level of elegance, personality and relaxation for stage entrances, exits and bows, linking musical selections and acknowledging one’s musical partners. Other issues involving physical movement will be discussed as appropriate to specific repertoire.
Alyssa Dodson has performed with many distinguished dance companies that include the Martha Graham Company, Pilobolus, The Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. She has been on the faculty of Tanglewood, Metropolitan Opera Lindemann, NYU, Cap 21, Interlochen and participated in numerous master classes worldwide.
Stage Presence - Ellen Rievman
Building upon and in addition to Body Awareness:
Using atmosphere, Understanding & using “charisma”, Engaging the audience’s imagination, Trusting & using your physical eloquence to understand your impact, change the space, and communicate. Everyone has creativity and charisma. It’s there just waiting to be uncovered and it emanates from the clarity and specificity of knowing what you want your impact to be. Your body is your instrument and your physical eloquence has many aspects. This seminar will go beyond the more obvious elements of “stage presence” and explore the potential of physical eloquence.
Ellen Rievman, a principal dancer as a member of the Metropolitan Opera for 24 years, performed in over 100 productions. Since leaving the Met in 1995, she has worked with singers to coach the drama, explore the text, and to incorporate these skills with gesture, movement, stagecraft, and physical eloquence. She is a Senior Associate at The Actors’ Institute working with business clients internationally, is a core consultant of New Triad for the Collaborative Arts, and is on faculty for Martina Arroyo’s summer workshop, Prelude to Performance
Speaking with Your Audience – Adam Marks
Speaking comfortably with an audience requires tapping into your confidence as both a performer and a persona. Through a series of exercises, performers will identify how they can bring their own personalities and passions to life on the stage. By sharing themselves directly with an audience, they will create more individualized recitals, and construct a more comfortable and supportive atmosphere for musical exploration.
Adam Marks, is an active solo pianist and chamber musician hailing from California. He holds a B.A. from Brandeis University and a M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music. Currently, Adam is a candidate for the Ph.D. in Piano Performance at New York University. He works as a soloist, a collaborator with soprano Jennifer Beattie, and with Chicago’s Fifth House Ensemble.
Speaking Freely – Rachel Schwartz
The goal is to release performers’ natural voices while speaking in front of their audiences. Through a series of exercises, performers learn to free physical and vocal tensions that often inhibit natural speaking. Performers will also learn techniques to connect expressively in order to convey the full meaning and color of text.
Rachel Schwartz has performed as a professional actor with many notable theater companies, including The Diary of Anne Frank at the Paper Mill Playhouse and with the Colorado and Virginia Shakespeare Festivals. She holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Columbia University, as well as a B.A. from Brandeis University. Ms. Schwartz has been a guest lecturer in acting at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Simmons College, as well as an acting and vocal coach in New York.
Psychology of Partnership – Michael Batshaw
The psychology of successful relationships will be explored in performing partnerships. Eye contact, body movement and breathing together will be analyzed and discussed as well as the more abstract concepts of empathy, curiosity, playfulness and respect. Differing partnerships styles will be examined by recreating performance and rehearsal situations. Methods for overcoming musical and interpersonal obstacles, creating consensus and finding a shared vision in rehearsal will be introduced.
Michael Batshaw is a board-certified psychotherapist who holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University with a full-time private practice in New York City. He is also a professional opera singer and has trained with teachers from Juilliard and the Academy of Vocal Arts.
Connecting Art, Artists and Audience – Rachel Schwartz
Understanding energy as the key to connection between art, artists and audience in live performances is the focus as performers learn how to hone their intuitive skills. Through a series of individual and group exercises, artists form stronger bonds to develop a more powerful performing arts experience.
Rachel Schwartz (See above: Speaking Freely)
Individuality in Performance – Jocelyn Rasmussen
Performers explore their unique artistic “voice.” We introduce:
Methods that support performers’ re-connection with their original passion for music and remind them of the common human experience that helps connect artists with audiences.
Practices that empower artists to access fresh inspiration with every performance.
Exercises that de-stress musicians in an intensely demanding and competitive field to enhance the link between individual purpose and the power of the recital art form in serving the audience.
Jocelyn Rasmussen, soprano, composer and teacher, is the founder and CEO of MORE THAN SINGING, LLC, a company focused on creating tools and coaching options for singers as well as committed to sharing resources and skills to facilitate speakers and professionals in all aspects of oral communication. Ms. Rasmussen holds a M.M. in vocal performance and composition. Ms. Rasmussen performs, composes and teaches from her base in Manhattan.
Stageworthy Performance – Debra Wiley
The goal is to help artists become storytellers through the music within the performance itself. The focus is on developing a dramatic structure within the concert format and expressing emotion through behavior in a logical, honest and direct way. Topics include:
- Use of text
- Stage movement in recital
- Identification of dramatic theme in recital groups and entire programs
Musical partners will develop their own distinctive styles, which may include speaking as well as singing or playing instruments during the course of the recital. Performers will come away with an understanding of their potential as creative as well as interpretive artists, able to use their own experiences and ideas while honoring the composers’ intentions.
Debra Wiley (See above: Music/Drama Fusion)
Dramatic Presentation - Ellen Rievman
It all begins in your imagination: Bringing in your permission to create; Thinking of yourself as a storyteller; what does that involve? What makes you unique as a performer? It’s not only the beauty of your sound and your musicality. It’s the way you see the world, how your imagination and creativity facilitate the audience’s experience of your music. An essence of drama is bringing that permission to create onto the stage, thinking of yourself as a storyteller. Explore the dramatic elements of being present: What does that mean? This seminar will center on harnessing your uniqueness and exploring its applications.
Ellen Rievman (See above: Stage Presence)
For Singer-Pianist Teams:
Musical Dynamics of Partnership – Arlene Shrut
The goal is mastering the musical parameters and partnership skills leading to peak performances of song:
- Macro, Micro, Grid - Unifying the song through understanding architecture and proportion based on the structure of the poem itself and the rhythm of the composer’s musical setting
- Expressive Rehearsals – Introducing practice techniques to develop more inventive interpretations based on shared explorations of range, tessitura, balance, coordinated breath, subtext, improvisation, etc.
- Accentuate the Positive – Discussing ways to shift the paradigm in the recital genre to full partnerships between singers and pianists
Arlene Shrut is the Founder and Artistic Director of New Triad for Collaborative Arts. A faculty member of The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, Arlene is an admired keyboard performer hailed as a “strong and sensitive pianist” by the New York Times. She was honored in 2003 as the inaugural “Coach of the Year” in Classical Singer Magazine. Dr. Shrut formerly served on the faculties of Syracuse University, Mannes College of Music, and the Aspen Music School.
Poetic Text Analysis – Vickie Karp
This course is designed to introduce singer-pianist teams to the methodologies of classical text analysis and immediately apply them to their own work together. Text analysis is the skill set that connects music and drama and is the foundation for the art of acting. A hands-on, experiential approach is emphasized.
Vickie Karp has written literary documentaries for PBS, A & E, and Bravo. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and an Emmy nomination for her televised poetry special, New Yorkers Remember September 11th. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, David Lehman’s Best Poetry anthology series, and Bascove’s Where Books Fall Open and Sustenance and Desire.
The Theme Recital: Finding Your Voice in Art Song – Jennifer Beattie
Uniting art songs with thematic elements and storytelling is a fresh and exciting way to communicate through the recital format. Singer-pianist teams will learn strategies for building a program that is varied, creative and emotive. Themes, repertoire choices, technical considerations, programming ideas and practical approaches to incorporating poetry and spoken text into the actual performance will be discussed. Performers will discover ways to highlight their collective strengths, with the goal of inspiring both artists and audiences.
Jennifer Beattie, soprano, is hailed by Opera News Online for her “exuberant voice and personality”, is a versatile performer in styles ranging from opera to chamber music and musical theater to cabaret. She has been featured at The National Arts Club, The Juilliard School, Yale College of Music, Carnegie Hall, the Texas Music Festival, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. She holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music.