VISITING LECTURERS AT LMTA KLAIPĖDA FACULTY
The Autumn semester at the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty enjoyed masterclasses by three visiting lecturers. Professor Derek Barnes, vocal specialist, singer, and conductor, and actress and singer Monika Valkūnaitė encouraged our students to delve into the subtleties of the musical, while Professor Dr. Gerhard Sammer shared his insights into the job of art educators and their training.
This academic year, the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty has introduced a new specialisation within the Music Performance studies, Musical. Here, the students are trained to sing, dance, and act as professionals. The LMTA Musical studies devote close attention to the peculiarities of the musical as a genre as well as general musical competencies, stage performance practice, a wide range of theoretical knowledge and skills enabling our students to respond to the changing needs of the market and prepare for a career in performing arts and creative industries, or continue their studies.
Last October, actress and singer Monika Valkūnaitė invited the Klaipėda Faculty’s teachers and students to her course to explore the specifics of the musical. The theory classes by the performer zoomed in on the golden age of the musical, musical comedy, and the most celebrated representatives of the musical. During the workshops, our students practised to reveal the expressiveness of song lyrics when performing on the stage. Monika Valkūnaitė‘s visit has also encouraged further cooperation with JÁ International Theatre (Portugal).
On 18-23 October, the Klaipėda Faculty enjoyed masterclasses by Professor Derek Barnes, vocal specialist, singer, and conductor. Students in Musical joined Professor’s intensive course to hone their vocal skills: from breathing-when-singing techniques to revealing expressiveness of the lyrics and performing a piece from a musical – all you need to become a professional!
Each day of the visit, we were happy to witness an increasing interest in Prof. Barnes‘s course: quite a lot of people willing to develop their vocal skills this time joined the masterclasses as observers. With this obvious need for further cooperation, our plan is to welcome Derek Barnes again in 2022.
On 3-8 November, we welcomed Prof. Dr. Gerhard Sammer whose pedagogical experience remarkably ranges from work in a compulsory school and gymnasium to training art education specialists on higher education level (Innsbrucker-Musikpädagogik-Institut der Universität Mozarteum, Musikpädagogik an der Hochschule für Musik Würzburg). Professor’s extensive international pedagogical and research activities are impressive too: in 2015, he was elected President of the European Association for Music in Schools. (EAS). A well-known conductor, he is in charge of several orchestras and choirs. At present, Professor Sammer is artistic director of the chamber orchestra Tiroler Kammorchester InnStrumenti. Gerhard Sammer shares his pedagogical experience and research at various international seminars, conferences, and in his publications.
Professor Sammer was giving a course to LMTA students specialising in Music Education. His lectures focused on a variety of topics such as features of changing educational paradigms, the concept of contemporary art education, strategies for contemporary art education, and strategies for activating art education at schools. In addition, our students took part in Professor’s workshops on experiential learning strategies, interactive teaching strategy, organization of communication, and cooperation between the teacher and the student in the context of contemporary education.
We hope Prof. Dr. Gerhard Sammer’s visit will develop our links with higher education institutions in Germany and Austria and strengthen the position of the LMTA students and teachers in the context of international musical education.
LMTA Klaipėda Faculty information
11 November 2021