I have been a professional choral music conductor and teacher for 38 years. I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University where I taught for twenty years, directing the BYU Women’s Chorus and teaching music education. I also co-founded and served as artistic director of Viva Voce! a community women’s choir in Salt Lake City.
I attended an Alexander workshop as a college student. I knew this was something I would like to pursue at some point. Years later, while singing in the Tabernacle Choir, where the rigor of rehearsals, performances, and teaching began to take a toll on my voice, I reached out to find my first Alexander teacher, Cathy Pollock. The work was so transformative for me that I knew teaching Alexander Technique would be the next chapter of my life. I trained with Luc Vanier and Cathy Pollock in the charter group of graduates from the Salt Lake City Alexander Teacher Training course, certifying with the American Society for the Alexander Techniqu
I have perpetual tension in my neck and shoulders; it’s where I hold all my stress. If the Alexander Technique has taught me anything, it’s to be aware of how I hold my body in everyday activities. I am so much more mindful of where my shoulders, sacrum, neck, hips, etc. are and where a better position could be to improve pain and discomfort.
Amy Farmer
I am currently doing a lot of piano accompanying, and I realized that the Alexander techniques helped me to be aware of my posture and to release and let go of tension. Instead of sitting with an arched back, the new position I have learned makes it a lot more comfortable.
DeAnn Jenkins