Timothy Caldwell (USA) Masterclass #46
“Coaching the Performing Body — Dalcroze Strategies in Practice”
A VDM Masterclass with Timothy Caldwell (USA)
Many people mistakenly believe that Dalcroze Eurhythmics is only for children. In reality, Dalcroze strategies are effective at all levels of musical development, including advanced performers. This class will be for any teacher who wants to think about techniques for working with advanced students in musical performance.
We will explore the physical roots of several rules for musical expression from Mathis Lussy, the teacher who influenced Dalcroze’s early work, through Dalcroze games. Dalcroze maintained that all elements of music are based on the physical movements of the original instrument, the human body, so come prepared to move. If you teach advanced students (or beginners!) who have difficulty with full-body movement, we will explore ways for you to get everyone moving.
The goal is for teachers to leave the session with different or additional ways to enable the students to reach new levels of musical expression. Participants will need a piece of paper and adequate space to move.
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Timothy Caldwell received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Vocal Performance at the University of Michigan. In 1974, he joined the music faculty at Central Michigan University. There, he taught voice, Techniques for the Singing Actor, and was the founding director for the Music Theatre program. In 1984, he met Robert Abramson, the well-known teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. That meeting proved to be the beginning of a friendship and a student-teacher relationship that would continue until Abramson’s death in 2008.
Caldwell earned the Licence at the Manhattan School of Music, and would eventually write and produce the video, Dalcroze Eurhythmics with Robert Abramson. Caldwell’s book, Expressive Singing: Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Voice, was published by Prentice Hall several years later. He conducted workshops and delivered presentations at conferences and conventions organized by the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Music Teachers National Association, and associations of string, piano, and Music Educators throughout the United States, Canada, and Brazil. He retired from Central Michigan University in 2010. Since then, he has published a book about his experiences in Vietnam (The Chaplain’s Assistant: God, Country, and Vietnam), and a collection of short stories will be published in 2026.
Masterclass #46 was originally given on February 7/8, 2026.
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