David Vinden & Cyrilla Rowsell from the British Kodály Academy present a series of four Kodály Masterclasses on the following Sundays: 15 April, 13 May, 10 June, 1 July 2007 from 9.30am to 4.45pm
Zoltán Kodály (1882 - 1967) was a Hungarian composer, educator and philosopher. His innovative, child-centred approach to music education was inspired by his belief that:
“To teach a child an instrument without first giving preparatory training and developing singing, reading and dictating to the highest level, along with playing, is to build upon sand.”
Kodály training is based on teaching, learning and understanding music through the experience of singing. By using a country’s own folksongs, students learn to experience music directly without the technical hindrance of an instrument. Students learn through: singing/rhythm games, rounds, percussion, rhythm and tonic sol-fa.
The Programme
The Tutors
David Vinden teaches Kodály Musicianship and Choral Conducting at Trinity College of Music and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is a regular teacher on Internaional Summer Courses at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, where he trained. As Course Director for the British Kodály Academy (BKA) and a regular teacher at the BKA Summer School, he and his wife Yuko have set up the Kodály Centre of London and have co-authored many books and teaching materials. David has given lectures, workshops and demonstrations all over the world and is currently one of the four elected Directors of the International Kodály Society.
Cyrilla Rowsell obtained the British Kodály Academy’s Advanced Musicianship Diploma with Distinction in 1991. Since then Cyrilla has taught the Elementary and Intermediate Level year courses for the British Kodály Academy and has taught Solfege, methodology and conducting on BKA Summer Schools. She teaches in Bromley primary schools and on the String Training Programme at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Cyrilla has directed courses around the country for organisations including the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.