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"When your peers are staring at you, waiting for instruction, it makes it hard to want to experiment, or create the sense of dynamism or play that brings music to life."
So says James Spinazzola, an associate professor of music at Cornell University who's been awarded a $280,000 grant from the university's Center for Teaching Innovation to use virtual reality to help students learn the art of conducting an ensemble, the Cornell Daily Sun reports.
With the help of virtual reality headsets and software, Spinazzola is able to give students a sense of what it's like to conduct an ensemble in real time.
"It's very hard' it's unnerving,'" Spinazzola says.
"They have specific gestures and motions that they have to practice and they initially have no concept of how it looks or how it can be received by a musician.
They kind of get the motion at first, but they have no point of reference as to how it can be received by a musician."
With the help of virtual reality, Spinazzola is able to give students a sense of what it's like to conduct an ensemble before standing in front of their peers to conduct and conduct an ensemble in real time.
It's all about building
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Yale College seniors Madeline Levin, Tyler Schroder, and Elizabeth Dejanikus led research projects examining the intersection of ethics and emerging digital technologies.The center's founding...more
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Robert Martin, Ph.D., president of the Institute of American Indian Arts, has announced his retirement.He will step down from the presidenta€™s office in July 2025, after the spring...more
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Foundation: Berrien Community Foundation
Lincoln Township Library will be expanding its new digital lab thanks to a grant from the Berrien Community Foundation.Library Director Joelle Wake tells us they've been awarded a $10,000 For Good...more
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XE: Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement at NYU's Graduate School of Arts & Science offers a dynamic Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies for students whose research interests are best...more
Creative Australia has announced the latest recipients of investment through ACF Boost, an innovative matched funding initiative offered through the Australian Cultural Fund (ACF) The investment of...more
Emmanuel Asante was awarded the Early Career Kirk Robson Award for Community Arts and Cultural Development at the 2024 Creative Australia Awards.The award recognised his contribution to running art...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Why This Book Needs to be Read By Every Social Entrepreneur
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, a 1970s book by author Paulo Freire, envisions a world not as a given reality, but as “a problem to be worked on and solved.” That mentality is often applied to the greatest social entrepreneurs.
