“Life is the eternal spring.”
Joseph Gifford
May 14, 1920 – September 12, 2017
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Movement work with Professor
Emeritus Joseph Gifford, 1999 - 2015
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​Being a conductor means that one has the opportunity of building a unique relationship to sound and movement. Through gestures, one initiates orchestral sound, but the conductor’s movements are also triggered by the influence of sound in itself, both the external sound and the experience of and the “visualization” of the inner musical sound one tries to project and convey. Self-awareness is therefore an important principle when it comes to both conducting and any teaching or learning process.
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Since 1999, I studied regularly with Professor Emeritus Joseph Gifford at Boston University over a period of 16 years. The studies with Prof. Gifford opened up to an expanded perspective on mental presence and awareness in musical performance, considering the body and the musical and mental presence as the conductor’s instrument, in addition to the orchestra.
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The studies with Prof. Gifford emphasized the importance of being present in the moment and also being present in the movement. The latter refers to a freer and refreshed body language, “on top of” a set pulses and patterns. As conductors, we produce movements as a consequence of our inner musical conviction. By projecting a clarity of musical thought and emotion through the eyes, beating patterns and body language, the movements can be performed with freedom, spontaneity and presence without sacrificing the clarity of the musical non-verbal communication. The intensive work with Professor Gifford therefore had a strong focus on the relationship between movement, creativity and communication, and it was organized through masterclasses and one to one-tuition. The goal was to obtain the ability to perform with a freer, more spontaneous and expressive body instrument and to become increasingly aware of how and why this greater freedom and expressivity takes place. In order to find an extended choice and range of movements connected to musical performing, the approach had an emphasis on exercises for:
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• centring and grounding
• healthy alignment and breathing
• relaxation and meditation
• renewal techniques and movement improvisation
• spontaneity, and creativity
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The intense work increased the awareness of old and tried idiosyncratic gestural patterns, enabling and encouraging the conducting body and musical presence to take risks and go into the unknown, in order to find new and fresh inner and outer resources.
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Professor Gifford taught me an inner / outer centeredness and ground which allowed a profound musical alertness during performing / conducting. In this state of being, the inner musical source could open up, the music would naturally be evoked and there was no need to mime the music.
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Joseph Gifford passed away in September 2017, at the age of 97 years.
Video and public info Joe Gifford
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Dancer, Teacher, World Traveler, Author and Spiritualist Joseph Gornbein Gifford passed away at age 97 of natural causes in September.
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Born May 14, 1920 in Niagara Falls, New York and raised in Michigan, Joe lived most of his life in New York City and Boston with his life-partner Talbot Waterman and African Gray Parrot, Hero.
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Following graduation from the University of Michigan, Joe began his performing career in New York City as a member of the Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman Dance Company. He later formed his own company, the Joseph Gifford Dance Theater, which performed throughout the United States. Additionally, he danced in several Broadway musicals and taught at the New Dance Group Studio.
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Joe later joined the faculty of the School of Theatre Arts at Boston University and established a curriculum in movement training for actors. And, after ‘retiring’ 25 years later, developed movement workshops for conductors through the League of American Orchestras. Until he passed, Joe was still teaching musicians and conductors on using their body to master their art.
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Joe was a spiritual man and attained the 7th degree in Authentic Reiki®, studied transcendental meditation, and meditated every morning.
A world traveler, he and Waterman visited nearly every continent and regularly attended symphonies, operas, and dance performances.
Joe was the subject of a documentary on his life and teachings, “The Legacy of Joseph Gifford” (2015) and a recently completed video series, “Music of Life” (2017).
His passion for life and boundless energy continued until his death, and he leaves behind a legacy of love, spirit and teaching.
My work with Professor Gifford lasted from December 1999 until December 2015. During this period, we had approximately 20 working sessions that lasted from 4 days of intense private tuition up to one week of public seminars and masterclasses. The open seminars and masterclasses were organized by Boston University, State University of New York Fredonia, Conductors Guild of America and Nashua Chamber Orchestra.