Mira Larson
Originally from Chicago, Mira Larson started training in cello and dance at an early age. She continued her cello studies at Northwestern University with Hans Jensen (BM, summa cum laude) and the New England Conservatory with Natasha Brofsky (MM). Upon discovering Dalcroze Education, Mira immediately enrolled in the Professional Studies program at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies. She has participated in conventions held by the Dalcroze Society of America (Los Angeles) and the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze (Genève, Switzerland). Mira received her Dalcroze Professional Certificate in 2019 and is currently working towards her Dalcroze License. Her principal mentors are Jeremy Dittus and Laetitia Disseix-Berger.
As a cellist, Mira has performed solo recitals around the Chicago area, appeared with chamber ensembles in Jordan Hall (Boston), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), and Carnegie Hall’s Weill and Zankel Recital Halls, as well as collaborated in contemporary music performances across the country and around the world. Mira currently lives in Salt Lake City, where she teaches at the Gifted Music School, La Maison des Enfants, and her own Rythmique Music School.
We first met Mira at La Maison Des Enfants (a French preschool) where she was teaching music. She had a unique gift and ability to connect with the children and help them reach their full potential in learning the art of music. I had decided that I wanted my daughter to learn an instrument and since she was extremely fond and enamored by Mira, it only made sense to enroll her in cello lessons at Rythmique Music School. This decision has proven to be a marvelous choice. I am continuously amazed at how much my daughter has learned in a period of 10 months and at how much she is enjoying her lessons.
- Odessa K., parent of a cello student
RMS
Rythmique Music School is dedicated to providing a vibrant environment for musical discovery to the Salt Lake Valley community. Located in Sugar House, the school offers private cello lessons for serious students at any age and level, and group classes in Dalcroze Eurhythmics (musicianship through movement) for ages 3-12. Scholarships are available. At Rythmique, learning is focused on developing musicianship and nurturing a deeper sense of connection with self, others, and the musical language.
Dalcroze & Its Benefits
Émile Jaques-Dalcroze first developed his philosophy while working with pre-professional students at the Geneva Conservatory around 1900. His work was later adapted for children and remains an essential part of the curricula of leading institutions around the world.
Dalcroze offers an experiential way of knowing music through the body. Musical concepts become more tangible, less arbitrary. The teacher continually improvises activities, stimulating students to develop the habit of being present, flexible, and aurally engaged.
Dalcroze uses movement, a non-verbal form of communication, to teach music, a non-verbal art. Feeling musical concepts in our bodies improves our ability to store and recall musical information. Dalcroze remains one of the few process-oriented music educations available today. For this reason, it works exceptionally well in tandem with private instrument lessons.
Dalcroze builds an powerful gateway to impart musical aesthetics, affect, and meaning to musicians of all ages. It helps refine the coordination that is vital to nuanced instrumentalists. It develops both the musical body language and the aural skills necessary for ensemble playing.
Dalcroze study is comprehensive and divided into three main categories:
- Eurhythmics provides training for structural elements (beat, durations, rhythm, meter, texture, phrase, and form) and aesthetic elements (nuance, dynamics, articulation, tempo, and affect). Students gain control of their bodies, becoming freer to express creatively-both physically and musically.
- Solfège trains the eyes, ears, and voice. It enables a student to listen to music and transcribe it onto paper and to look at sheet music and hear it internally without the use of an instrument.
- Improvisation enables students to create music instrumentally or vocally. It usually begins with movement or the voice to facilitate the creative process. Bodily gestures relate to gestures used on the instrument; the connections between movement and music are clarified.
© Dr. Jeremy Dittus, Diplôme Supérieur, and Mira Larson
