When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellations of thousands of live performances, including of classical music, across the globe from March 2020, it greatly reduced opportunities for the Visual Listening Guide to be made available to audiences at concert halls. I’m happy to say, though, that individual interest and use of the Guides for at-home listening and pedagogical purposes remained steady during this period—a big thank you for your support!

During this challenging period, some people saw an opportunity to deepen their musical listening skills. That’s what Adam Liette, Director of Operations at Musical U, a thriving online musical training platform, told me in late March 2021. (I was previously interviewed by Musical U about my Visual Listening Guides in 2017.) Recently, Musical U successfully launched a new program for their members called Living Music. A series called “Active Listening” was underway and Adam asked if I could do a live virtual workshop presentation on the topic of “visualizing music”—with the Visual Listening Guides—as a practice for facilitating active listening. As this topic is a passion of mine, of course I said yes!

On April 28, I gave my presentation via Zoom, taking an engaged and enthusiastic audience through how the Visual Listening Guide is designed and then showing how it works with audio excerpts, focusing particularly on Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”. My hope and goal was that showing this process would give them a way into developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of the art and craft of the symphony, and to approach listening to these works with greater confidence and enjoyment.

Here’s some of the lovely feedback the workshop received:

“This workshop is a journey from darkness to light for me. I know so little about symphonic structure, etc. that this is all new. Very interesting. Learning much. Thank you.”

“The visuals REALLY ADD to listening understanding and enjoyment!”

“This is amazing. I feel inspired.”

“You make these giants of music so legible and accessible—we are really looking forward to digging in.”

“I so admire how you have brought together your insights from performance and study to create a way to bring non-musicians into the fold that also helps musicians deepen their understanding of classics. So grateful!”

Thank you, Musical U, for this opportunity to share my work with your wonderful community of music learners!

Note: This live workshop was recorded and will continue to be displayed for Musical U students.