Megan Ihnen is an educator dedicated to working beyond the confines of the traditional university, collegiate, or conservatory music department. Her work focuses on teaching 21st century skills and disciplines that augment the current assignments and projects of students.
Workshops
Creative Placemaking Through Classical Music
Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus described placemaking in a 2010 white paper for the NEA’s Mayors’ Institute on City Design, “In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, nonprofit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, tribe, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired.” Have you ever wondered how to make your city a “new music city” or an “opera city”? For this workshop I focus on three aspects of strategic placemaking: cross-sector partners, a place-based orientation, and a core of arts and cultural activities. This workshop is most often held at schools, community centers, and arts conferences.
Music Tells A Story
For students and music educators alike! Get ready to be theatrical! Megan will be guiding participants through her “Music Tells a Story” program which covers how to build outreach programs that spark interest in classical music. Want to systematically build the classical music pipeline in your community? We will cover that through creating an interactive educational outreach opportunity.
Make It Rain
In this session we break down the process for building and growing your work through logical easy-to-follow steps even while living a busy musician’s life. We also discuss how to stand out from the crowd and dramatically increase your odds of getting booked regularly. Make It Rain covers how to advance through your career levels: Generalist ↠ Specialist ↠ Expert ↠ Authority. The workshop also involves elements like creating digital press kits, building an email list, cultivating a robust personal network and more.
Vowel Shapes for Singers (and Instrumentalists)
Wish you knew more about sounding authentic across your languages? Feeling unsure about French mixed vowels or German umlauts? This workshop introduces participants to the vowel quadrilateral and works to improve understanding and technical application. Vowel efficiency is linked to better tone quality, resonance, and breath control. This workshop is valuable for performers, choral directors, and more.
Masterclasses
Topics of Particular Interest
- Extended Vocal Techniques for New Music Singers
- Coaching/Performing the NewMusicShelf Anthology of New Music for Mezzo-Soprano, Vol. 1
- Stage Presence and New Discipline in Recital Performance
- Teaching and Performing Rhythmic Accuracy
- Singing American Poetry
- Practice Strategies for All Voices