CharangaSue.com

Sue Miller – Cuban Flute Improviser, Writer & Academic

Content tagged with: Teaching

Sue Miller Digital Portfolio

I am known as both an academic and as a professional flute improviser and musical director of ‘Charanga del Norte,’ a band I formed in 1998.

I am many things –  an academic, a writer, a professional musician, a linguist (French, Spanish, Hindi, Linguistics) and a teacher; I combine my professional work as a performer with my academic career.

Latin Music Workshop Thursday 19th October at HEART

Sue Miller and vocal coach and creative facilitator Em Whitfield Brooks lead a Latin music workshop at HEART in Headingley on Thursaday 19th October 2-4pm £10. Tickets from Eventbrite.

Workshop is designed for singers to learn to sing coro with a clave feel in a band context and for instrumentalists to improvise in the Latin style (clave feel and stylistic vocabulary. The workshop is also open to instrumentalists (bass, piano, brass, woodwind, guitar, strings and percussion)

Free Workshop on Latin Music in York Monday 30 May

Members of Charanga del Norte Sue Miller (bandleader and flute), Nick Willimas (violin) and Matty Shallcross (percussion) are giving a free Latin music Workshop for Streetlife on Coney Street York Monday 30 May at 2pm. The workshop is free and you only need to register online here https://streetlifeyork.uk/events/latin-music-workshop-day-instrumentalists-vocalists-percussionists

LATIN MUSIC WORKSHOP DAY 24 APRIL MUSIC HOUSE LEEDS

The workshop is directed by Professor Sue Miller, bandleader and founder of Charanga del Norte since 1998 assisted by pianist and percussion tutor Helen Curtis. The workshop explores a variety of Latin/Cuban music popular styles through a mixture of workshops, sectionals and ensemble catering for brass, strings, guitar, woodwind, percussion, vocals, piano, and bass. In these workshops participants will be exploring the feeling of groove, clave feel, and Latin clave-based improvisation within an ensemble context.

Bill Kinghorn – A Tribute

I have studied and taught at a variety of Higher Education institutions and had some brilliant teachers and mentors along the way – but Bill stands out for his ability to teach, perform and entertain simultaneously. He was, in short, the best lecturer I have ever had. His piano playing in lectures on jazz harmony, for example, were both inspiring and so much fun – Bill himself said that if students are relaxed and having fun then they are more receptive to learning. He did not provide easy  answers or shortcuts (as he said “questions open doors – answers close them”) – instead he fueled your curiosity and enabled latent creativity to be realized. He encouraged his music students to think deeply about what they were doing and to listen to the results closely. 

‘Activating Improvisational Creativity in the Performance of “World” and “Popular” music’ has a new review in the Journal of Music, Technology & Education

Sue Miller’s chapter on improvisation in university music education has a review in the Journal of Music, Technology & Education:
‘As in Part 2, the arrangement of chapters in Part 3, Experiments in Teaching, brings out their thematic connections. Improvisation, composition and the experience of diverse musical cultures are prominent in this section. Sue Miller describes using her practice-led research in Latin improvisational styles to inform research-led teaching (Chapter 6, ‘Activating improvisational creativity in the performance of “World” and “Popular” music’). She argues for the positioning of improvisation at the centre of musical education, and against the cultural imperialism of most university music curricula.

New Review in the British Journal of Music Education

Sue Miller provides an intricately argued call for the study of both theoretical and practical improvisation to take centre-stage in higher music education (Chapter 6), a point pursued by Esmée Olthuis, who posits that improvisation can foster musical leadership and critical skills of self-reflection.

New Publication for 2015: Chapter on Improvisation in Higher Education

“This book treats with freshness and vitality issues that are crucial for educators in higher education and beyond. The international and multi-disciplinary group of scholars – anthropologists, psychologists, musicians, artists and art educators – engage us in deeply educational issues and experiences…Enthusiastically recommended!” – Liora Bresler, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Illinois, USA

IASPM in Spain

I’m attending IASPM next week – looking forward to speaking Spanish again!

FREE Latin Fiesta in Cambridge this Thursday 30 May Anglia Ruskin University

Latin Fiesta@The Academy, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road CB1 1PT
Brazilian Samba, Cuban Son and Salsa
Thursday 30 May 9pm til late
FREE GIG, SAMBA WORKSHOP, SALSA DANCE CLASS AND DJ