Crissman Taylor

Courses, lectures and lessons create common language, practices and experience among all students and teachers and space for continued discovery throughout conservatory training. She has created new tactics to stimulate musicians to incorporate Alexander principles into their daily music practice, and has developed an online learning environment to support class and lesson work at conservatory level.

Crissman’s background in vocal and violin performance, combined with her AT teaching, and studies in sociology/psychology at Harvard University combine in her work life. In addition to a long career as violinist in New York and Europe, she is also a mezzo-soprano, and active as soloist in a wide range of repertoire, singing in recitals, chamber music concerts, and performances of cantatas, oratorios and other works with orchestra.

Crissman is a founding member of Artist in Balance, an interdisciplinary performance and educational collective. Her work has been informed by cross-disciplinary collaborations including Alexander-based performance research work for dancers and musicians with Tony Thatcher of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She conducted extensive research into the challenges of violin playing, founding the Violinist in Balance method, which combines Alexander re-education with custom made chin rest and shoulder rests, using 3-D printing technology.