Employees

dr hab.

Magdalena Stępień

prof. UMFC

rhythmics

She graduated with honours from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (now the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music), Department of Music Education, Section of Rhythmics. She conduct classes in Rhythmics, Movement Composition, Seminar in Dalcroze’s Method and Music and Movement Expression at different levels of music education. Currently she holds the post of Professor at the FCUM, where she heads the Unit of Rhythmics and Piano Improvisation, earlier known as the Emile Jaques-Dalcroze Course (2003–2007) and the Unit of Educational Methods (2007–2013). She is also connected with the Academy of Music in Cracow and the Warsaw Family Alliance Institute of Higher Education.

An important area of her activity has been her cooperation (since 1999) with Zofia Dobkowska’s Educational Publishing Company “Żak” (Wydawnictwo Edukacyjne “Żak”). She is an author of the musical part of a few cycles of course books for early school education, reception class course books, numerous methodological publications for teachers (a few dozen items altogether), and music editor of 17 albums released at the request of the publishing company. She carries out vivid methodological activity (music and movement workshops around the whole of Poland) and promotes music education, especially the one connected with Emile Jacques-Dalcroze’s method. She also composes songs for children (Wydawnictwo Edukacyjne “Żak”, Wydawnictwo Szkolne PWN, Edukacja Polska).

Within the sphere of her direct interests is the issue whether it is possible to express the essence of a musical piece through body movement. The issue is the main subject discussed in her work entitled Muzyka, ruch, forma. Interpretacja ruchowa w metodzie Dalcroze’a jako środek przekazu formy dzieła muzycznego [Music, movement, form. Movement interpretation in Dalcroze’s method as a mean of expression of the  form of a musical piece] published in 1999 by the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.

She is very active as an organizer at the university. As Head of, respectively: the Emile Jaques-Dalcroze Course, the Unit of Educational Methods, and finally, the Unit of Rhythmics and Piano Improvisation, she organizes numerous scholarly sessions, seminars, lectures and workshops aimed at exchanging experiences of pedagogues using Dalcroze’s method.