Dr. Valerie Cisler
professor and chair, Department of Music and Performing Arts, 308.865.8118
On Friday afternoon, the University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Music and Performing Arts will demonstrate new cutting edge equipment that can help musicians achieve their best performances.
The presentation, which is open to the public, will take place from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, in the Fine Arts Building, Room 263. Student performers will participate in the demonstration.
“The department has recently purchased equipment designed to maximize performance for musicians,” said Dr. Valerie Cisler, chair and a professor in the Department of Music and Performing Arts. “The new system, called ‘ProformaVision,’ is a system that does physiologic monitoring using surface electromyography (sEMG).”
According to Dr. Cisler, UNK is the first institution in Nebraska to use ProformaVision and become part of a new nationwide wellness consortium for retraining music students and professionals.
Dr. Kathleen Riley, a nationally known lecturer and clinician from New York University, will be demonstrating the equipment.
“ProformaVision uses video and sEMG to identify elevation in muscle tension and incorrect body alignment,” Dr. Riley said. “The feedback-assisted retraining helps to bring self-awareness, and the skills to reduce tension and achieve optimal performance.” ProformaVision was designed in conjunction with the medical community, primarily with the Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit academic medical center, in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Music schools and professional musicians throughout the country, in cooperation with members of their local medical communities, are learning to interpret ‘ProformaVision’ biofeedback to assess and retrain musicians with neuromuscular education in an effort to optimize performance,” Dr. Cisler said.
“I believe that a collaborative effort between UNK faculty and the Kearney medical community to assist students and members of the community who have experienced disabling tension in performance will be another step toward enhancing Kearney’s progressive reputation in the area of wellness,” Dr. Cisler said.
