Hi. Thank you for consulting my Web Page. Please check my BLOG too!! Now that I am retired from teaching music courses for 26 years at Keene State College, where I am considered a Professor Emeritus, I have permanently moved to Brighton in Boston and am still unbelievably busy. First of all, there is my family here, consisting of my wife Paula (an occupational therapist) and my stepson Jonah (a website designer and college graduate of UMass in Amherst, MA). My son Joshua (a computer and film media expert) has earned his MFA degree at the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently an Assistant Professor at Worcester Polytech Institute. On Friday evenings, all who are here for dinner gravitate upstairs for a Sino-Judaic spaghetti feast with Paula's proud mom, Corinne Gilbert.
How do I keep so busy, and how might that be of use to you? First of all, I am a Musician and Musicologist. In this capacity, I have directed early music ensembles, and I already miss the Collegium Musicum that I left behind when I left KSC. I also play the viola da gamba (and other early instruments), and have performed in various ensembles over the years; I was a member of the (now defunct) local Fontegara Trio. On Monday evenings, I conduct early music sight-singing groups in my home here in Brighton. For more modern music, I play viola in the New England Philharmonic and the MIT Summer Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and violin in the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra. And for folk music of an international nature, I played accordion, fiddle, and miscellaneous other instruments in our local (and now defunct) Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble, and I also actively sing in Bulgarian in the Zornitsa men's ensemble directed by Tatiana Sarbinska. In September 1999, I was chosen to be the leader of the singing sessions of the Folk Arts Center sponsored International Music Club , a role I continue to enjoy immensely. As a musicologist, I have published various scholarly editions of the music of Renaissance composer Jean Maillard (fl. 1538-1572), program notes, and occasional concert reviews. Thus, as a musician and musicologist, I have built up quite a resume over the years, which I invite you to consult.
Second of all, I am an aspiring Author of fiction and essays, in addition to the scholarly work I have already mentioned above.
Third of all, I am currently on temporary leave as a *Feldenkrais®* practitioner, in which capacity I have worked with both individuals and groups seeking to improve their balance, coordination, and general functioning in this world. Please click on the appropriate place in the previous sentence to access the page that provides a more detailed explanation of this remarkable method; that page will also give you a sense of my background, training, and general approach. At this point within my Welcome to you, I would like to emphasize that as an experienced musical performer, folk dancer, and author, I have a special affinity for creative people in my own Feldenkrais work. Please be sure to check out my past Feldenkrais Offerings, when you click above to access my Feldenkrais practitioner page, for explanations of potential interest to you, or contact me personally at (617) 734-8762 for references to active practitioners in the Boston area.
Welcome to my Web Page, which will be updated from time to time.
Genealogy buffs are also welcome to consult my family tree page and its accompanying photo gallery. See our 1999 Swiss-German Travel Photos too! Paula and I are planning our Bulgarian travel page for the near future.
Ralph Strauch's Feldenkrais-Somatic Options website offers information, books, and tapes related to the FELDENKRAIS Method, THE REALITY ILLUSION, LOW-STRESS COMPUTING (using awareness to avoid RSI), and other aspects of awareness and movement. It includes a movement lesson you can do at your computer.