Kirsten Juul Seidenfaden
Kirsten Juul Seidenfaden trained as a pianist and music & movement teacher at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, 1998-2003. She also holds a BA from the Department of Musicology at the University of Copenhagen, with a minor in ethnology.
Kirsten has an extensive CV in which her work in music for and with children plays a prominent role. She has worked in children’s theatre, music workshops and teaching, and has held roles as diverse as music teacher, composer, music arranger, actor and stomp choreographer.
Teaching
Kirsten has been teaching at RDAM since 2013, and in January 2019 she became an assistant professor. She teaches music pedagogy, rhythmic training and the communication of classical music to children and young people, and she also works administratively with development in the field of music pedagogy and food chain strategy.
“It means a lot to me to change the status that music pedagogy often has in society. I believe that music pedagogy at RDAM is something we should be very proud of, and that it is just as professional a career as becoming a professional musician.”
Professional practice
In addition to her role as a teacher in various contexts, Kirsten also works as a composer, actor, stomp choreographer, music arranger, conductor and pianist.
She has worked as a musician, actor, composer and music director for the children’s theatre group Batida, with whom she has been involved in some 500 performances. Four of these performances were musical theatre pieces, for which Kirsten composed the music.
In connection with her education, Kirsten has collaborated with Lotte Kærså, and has been an intern as a composer and music arranger with John Høybye, worked as a conductor and pianist for the Down Town Gospel Choir and Blandede Bolsjer at Den Rytmisk Aftenskole, been on several tours with the children’s band “Plads til rod”, and for a period worked as school contact for KODA (the Danish Performing Rights Society).
Since 2003, Kirsten has held several music workshops, including as a Stomp instructor for schools, kindergartens and upper secondary schools, and on the basis of her own material “Lige i øret”, she has held over 50 courses and organised around six annual children’s choral events since 2004. Over the past 12 years she has also provided courses and supplementary training for music teachers, music educators and music school teachers.
2019: “Composer of the Year – Children’s Music”, the Carl Prize.
Pedagogical development (PUV)
Skab dig! (‘Make a noise’) - A pedagogical project focusing on the experience and process of creating and composing music from the point of view of children.
Ongoing project – expected to be completed in early 2021.
Research
Pedagogical development (PUV): The above forms part of Peter Bruun’s PhD project:
Musikalsk skaben mellem Kunst og Pædagogik (Musical Creativity between Art and Pedagogy) – which explores what happens between children who compose their own music together and with adults. Where does the music come from, how do the children and adults regard the music, and how do they understand and experience each other when they make music together?
Contribution to the newly published Statusrapport for musikundervisning i Danmark (Status Report on Music Education in Denmark), published 2020. https://edu.au.dk/fileadmin/edu/Udgivelser/Rapporter/Rapport_-_Musikfaget_i_undervisning_og_uddannelse_2020.pdf
Kirsten visited Iceland in 2019 as part of an Erasmus project, and is also planning to visit China and the Malmö Academy of Music, Sweden – in both cases as a guest teacher.
(The visits to China and Sweden have been postponed due to the current situation.)
- Development and running of the preparatory class for academies (MGK)/talent camp since its inception in 2019.
- Development and running of the Music Pedagogical Conference for Music School Teachers since its inception in 2018.
- Has played concerts for LMS (Live Music in Schools) since 2017.
- Has led the Children’s PULSAR days since 2015.
- Organising and running of Saturday School since 2014.
- Currently employed at Gentofte Music School.
- Has produced more than 20 classical concerts for children at RDAM since 2013.
- Former music teacher at Ringsted Musikskole, Zahles Gymnasieskole, Roskilde Lilleskole and Hovedstadens Pædagogseminarium (University College Copenhagen), amongst other places.
- Moderator since 2017 at pedagogical examinations and entrance examinations at the following academies: RMC, RDAM, Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg.
- Appointed moderator from 2020 and four years onwards.
Representative duties, directorships
2020- : Member of the board of M4A (Music for all). https://www.m4ak.dk/
Book publications and CD releases
- Plads til rod (book + cd), pub. Dansk Sang 2004
- SDS – Sang, dans og spil, pub. Systime 2006
- Lige i øret 1 (book + cd), pub. Dansk Sang 2009
- Lige i øret 2 (book + cd), pub. Dansk Sang 2010
- Lige i øret 3, pub. Dansk Sang 2010
- Lige i øret light (book + cd), pub. Dansk Sang 2014
- De blå øjne, co-production with John Høybye, pub. Hoymusik 2015.
- Lige i øret synger i kor (book + cd), pub. Dansk Sang 2017
- Lige i øret i Børnehaven og Nålde, pub. Dansk Sang 2019
- Den Mørke Vind (prize winner 2019) pub. Dansk Sang 2019
- Den Grønne Vind, pub. Dansk Sang, 2019
- Den Blide Vind, pub. Dansk Sang, 2020
- Den Ensomme Vind – expected publication by Dansk Sang in 2021
- SKAB dig – expected publication by Dansk Sang in 2021
Several of Kirsten’s songs have also been included in the songbook series Se og Syng and the Dansk Sang Max series 2005, 2013, 2017.
