Shenandoah Conservatory students and faculty from the music education and music therapy programs participated in the Singing in France: Improvisation for Music Educators and Music Therapists Global Experiential Learning (GEL) trip from June 12 through June 21. The experience was designed to help participants become proficient at leading improvisational circle singing for use in classroom, therapeutic and community contexts. Students also learned about French history and contemporary language and culture.

Participants worked with Erwan Noblet ’19 (Master of Music in Pedagogy – Contemporary Commercial Music – CCM Voice), a specialist in improvisational circle singing, a topic he researched while completing his master’s degree at Shenandoah. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, focusing on improvisation and creativity. Noblet is from western France, and served as a clinician for the 2023 GEL trip in Nantes. He lived and worked in Nantes for 11 years prior to coming to the United States to study.