The Mindful Musician

Meet Your Professor

Dr. Jaclyn Normandie is a professional conductor and founder of the Modern Conducting Academy, an online learning platform that gives access to people seeking to expand their musicianship by offering live workshops with some of the most sought-after conducting professionals. Her study of yoga, meditation, and eastern philosophy led her to author The Mindful Musician: Finding a Healthy Balance, offering strategies in balance and stress management to performers.

Dr. Normandie's research includes mindfulness in the music classroom, Latin American folk music, and teaching the adult male voice. She currently resides in Costa Rica studying Pachamama Earth Music and leads community ensembles for youth and adults. Her mission is to use ceremonial folk music to build a bridge between the different ethnicities and socioeconomic groups in the small jungle beach town of Nosara. Her private voice instruction focuses on the energetic and emotional principles of vocal development, awareness of the chakra system, Reiki healing, and unlocking the fullest potential of one’s communication.

After earning her doctorate at the University of Michigan with Dr. Jerry Blackstone, she taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Oakland University. Ensembles under her direction, including Murrieta Valley High School, have performed around the globe and at American Choral Directors Association National, Western, and Central Division conferences. 

She has presented lectures at over twenty conferences, as well as guest conducting at the regional and state level. Her deep appreciation of movement biomechanics is rooted in her multi-discipline background of conducting, dance, martial arts, and yoga; and her studies have taken her to such locations as China, India, and Costa Rica.