Alex Toenniges is certified as a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® teacher by the Feldenkrais® Guild of North America. She continues to train in the New York VII Feldenkrais Professional Training Program until her graduation as a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner in July 2019.
Alex has taught youth programs in wilderness skills and nature connection at The Wild Nature Project. She studied the Fertility Awareness Method and menstrual health with Ashley Hartman Annis, and she spent a year living at Green Acres Permaculture Village. Alex also completed a holistic sexuality course with Sarah Byrden of The Elemental Self. Alex continues to study nature connection mentoring, menstrual and sexual health, and learning, and to incorporate these disciplines into her professional work.
As a professionally-trained classical bassoonist, Alex teaches private lessons and freelances on bassoon and contrabassoon.
Alex has taught youth programs in wilderness skills and nature connection at The Wild Nature Project. She studied the Fertility Awareness Method and menstrual health with Ashley Hartman Annis, and she spent a year living at Green Acres Permaculture Village. Alex also completed a holistic sexuality course with Sarah Byrden of The Elemental Self. Alex continues to study nature connection mentoring, menstrual and sexual health, and learning, and to incorporate these disciplines into her professional work.
As a professionally-trained classical bassoonist, Alex teaches private lessons and freelances on bassoon and contrabassoon.
My Story
Upon initially discovering Feldenkrais, I was struck by how much of a difference it made in my ability to deal with the stresses and anxieties of school. It helped me to feel surer of myself and to use less effort to accomplish more. The more I got into it, the more fascinated I was, and I've continued to pursue it further and further. Since I began, Feldenkrais has influenced every facet of my personal, professional, and interpersonal life to help me feel truer to myself. I've learned to trust myself in an embodied way and to listen to myself and what I feel, think, need, and want. With regard to music, it has enhanced the way I hear music, increased my physical experience and awareness of playing, and given me a better appreciation of how music fits into our culture and my life
Feldenkrais Training
Alex has been training in the New York VII Feldenkrais Professional Training Program with David Zemach-Bersin in New York City since 2015. The program meets for a total of 160 training days (800 hours) over the course of four years. She is certified to teach Awareness Through Movement® and will graduate as a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner in July 2019.
Alex was introduced to the Feldenkrais Method at Bay View Music Festival in 2013 by Nancy-Laurel Petterson. She then spent two years studying Feldenkrais at Arizona State University (ASU) with Rich Goldsand, including a class on Feldenkrais, meditation, and leadership in ASU's School of Social Transformation titled Transformational Leadership and Embodied Activism.
Alex was introduced to the Feldenkrais Method at Bay View Music Festival in 2013 by Nancy-Laurel Petterson. She then spent two years studying Feldenkrais at Arizona State University (ASU) with Rich Goldsand, including a class on Feldenkrais, meditation, and leadership in ASU's School of Social Transformation titled Transformational Leadership and Embodied Activism.
musical Training
Alex studied Bassoon Performance at Ball State University (BSU) with Dr. Keith Sweger, earning a Master of Music in 2017. In addition to being a member of the the BSU Graduate Woodwind Quintet, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, Ball State Symphony Orchestra, Ball State Wind Ensemble, and East Central Indiana Chamber Orchestra, she has played in opera and ballet orchestras for The Marriage of Figaro, La Périchole, Die Fledermaus, The Nutcracker, and Falstaff. As a Graduate Assistant for the bassoon studio, she coached chamber groups, helped teach bassoon techniques class to music education students, and taught private lessons. She studied contrabassoon throughout graduate school and has played contrabassoon in orchestras and wind ensembles since high school.
Alex's article, “Creating Optimal Learning Conditions: A Practical Application of the Feldenkrais Method® in Music," was published in The Double Reed journal in November 2016. She has presented her paper at the Mid-North Horn Workshop, Ball State University Collegiate Chapter of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Ball State Viola Studio, and Ball State Bassoon Studio.
Alex pursued undergraduate studies as a National Merit Scholar and Barrett Honors College student at Arizona State University with Dr. Albie Micklich, graduating cum laude in 2015 with a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance and minor in German. During undergraduate, she spent two summers studying chamber music at Bay View Music Festival with Jill Marderness. While in Phoenix, she also played with Arizona Pro Arte Ensemble, North Valley Symphony Orchestra, San Tan Orchestra, and Scottsdale Arts Orchestra.
Alex grew up near Detroit, Michigan, attending Cranbrook Schools, studying bassoon with principal bassoonist Robert Williams, and playing with the Detroit Symphony's Civic Orchestra.
Alex's article, “Creating Optimal Learning Conditions: A Practical Application of the Feldenkrais Method® in Music," was published in The Double Reed journal in November 2016. She has presented her paper at the Mid-North Horn Workshop, Ball State University Collegiate Chapter of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Ball State Viola Studio, and Ball State Bassoon Studio.
Alex pursued undergraduate studies as a National Merit Scholar and Barrett Honors College student at Arizona State University with Dr. Albie Micklich, graduating cum laude in 2015 with a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance and minor in German. During undergraduate, she spent two summers studying chamber music at Bay View Music Festival with Jill Marderness. While in Phoenix, she also played with Arizona Pro Arte Ensemble, North Valley Symphony Orchestra, San Tan Orchestra, and Scottsdale Arts Orchestra.
Alex grew up near Detroit, Michigan, attending Cranbrook Schools, studying bassoon with principal bassoonist Robert Williams, and playing with the Detroit Symphony's Civic Orchestra.
