Eric tells how the Release gesture from Music for People is so valuable that he has shared it with all of his college students.
Eric Edberg: So I discovered Music for People about 1995 or so. And I had just started improvising on my own and I found a recording of David [Darling] in a record store. And it really just confirmed what I was doing on the cello myself. And I came to what was then called Improvising Chamber Music (now Art of improvisation). It really changed my life. Having a way of relating to people and making music with other people in an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard.
And then I took it back to the university where I teach, DePauw University in Indiana, and ever since then I’ve been sharing it with my students. And I remember that I used to tell people and tell freshman when they come in and I introduce them to Release [making the gesture of Release] that I learned from David: “This is one of the most valuable things that you’re going to learn in college.” Now alumni come back and they say “I teach this to all my students” [making the gesture of Release]. It’s so fantastic.” It’s just been a great privilege to share this transformative approach to making music and being with other people with decades now of students in my college world.