Kodály EnvoyQuarterly of the Organization of American Kodály Educators VOL. 34, NO. 4 • Summer 2008

In This IssueOAKE National Conference, Denver, Colorado

Incorporating Language Arts StandardsChildren at Musical Play

2007–2008

School Year Catalog

The Kodály Envoy (ISSN# 1084-1776) is published quarterly by the Organization of American Kodály Educators. © 2008 Organization of American Kodály Educators. All rights reserved.

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Statements and opinions expressed or implied in the Kodály Envoy are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or publisher.

Editor: Elizabeth Pontiff46781 Backwater Dr.Sterling VA, 20164571-434-0516 pontiffediting@comcast.net

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Editorial Board: Ann Eisen2807 St. Francis Forest Dr. Lake Charles, LA 70605-7900

Micheal Houlahan Millersville University PO Box 1002 (1 South George St.) Millersville, PA 17551

Sandra Mathias Capital University 1 College & Main Columbus, OH 43209-2394

Paul SandersThe Ohio State University at Newark1179 University Dr.Newark, OH 43055

Sheila J. ScottBrandon University, School of Music270–18th StreetBrandon, ManitobaCanada R7A 6A9

Kodály Envoy Contents Summer 2008

VOLUME 34, NUMBER 4

Features 4 Blanchard Village: Children at Musical Play. The musical play of children on a particular playground aligns well with sequences used by Kodály-inspired teachers. 10 Interview with Bruce Adolphe, Keynote Speaker at the 2008 OAKE National Conference 14 Scholarship Reflection: Alaina Wilson 16 OAKE Leaf Fund Grant Reflection: Warren Henry 18 OAKE 2008 National Conference Report: Angela Gregory 20 OAKE 2008 National Conference Choirs Report: Jayne Wenner 22 OAKE 2008 Outstanding Educator: Anne Laskey

Columns

2 Message from the Editor: Elizabeth Pontiff 3 Message from the President: Georgia Newlin 24 Research Connections: Geoffrey Reynolds 26 Choral Connections: Ruth Boshkof 28 Classroom Connections I: Deborah Lamb 31 Classroom Connections II: Gretchen Liechty Lynch

News and Information from OAKE 23 2008 OAKE Administrator Program: Susan Garrett 32 Chapter Leadership: Nyssa Brown and Aileen Brown 33 2008 Scholarships and OAKE Leaf Fund Reports: Greg A. Williams 34 OAKE Spring 2008 Board Meeting 34 Institute News 35 News from the National Office 35 New Members: First Quarter 2008 36 News from Divisions and Chapters 42 International Kodály Society 43 New Faces on the OAKE Board 44 OAKE-Endorsed Certification Programs 45 OAKE Sustaining Members 46 OAKE Board of Directors, Past Presidents, Award Recipients, and Founders 47 Membership Information & Application 48 Publication Information

Cover: Clockwise from top: OAKE National Children’s Choir, with drummer Fara Tolno (photo by Lynn Makrin); Mountains near Denver (photo by Douglas Towner); Contra dancing with Richard Meyers (photo by Lynn Makrin)

OAKE Mission stateMentThe mission of the Organization of American Kodály Educators is to enrich

the quality of life of the people of the U.S.A. through music educationby promoting the philosophy of Zoltán Kodály.

v v v v vVisit OAKE on the Web at www.oake.org

v v v v vThe Organization of American Kodály Educators is an Associated Organization

of MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

KODÁLY ENVOY2

At the national conference in March, it was brought home to me in a very personal way what a warm and caring group of peo-ple are involved in OAKE! Everyone made me feel welcome. I enjoyed all the sessions I attended and was astonished at how talented and polished all the choruses that performed were. I particularly enjoyed the National Conference Choirs concert. I am already impatiently looking forward to the 2009 conference in Washington DC, close to my stomping grounds.

As this is the last issue of the volume year, I want to thank all the people who help make this publication possible, starting with the Editorial Committee: Ann Eisen, Micheal Houlahan, Sandy Mathias, Paul Sanders, and Sheila Scott, as well as Associ-ate Editor Ruth Boshkoff and Advertising Editor Tom Michalek. I am also grateful to all the columnists who have taken the time to share their expertise, including Royce

MEssAgE FrOM thE EDItOr: ELIzAbEth PONtIFF

Tevis (Instrumental Connections), Geoffrey Reynolds (Research Connections), George Arnold and Elaine Bernstorf (Administra-tor Connections), Ruth Boshkoff (Choral Connections), and Ann Burbridge, Carla Jo Maltas, Caroline Desmond, Martha Holmes, Amy Branum Huggins, Sue Leithold-Bowcock, Joanna M. Porreca, Deborah Lamb, and Gretchen Liechty Lynch (Classroom Connections).

I would also like to offer my heartfelt

thanks to all of you who helped me during my transition into the editor position, as well as those who wrote articles, and sent in chapter news; book, CD, or music re-views; scholarship reflections; information about OAKE; photographs; story ideas; or contributed in any other way that I haven’t listed. This journal is not the effort of one person but all of you! I hope you’ll continue to contact me with anything, big or small, that you think should be shared with your fellow OAKE members or even just to chat. I particularly encourage you to send photos with any submission. I love to include action shots of whatever you all are doing.

The OAKE Board approved a Legacy Campaign designed to raise $250,000 over the next three years for our scholarships and the OAKE Leaf Fund. During the si-lent campaign (2008–2009), we are solic-iting lead donors of $10,000 or more. The membership campaign will kick off at the 2009 conference in Washington DC. More information about this exciting endeavor will come to the membership from Lynn Reynolds Makrin as we progress.

The OAKE Board approved a new position. We welcome Kristen Albert from West Chester University to the board as our Higher Education Representative.

The 2009 International Kodály Sym-posium will be held August 10 through 17 in Katowice, Poland. The Symposium theme is “On Values of Music—Music and Mankind, Music and Community, Music and Tradition.” You can find a link to IKS on the OAKE Web site (www.oake.org), from there click on Symposium.

Elizabeth Pontiff

Donations for First Quarter 2008DonorAmarell Family—in celebration of Emily & Katie Amarell and in

recognition of support from susan MollicaMelinda Cook—in recognition of Claire Cook: You have unlimited

potential.Karen gentrygina gostanza Merlyn Katechis gabriela Montoya-stier—in memory of Ana & Vanessa stierrobin Owen—in recognition of support from Emily JonesLinda sykes—in memory of Jean sinor

SupporterAnonymous—in memory of Dr. barry thompsonAmy Carter—in honor of my inspiring Kodály teachers

SponsorPaul baumann and Christian Claytonh. LouieLynn reynolds Makrin—in memory of Dr. Preston W. reynoldssandra spears—in recognition of support from stephen spearsMidwestern DivisionWestern Division

sUMMEr 2008 3

Imagine …Imagine … finding a place where everyone holds

music dear to their heart, where singing and danc-ing and playing music occur daily, where spontane-ous laughter and joy ring through every hall, where hundreds of young singers converge for community music making, where the business of the day is mak-ing sure that music is the business of the day, where talk of pedagogy and music literature and conducting sparks impassioned conversations, where visiting with life-long friends and greeting new ones reignites the fire within, where—simply by being present—you are led to count your blessings that you are in the elite minority of people who are actually paid to do the very thing you love the most, where vocation and avocation blend seamlessly and flow effortlessly between business and pleasure and learning.

This is not an imaginary world. It is the world of the OAKE National Conference. It is that special, encapsulated world where, for a few magical days, the importance of high-quality music liter-ature, highly qualified musician-teachers, and the ideal of excellent music education rule.

By all accounts, the 2008 conference in Denver, Colorado, was a wonderful success. Sincere thanks go to Ginger Littleton and An-gie Gregory, National Program Cochairs as well as to the members of ROCKE and the Western Division for hosting us. Special thanks to Jeanne Wohlgamuth, Jerrilyn MacDanel, Jane Wenner, and the other members of the National Conference Choirs Committee. And, a big thank you to Nancy Johnson, Penny Whalen, Leigh Ann Garner, Joan Dahlin, and Randy Dahlin for successfully or-ganizing the business aspects of this outstanding event.

I’d like each of you to experience the thrill of reading an e-mail message that I received from a first-time attendee:

I have just attended my first OAKE conference and loved it. I’ve been teaching for 15 years and have been attending [two other music associations’ conferences] always hoping to find a

MEssAgE FrOM thE PrEsIDENt: gEOrgIA NEWLIN

conference that would meet my needs in teaching choral music and children. This was by far my favorite conference, and I really got so much from all of my sessions and concerts. More important, everyone is so kind and willing to talk. A very dif-ferent feeling from the other national conferences.

—Middle School Music Teacher, Boys Chorus Director.

These words of thanks make it all worthwhile. In addition, our appreciation goes to those

who have given so much of their time and ef-fort working on behalf of OAKE. Our heartfelt

thanks to those who are retiring from the OAKE Na-tional Board: Kathy Hickey (Past President), Paul Baumann (Secretary), Amy Carter (Eastern Division President), Karen Lasky (Western Division President), Wendy March (Western-1 Regional Representative), and Susan Garrett (Southern-2 Re-gional Representative).

The following thought so aptly conveys the leadership qualities of our Immediate Past President, Brent Gault: “In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do” (Stephen Covey). Brent is thoughtful, human, witty, tireless, welcoming, warm, timely, energetic, efficient, diplomatic, pun-full, and inspiring, and has guided OAKE from a crisis recovery period into an new era of growth—simply by living what he believes and leading by example. There are not words to express our thanks for his exemplary leadership.

Finally, the gratitude of the OAKE Board goes out to every member of the organization in appreciation and acknowledgement of your daily work. We only wish that we had better ways to give each of you the recognition and credit you so profoundly deserve.

Remember, the board members are elected to support you. I look forward to serving OAKE, and in turn, each of you, as President for the next two years—please let me know how we can be of help.

Georgia Newlin

Brent Gault officially passes the OAKE gavel to Georgia Newlin at the General Assembly. Photo by Don Garrett

Past President Brent Gault, President Georgia Newlin, and President Elect Joy Nelson enjoy themselves at the conference. Photo by Lynn Makrin

KODÁLY ENVOY4

Blanchard VillageC��l����

Blanchard Village Playground

As music teachers, we all live with the truism that “every child is musical” as we plan lessons, teach classes, or conduct choirs. We witness musical growth as students engage in the musical activities we teach them, learn the music we present to them, and gain the musical skills we deem developmentally ap-propriate. As a result, the music rooms in elementary and secondary schools are fi lled with active music makers, as they absorb and learn all of the many teachings we off er.

However, when we plan our lessons, how often do we consider the incredibly rich musical lives of children that can be wit-nessed daily outside of the classroom? When we pay attention to children’s musicality out-side of a formal education setting, we might observe how children transmit and teach music to each other, improvise melodic and rhythmic elements to accompany play, and use music to communicate with one another. Th e purpose of this paper is to explore the musical lives of children within the context of one small community living in a university family-housing apartment complex.

SettingBlanchard Village is a family housing

community for married or single students with children who attend a public univer-sity in a large city in the Pacifi c Northwest. Located behind an upscale shopping village, nine proximal apartment buildings are situ-ated at various strategic angles architectur-ally intended to promote a sense of commu-

nity. On the east side of the complex, fi ve of the buildings form a circle.

In the center there is a playground that is bustling with children, babies, and parents when weather and timing allow. Th e children enjoy a grassy hill, which they run up and down and sometimes use for T-ball, badmin-ton, or soccer. Th ere is the play area beamed off with railroad ties and fi lled in with soft cedar woodchips. In the center there is a play structure on which children go up and down three slides, make their way through a yellow tunnel, and sometimes climb up or down a metal mesh set of climbing stairs.

Mothers, fathers, and caregivers assist very young children on the play structure or sit on one of the two tall metal benches that face the play area to watch and supervise their children. On the side of the play area there is a pair of swings, and on the periph-ery children ride their scooters, tricycles, and bicycles on a paved sidewalk. Nursing mothers sometimes feed their young babies on blankets in the grass.

On the west side of the complex, a very similar layout is found with apartment buildings forming a central area of play and a playground. Th ere is a community center in the middle of Blanchard Village with a small basketball court and another play structure on the side.

SpaceTh e layout of the apartment complex

not only promotes a sense of community

but is child-centered. With three play struc-tures and a basketball court, it is evident that play is culturally important and en-couraged in this community. Appropriately named, the community center at the heart of the complex serves as a place for the resi-dents to gather. Organized functions such as infant/toddler play groups, story-time for young children, and cooking classes for adults occur weekly. Spontaneous gather-ings of parents and children happen when they meet during unstructured times at the center to socialize, watch a children’s movie, or get out of the house on a rainy day. Th ese events result in stronger ties and bonds with individuals and families.

As children and parents fi ll up the al-located play areas, young children stay under the watchful eye of the parents or caregivers; children play and explore their social worlds with other children while parents oversee their safety. Children experience autonomy and freedom to explore, but they are closely moni-tored and kept under a keen watchful eye.

Not only is this congruous with the cultural values of Western society at large, as parents stay close to keep their children out of harm’s way, but it is also a desig-nated rule in the community that no child is allowed on the playground without the supervision of an adult. Sometimes chil-dren break out and make an attempt to leave the structured play area. Parents dash quickly to retrieve the runaways and return them to the central playground. Children

Photo by author

sUMMEr 2008 5

at Musical Playthus experience a type of controlled free-dom during their specified playtimes.

TimeAt times the play areas are covered with

many children, parents, and babies. At other times the playgrounds are empty. Weather, mealtimes, nap times, day of the week, and seasons all impact the extent to which chil-dren come out to play. Parents most often structure the child’s outdoor playtime; chil-dren come out to play when parents decide it is the appropriate time or acquiesce to a child’s request.

Children in this apartment complex, and perhaps many in our society, do not have the freedom to leave the house to play with whomever they want, whenever they want. Because of the increasing institution-alization of schools and day cares in con-temporary society, children are constantly under the watchful eyes of adults (Grane, 1998). As a result, children are rarely seen without an adult. When children do come out without parents, other parents speak to each other in wonderment about where the “missing” parents may be. This reaction might be cultural, or simply that they are breaking the playground rule.

As a member of this community, I was able to witness musicking (Small, 1998) behaviors on a daily basis without the in-trusion of being an outsider. During four weeks and thirty hours of observations, musical behavior became apparent in these young children.

Children at Musical PlayChildren’s play is understood as a

means of preparation for the adult world

(Mans, 2002; Corso, 2003). As children act out various scenarios, many times they take on roles that are pertinent for them later in their lives. There is also an apparent relationship between play and encultura-tion; through children’s play, they learn and practice culturally appropriate gender roles (Merrill-Mirsky, 1996). One dominant play theme among children at Blanchard Village was “playing house.” There was usu-ally a mother, father, and children, and the leader of the group often designated who played which role. Children baked mud pies, cleaned house, built pretend fires, and rescued each other from danger.

Throughout different periods of time, the children would emit musical utter-ances to convey specific meaning, attract the attention of another playmate, establish group unity, or perhaps for other reasons. Below are a few chosen scenes in which children’s musicality was witnessed within the context of their play.

Come Here!There were many instances when

children’s utterances contained melodic content. Some were heard in the form of calls from child to child over a large area. Zatorre (2005) notes that pitch is a certain cue for distinguishing one sound from another in a noisy environment.

Within the bustling world of the playground, children distinguished their messages by intuitively calling with a de-scending melodic contour. Interestingly, the further away the friend was that was being called, the more elongated the notes became. This technique seemed to be used in attempts to draw more attention over a

longer distance and to establish a greater need or urgency because of this distance. If a child chose to utilize much energy to call a friend that was very far away, per-haps it was decidedly urgent.

Almost uniformly, all children used a de-scending major second to attract the attention of the person being addressed. For example:

These findings differ from the results of Bjorkvold (1990) who found that children in several different cultures use a descending minor or major third for calling and narra-tive purposes. It is possible that this melodic element, the major second, is specific to this particular playground.

According to Bjorkvold (1990), chil-dren devise what he calls singing formulas, which are standardized and are mainly used to communicate messages. The sing-ing formulas are usually picked up as a part of cultural tradition by ages 2 or 3. The example above seems to fit this description; the use of this interval for calling individuals was extremely common and used by many on the playground. Children as young as 20 months and as old as 10 years were wit-nessed using this motif to call their friends and sometimes parents.

The children performing these calls in-tuitively placed the accent on the downbeat. When the accent fell on the second syllable of the name, children added an anacrusis so the accent fell in the appropriate place. The first syllable appropriately acted as a pick-up note and was not given any musical stress or importance. After the stress of the accent,

By Rachel E. Gibson

♫

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KODÁLY ENVOY6

the call resolved down a major second with a relatively more relaxed and quieter sound. Thus, the melodic version mimicked the spoken word:

The use of this anacrusis occurred con-sistently when the accent fell on the second syllable, independent of how many syllables were in the name. For example, “Diane” was performed with the second syllable fall-ing on the downbeat and the last syllable stretching out over the full two beats:

The melodic content of the examples above now contain a third pitch, which could be interpreted as so. This would de-termine the tonality of the phrase to end on the tonic do. The melodic pattern could also be perceived as re–la–so. The previous calls containing the descending second might then be interpreted as either re–do or la–so.

Swinging Up the Ladder of SuccessMeanwhile, two 7-year-old girls sat

side-by-side with each other on the two swings. They smiled, laughed, and were clearly enjoying each other. They pumped their legs to go higher and higher in the swing. They were also adjusting their physical efforts in attempts to entrain their swinging motions with each other. One girl started singing:

The second girl quickly joined in and they continued this melodic message for many rounds. This so–mi–la–so–mi pattern is found quite often in children’s musical play. Bjorkvold (1990) analyzed the so–mi–la–so–mi melodic passage to be provocative in nature, but also used in narratives as well. This melodic message appears to be used as a narrative, which is directed at the parents and demonstrates a playful type of boasting.

Texts give insight into culture (Black-ing, 1967). The phrase, “We’re at the top!”

sung with pride, gaiety, and esteem, seemed to reflect that being at the top was more de-sirable than being “at the bottom.”

Several interpretations might be made from such a statement. In very simple terms, the children started at the bottom and had to work hard to achieve the height that they did. This proud melodic statement could be illuminating the fact that they put forth effort, achieved a goal, and are let-ting everyone know about it. If taken on a deeper level, our society and culture places high value on “the top.” Many individuals work very hard to “climb the ladder of suc-cess” either economically or socially, and are awarded with prestige and monetary gains as they do so. “Song not only provides a chan-nel for the transmission of societal values and histories, but is and of itself a way of knowing and reflecting on self and society” (Mans, 2002, p. 72). It is possible that these two children are learning, exploring, and demonstrating cultural values through play.

On the PeripheryChildren older than 8 are not seen very

often on the playground. This is partly due to the fact that there are few older children living in this apartment complex. Another reason might be that the playground “scene” is typically dominated by children ages 12 months to 6 years. Thus, the older children who do live in the community seldom spend time in the centrally located areas. They do use the pathways, and on one oc-casion two older girls were walking together arm-in-arm singing:

The tiny piece of music that was heard comes straight from a mattress commercial on television. Researchers have noted the strong influence of media on children’s musical repertoire (Riddell, 1990), particu-larly musical commercials (Merrill-Mirsky, 1996). Children are exposed to and seek out media; they watch television, listen to the radio, and listen to CDs. These influences can be witnessed in children’s musicality just as these two girls have dem-onstrated. This musical example also exem-plifies the permanence of singing culture.

Different forms of media utilize singing so individuals remember their message.

SportsmanshipOne afternoon, Michael, his brother

Nathan, their father David, and another child, Sierra, were playing T-ball on the hill. The person at bat stood at the top of the hill, carefully placed the ball on top of the stand, and swung to hit the ball down the hill. The others scrambled to get the ball and would call “Out!” “Home run!” “Foul!” or “Base hit!” according to their own prescribed rules. Twenty minutes into the game, Nathan started singing:

The others quickly joined in. This pre-set song, defined as a song composed by an adult, or a song in oral tradition or folk cul-ture (Bjorkvold, 1990), was meant to unify the group and diminish elements of com-petition that might normally exist in sports. In this activity there were no teams, and no one won or lost. It appeared as though the group was enjoying a favorite activity and wished everyone success. The song seemed to convey this tone very well and could eas-ily be sung by the entire group. The song was sung intermittently as different players came up to bat.

Once again, the children intuitively placed the accent of the name on the downbeat:

Group Chant: Let’s Limbo!A group of 4-year-olds had been busy

playing with each other for almost an hour when they settled in an area at the bottom of the hill. One girl found a stick, held it up high and parallel to the ground with the tip against a lamppost. She started chanting:

Chants are usually started by one child and almost always taken up by other members of the group (Pond, 1981). This was the case; the other girls quickly joined

sUMMEr 2008 7

in and started taking turns bending back-wards and going under the stick. The ini-tiation of this song was directive in nature. It could be interpreted as a suggestion or command to start playing the game. The command was successful; there was no hesitation from the playmates to join in. This spirited song sung by the group ac-companied the game, which was lively and friendly. The game was short-lived, but in that moment, there was cohesive singing within this general melodic contour.

This short melodic piece could be inter-preted as containing the pitches do–la–do–re, which also contains a descending minor third. It is evident from this phrase that, at the very least, the song leader was exposed to music with similar tonality and synco-pated rhythmic elements.

I Can Keep a Steady Beat, Can You?On Wednesday mornings, children

ages 4 and under are invited to attend an organized playgroup at the community center. The children arrive with their par-ents or caregivers and play with a variety of toys, including dollhouses, trucks, books, stuffed animals, and toy musical instru-ments. Midway through the hour, a snack is offered. Some children eagerly find an empty seat, while others are carried over and sat down into a chair. The children not only enjoy some crackers and water, but also are exposed to the cultural ritual of eating together and the manners that accompany the event. “Thank you” and “please” are encouraged responses, and tak-ing another child’s food is not acceptable.

During this particular snack time, one child sitting at a table of mostly 2-year-olds started beating his two hands on the table with a steady pulse. He smiled. The other children joined the leader and not only imitated his behavior, but made obvious attempts to entrain their pulse with the group. After only seconds, eight toddlers had achieved and maintained a steady pulse with each other and were quite proud of themselves. They laughed with each other and shared smiles and a sense of group unity. This act not only provided a short musical activity on keeping a steady beat, but for a brief moment this group of tod-dlers, who are known for parallel play, ac-

tively engaged with each other as a cohesive group. Music aided in bonding, even if for just a short moment.

It is difficult to know what the motiva-tions are behind certain behaviors. It is pos-sible that this child was engaged in sound exploration, finding creative ways to get attention, exercising group leadership skills, repeating a taught or learned behavior, or again, promoting group cohesion. Whatever the motivations were, he used a musical out-let to express it.

DiscussionPlay is central to children, and much

of their musical play utilizes rhythm, movement, characterization, drama, and imagination (Mans, 2002). These children were rarely found in a still moment. Their musicality emerged spontaneously and intermittently among groups that were en-grossed in creative fantasy that many times entailed characters, plots, and themes. It is very easy to suggest that musicality is inherent and innate for children, and emerges especially when they are in the context of play.

“Music is something children do and it is always informed by the social context or culture from which the child emerges” (Mans, 2002, p. 79). Even with just a few cited examples, it seems that children’s mu-sical play reflects their cultural and societal values. In our culture, we value attentive-ness, accomplishment and prestige, group support, capitalism, and social bonding, all of which emerged as cultural messages in the children’s musical messages.

Children learn fundamentals of music very early in life, much like they learn lan-guage (Nettl, 2002). It does seem evident from the examples above that children use these musical fundamentals in their play. The purpose of their musical utterances may differ; they may use melodic or rhythmic elements to call a friend, communicate a proud achievement, support friends in a game, or promote group unity while playing a spontaneous game.

Children are potentially exposed to music from the media, parents, day care, preschool, or school. They may also wit-ness music at concerts, weddings, or other events. Manifestation of these musical be-

haviors is not only dependent on exposure, but also on biology, maturity, experience, opportunity, interest, education, family, peers, and sociocultural context (Welch, 2002). Children are enculturated to the music they hear, and through creative play, create their own music using the musical vo-cabulary to which they have been exposed. The rhythmic and melodic elements that they have regularly heard show up in their musical play in what seems to be an innate manner. Welch (2002) notes that “young children’s musical development is primarily evidenced by their overt musical behav-iors within the dominant musical genre” (p. 117). Each musical example contains pitches and rhythms that children might be exposed to frequently in our culture.

The musical content from the children’s musical play in Blanchard Village aligns well with common sequences used to teach lit-eracy by many Kodály-inspired music edu-cators, which includes steady beat, minor thirds, major seconds, quarter notes, and paired eighth notes. Witnessing children using these musical elements in their play at a young age suggests that presenting them in the music classroom is developmentally appropriate. Choksy (1969) commented on the Kodály approach, “the highly sequential approach is a child development one rather than a subject-discipline one. The concepts and skills are musical, but the order of presentation is always in terms of what the child can do” (p. 57). Presenting these el-ementary elements appears to coincide with a child’s musical inclinations outside the music classroom.

The song-based Kodály philosophy of teaching inherently uses children’s play and singing abilities. While engaging in play-parties, playing game-songs that originated on playgrounds, and singing children’s folk music, we are using materials that engage the child in play. As children in this study created their own melodic messages, they also demonstrated their ability to impro-vise. These examples serve as a reminder to include activities, games, and songs that use and develop the skill. When we incorporate improvisation activities into the music class-room, we are tapping into a child’s natural ability to create music.

Classroom culture is obviously more

KODÁLY ENVOY8

structured than children’s free play. Howev-er, as we observe how a child engages in free musical play, we can better understand the natural tendencies of how they learn and use music. By understanding these tendencies, we can present musical material that is both joyful and appropriate to their development.

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Welch, G. F. (2002). Early childhood musical development. In L. Bresler & C. Thomp-son (Eds.), The Arts in Children’s Lives (pp. 113–128). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Zattore, R., & McGill, J. (2005). Music, the food of neuroscience? Nature, 434, 312–315.

Rachel Gibson is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Westfield State College, Westfield, Massachusetts. She can be reached at gibson@u.washington.edu

Kodály Association of Southern California

Offers the Following Items of Interest to Music Educators:

A. TEACHING PIANO WITH THE KODÁLY METHOD AS DEVELOPED BY KATINKA SCIPIADES DANIEL, a Master’s Thesis by Melanie Bowyer King, in cooperation with Katinka Scipiades Daniel, following her piano method for first five years lesson by lesson, in step-by-step detail for the first year. Comes in a three-ring binder for easy access.

Piano Thesis alone $50

B. THE KODÁLY METHOD IN PIANO TEACHING 1997 KASC workshop presented by Katinka Scipiades Daniel. NOW AVAILABLE IN DVD FORMAT, 2 DVD set $30

C. Piano Thesis and DVD set (A + B) $70

D. THE KODÁLY CONCEPT IN AMERICA, video of K-6 end-of-year summary lessons, Dr. David John Falconer & Katinka Daniel $25

E. HANDY PLAY PARTY BOOK, classic source book $17

Please make check payable to KASC & include $5 s/h for B, D or E; $10 for A or C; $15 for A or C+D.Send order to Marilyn Sousa, KASC Video Librarian, 560 West “I” St., Ontario, CA 91762

marilynmusic@sousas.net

sUMMEr 2008 9

Master of Music in Kodály Pedagogy& Kodály Certification Program

Levels I, II, and III

OAKE Endorsed Program

Dr. Míchéal HoulahanDr. Philip Tacka

Mr. Lamar Robertson

Faculty July 7 - 25, 2008

Workshop Fee - $350 Graduate Fee - Approximately $1500For registration information, contact Lisa Roebuck at

1(512) 589 - 6175 cell • 1(512) 464 - 5637 wk.email: lisa_roebuck@roundrockisd.org

For further information, contact Program Director, Patricia Morenoemail: morenop@hayscisd.net

School of Music, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666

Presented byHays Consolidated Independent School District &

Texas State University-San Marcos

trained in Hungary and in the United States published several books on the Kodály concept taught extensively in public schools active in scholarly research taught together for 13+ years hold University positions

satellite location in Austin, TX (Austin Independent School District) satellite location in El Paso, TX (Socorro ISD) one of the largest programs in the U. S.

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Interview with Bruce Adolphe, Keynote Speaker at the 2008 OAKE National Conference

Bruce Adolphe was the keynote speaker at the 2008 OAKE National Conference. This interview, done after the conference, contains many of the same ideas he shared in his multi-media address.

A composer, author, educator, and per-former, Bruce is resident lecturer and director of family concerts for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, founding creative director of the Learning Maestros, and comic keyboard quiz-master of Performance Today’s weekly radio program Piano Puzzlers. In 2008, he was named composer-in-residence at the Brain and Creativity Institute in Los Ange-les, a new neuroscience research center directed by Antonio and Hanna Damasio.

As a composer, Bruce has written works for many of the world’s most renowned art-ists, including Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Sylvia McNair, the Beaux Arts Trio, and the National Symphony. His many compositions include four operas and several theater pieces, all of which have been produced throughout the United States. He has also been composer-in-residence at many festivals and institutions.

In addition, Bruce has written three books on music: The Mind’s Ear: Exercises for Improving the Musical Imagination; What to Listen for in the World; and Of Mozart, Parrots and Cherry Blossoms in the Wind: A Composer Explores Mysteries of the

Musical Mind, which are used in colleges and conservatories throughout the United States.

Bruce, how did you get start-ed in music?

I started to think about music at a very young age, probably by the time I was 5, because when I was 6, I got my first piano lessons, and by then I was demanding them. I think I was also inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts on TV, Victor Borge a little bit, and some of the recordings in my parents’ record collection. They had a

small but interesting collection that includ-ed Aaron Copeland, some opera, Mozart, and a lot of folk music from around the world, because they were folk dancers.

We didn’t even have a piano in the house, so I started by playing the piano on the kitchen table. My parents got me a toy piano and also bought a parakeet, but the bird picked apart the keys of the toy piano, so I campaigned for a real piano. We got a small spinet—and they got a larger bird. I still have that bird; his name is Polly Rhythm.

You have been a teacher yourself. What and where have you taught?

I started my professional teaching at Julliard before I graduated, as a teaching as-sistant. When I was 19, I was asked to take over the class of a solfège teacher who was ill. I taught that class for a year or two, and eventually they moved me into the precol-lege as a faculty member. I taught there for almost 20 years, until 1992. In addition, I taught two semesters in different years at Yale as a visiting lecturer: a course on Gesu-aldo and a course on Stravinsky.

I also taught foreign accents for drama majors at New York University. While it’s nothing to do with music on the surface, it has actually a lot to do with ear training. It’s

getting kids to listen to vowels and conso-nants and use them properly. I taught there for 10 years, which was fun.

Aside from those teaching posts, I’ve been doing some other kinds of teaching. When I left Julliard, I went to Lincoln Cen-ter’s chamber music society. I give lectures there, and I also do a kind of subversive education on the radio, the Piano Puzzlers, which I think of as teaching through a dif-ferent medium.

I also have an education company, which is a very elaborate form of teaching. We’ve just changed the name of it to the Learning Maestros [www.thelearningmae-stros.org]. About seven years ago, I started the company with Julian Fifer, who was the founder of the Orpheus Chamber Or-chestra. He and I both felt there was a very strong need for interdisciplinary music-focused education.

One of the most important missions that I have is this interdisciplinary educa-tion, because I think a really well-rounded person is somebody who can connect the dots. A great way to learn about things, whether music or science, is to put them to-gether. I’ve noticed that it’s becoming a very strong tendency in education at all levels: team teaching in high schools, intercurricu-lar degrees in colleges and more. Certainly teaching poetry and music together is obvi-ous; but while teaching history or science and music is less obvious, it’s very valuable. It’s also a way to interest kids who might not care about classical music. They might be drawn into listening to wordless music, or-chestral sounds, or choral music because it’s about wind energy or Shakespeare.

In your Keynote Address at the confer-ence, you shared some interesting exercises. Where did those come from?

When I was teaching at Julliard, I no-ticed that a lot of very good music students were insecure in terms of hearing inside their heads. They needed their instruments to hear. It seemed to me that people who are not

Bruce Adolphe with OAKE Past President Brent Gault.Photo by Don Garrett

sUMMEr 2008 11

composers have more trouble with that skill. It’s very valuable: you learn music faster, you remember it better, you lock things in more securely, and it certainly helps you know what you’re going to do before you do it. So I developed some exercises to encourage musi-cal imagination based on drama exercises.

I had exposure to those kinds of exer-cises when I was writing music for the drama department as an undergraduate. Instead of getting money or credit, I was allowed to come to a lot of drama classes. I noticed that they had strong emotional and memory training. So I thought that some of the drama exercises about improvisation with emotions and memory would be good for musicians. I developed quite a few exercises, and put them in a little book called Th e Mind’s Ear. It has suggestions on how to think about rhythm and ways to create a piece in your mind. Th ere are also simple things, like hearing dif-ferent timbres of instruments in your mind; basically turning up the volume inside your head so you can really hear what you’re think-ing about. I know for myself, there’s quite a diff erence between looking at a page and looking at a page and actually hearing some-thing. [For examples of the exercises, see the sidebar “Th e Mind’s Ear.”]

One of the exercises I know I men-tioned in my talk is called “An Intriguing Performance.” In this one, I have a student play something and then have him or her pretend to be a musician as a cover for being a spy. Th e music contains a code that can only be understood by someone trained to decode it. You don’t know exactly what it

means, but you have to play it so that some-one in the audience will understand and then save someone’s life with a phone call. It makes people really focus, not just on preci-sion, but on being true to what they think is in the music and playing it with clarity.

Th ere is also an orchestral exercise where I say things like “imagine an or-chestra, perhaps there’s a trumpet playing a single note, now imagine a minor triad played in the strings above that, and a free violin solo above it.” I just keep adding things to it. What’s interesting is that people usually think they hear exactly what I’m telling them to hear, but what I’m saying is extremely vague, leaving lots of room for them to be quite creative. No two people are hearing the same piece. Th at’s sort of what is feels like to compose.

In contrast, people can visualize a tre-mendous amount without any trouble. I might say, “Picture an empty street, and on the street there’s a chair, and on the chair there’s a person, and on the person there’s a car.” Th en if I ask people what they saw, I get tremendous detail. Th ey can talk about what street it was, what kind of car, what color it was, whether it was a toy car or a real car, what the person was wearing, whether they knew the person or not. How-ever, they will have much more diffi culty with a simple aural exercise, like hearing the voice of someone they know well reading a menu. Basically, the brain is much more biased toward the visual.

Can you talk a little about your Piano Puzzlers? What are they and how did you come to do them?

Piano Puzzlers are miniature composi-tions that take familiar melodies and set them in the styles of famous composers. Somebody calls in on the radio and guesses the tune and who the composer in ques-tion is. Typical examples are “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in the style of Bach or “Amazing Grace” in the style of Robert Schumann. I just did “Stars and Stripes” by Sousa, but I won’t say in what style, because that’s coming up for the Fourth of July.

I learn a lot doing this. I didn’t real-ize that “Stars and Stripes” had three of his most famous tunes in it, so I decided to do all of them, and keep it big. It’s quite long,

about three minutes. I did it in the style of a composer who would have gone back to the fi rst tune to round it off , something Sousa did not do, so it became even bigger than the original march.

I started writing puzzler-like pieces when I was teaching at Julliard, not only to keep my class entertained, but also to teach big concepts in an easy way. For example, if I was discussing harmonies in the style of Brahms, I would warm up by taking a simple melody and asking, “How would you deal with this tune if you were Brahms?” I would take them through some decisions, and then play a piece like “Old MacDon-ald” or Mozart in the style of Brahms. It’s a lot clearer than analyzing a piece by Brahms, where it’s all done, and they can’t see inside the process. Also, by using a familiar melo-dy, you can see the changes that are made to get to a certain style.

I started using them even more when lecturing at the Lincoln Center, because when people came to a lecture they ap-preciated being entertained rather than just lectured to. So if there were a piece on the program by Schubert and a piece by Stravin-sky as well, I’d take Schubert’s tune and play it in the style of Stravinsky. I would com-ment on the interaction and throw in some historical facts. It’s a really fun way to keep it lively. Th en in about 2002, a producer from NPR heard me and asked if I wanted to do one of them as a guest on NPR. Th at was successful, and eventually, I suggested I could do them once a week. NPR said we’d have to make it some kind of ongoing game, so we ended up with the Piano Puzzler. But in my mind, it’s still really a way to teach in miniature with humor. [Recordings of the Piano Puzzler episodes are available at www.npr.org/programs/pt/puzzler/index.html and http://performancetoday.publicradio.org/piano_puzzler.]

Have you done anything for younger students?

Yes, actually it’s a very big part of the Learning Maestros. A lot of it is for young children, because that audience is the most fertile and receptive. It’s important that kids get interested in serious music, in other words, not just pop culture in major media. Th ey need to hear the art form rather than

Bruce giving his Keynote Address in Denver.Photo by Beth Pontiff .

KODÁLY ENVOY12

just the entertainment as early as possible. The art music of the world is compelling, but in America right now, it’s not the most chic or hip thing to do, especially for teen-agers. When you get them young, it really makes a difference. That’s especially true if they start studying an instrument or go through the Kodály approach. If kids do anything that’s engaging, sequential, and in depth, they’ll stay with it.

The Learning Maestros materials in-clude a lot of pieces for kids. Usually, I write a piece of music with a collaborator, who may be a poet or writer, scientist or histo-rian. We work on a text, music, and a book, and end up with something that can be performed in a concert. When possible, we record a CD and produce the book.

For example, the one on Gauguin, Red Dogs and Pink Skies, has a beautiful full-color book with Gauguin’s paintings. There’s quite a bit about French history, and Gauguin’s diaries are quoted on his feelings about music, which were very strong, and there’s a CD of the music. We often perform that piece live and then bring the book into the schools.

Another one is Tough Turkey in the Big City: A Feathered Tale, which is not as obvi-ously educational but has many secret edu-cational components. For example, it deals with instruments as characters: the violin is a jazz violin, a classical violin, and a country fiddle; the clarinet plays in a jazz band, in a marching band, and classical clarinet. All the instruments have multiple roles to play, which are linked not only to their characters but to styles of music, and it’s all integrated into a funny story. The story also has some life-learning messages about what’s impor-tant in life, especially if you’re a turkey.

Most of the pieces on the Web site are geared toward kids, but I write them so that adults will like them too. The music is never dumbed down—it’s never “children’s music.” So Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto, even though it has a story about dinosaurs and has been performed for chil-dren at natural history museums, has also been played on regular concerts, because it works as a symphonic piece. The music is not terribly different than I would write for another circumstance. The difference is the subject matter and the storytelling aspect.

For example, I have a string quartet that deals with loss, anxiety, and suffering, but I would not present that work for children. However, the musical vocabulary is not that different, just the subject that propels it.

On the other hand, kids are ready for just about anything, so it’s always very interesting for me, as a composer, to ask myself what the differences are between a piece for kids and one that’s not. I find that I make the movements a little shorter, but the pieces can be quite long. Or I make sure there’s clear narrative, but the music doesn’t have to be simple. I’m always trying to find a way to make the music carry the burden of the communication, so the story doesn’t overwhelm it.

How might teachers use some of those things in the classroom?

There are lots of ways, depending on which project one picks. For example, Red Dogs and Pink Skies comes with a beautiful book that can be used for team teaching. There’s a CD for listening to the music and a guide on what to listen for in the music that a music teacher could use. There’s also enough history that a history teacher could use it, and plenty of art work.

In some elementary schools, especially fourth and fifth grades, students have listened to the music with the music teacher then talked about the instruments and some of the tricky rhythms. (As a matter of fact, teachers can contact us on the Web site, and we will send them the score so they can look at the rhythms.) The art teacher has the kids pick a movement of the music and paint murals that are influenced by Gauguin. It continues the cycle: I looked at Gauguin’s paintings and created these pieces, and they listen to the pieces and create paintings that are also influ-enced by the style. There are also lots of ques-tions in the book: about art, about criticism, how one handles criticism or decides what a style is, what to do if your friends do or do not like what you do, and so forth.

We have a CD called Oceanophony with pieces of music that are musical descrip-tions of creatures in the ocean. It includes poetry that describes the ocean and scientific facts. One third grade in a school in New York used it for an interdisciplinary project. They listened to the music—it was actually

performed live, which is something that wouldn’t need that big a budget because it’s only eight musicians. The science teacher had the kids draw biologically correct exam-ples of octopuses, sea urchins, and anemo-nes and explained how these creatures func-tioned. Then they went to their art class and made freer versions of what they might see in the ocean. In the classroom, they wrote poems based on some of the things they had learned as well as the poetry on the CD. The music tied the whole thing together.

They asked me to give them descrip-tions of how the music depicts things, such as how the eight-part fugue relates to an octopus (that’s a pretty easy one for a music teacher). There’s a movement about the stoplight parrotfish, which is a stop-and-go piece and one about a puffer fish. In that one, the music actually has a couple of little themes that get wider in intervals and slower in time, expanding and contracting in every way that music can expand and contract. We’ve also tailor-made things for some schools. If anyone is interested in that, they can contact me through the Web site.

What other projects are you working on?Right now, the biggest project I’ve got

is writing a one-act opera about Marian An-derson for the Washington National Opera and Washington Performing Arts Society, with libretto by novelist Carolivia Herron. It’s about Anderson’s life as both a serious, soulful musician, and, inadvertently, the center of a civil rights problem. One of the reasons the opera was commissioned is that 2009 is the 70th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial concert, which was in 1939. The opera is currently scheduled to premiere in March 2009, though it’s going to be done in some Washington DC high schools before it’s performed for the public.

I’m also writing a cantata for the 50th anniversary of the statehood of Alaska. I was at the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival last year, and the audience had a really good time with my music. The festival decided that they wanted me to write a piece to celebrate the 50th anniversary—that’s also in 2009.

I’ve been a consultant for the Brain and Creativity Institute in Los Angeles [www.usc.edu/schools/college/bci/], and I will soon be in residence. The institute was founded by

sUMMEr 2008 13

Antonio and Hanna Damasio, who are both amazing neuroscientists with a real interest in creativity in music, and all the arts. I’ve writ-ten some music based on Antonio Demasio’s texts. We wrote a piece together where he wrote a text and I used it as a structure for the piece, though it’s not sung. The work will be performed while the text is projected simultaneously with brain scan images from the laboratory. We’re going to do it at the New York planetarium, so the brain-scan images surround you. It’s for cello and two percussionists, and Yo-Yo Ma is going to play the cello part. That’s in May 2009.

Why do you think music education is important?

Well, that’s almost like asking why music is important, a subject you can attack from many angles. There’s no society of hu-man beings without music. There’s no soci-ety where music isn’t somehow central either to religion or ceremonies, usually both, and also to courtship. Once it gets abstracted from rituals and becomes an art form, music is one of the major arts. In a crude sense, it’s even important to economies. So to have a society that doesn’t understand something that’s central to its existence is a big mistake. One problem is that it doesn’t qualify as an academic pursuit in some people’s minds. Mathematics is considered academic, but it’s a very important way of thinking. Without math you could hardly take care of yourself. So it’s not really academic, it’s essential. Music is also like that. Yes, you can be just a listener, but people who have a high quality of life usually have a high level of engage-ment with some art form. Most people have at least a tangential relationship to music. At another level, it’s been shown very clearly that people who study music learn faster and better in all areas, because their brains are fully engaged, their memories work bet-ter, and so forth. Kids who study music in school are happier kids. They look forward to school because school’s more interest-ing. They get to express themselves. It’s not about right or wrong, but about “being” and the intangibles, which are just as important, if not more so, than whether one can bal-ance a checkbook.

I think it’s a shame that there are so many places where music isn’t taught. Every

the Mind’s EarThe following exercises are from The Mind’s Ear by Bruce Adolphe (St. Louis, MO:

MMB Music, 1991). Used with permission.

Prelude to Hearing Orchestration • Hear a major scale in your mind. • Hear it played very slowly on a trumpet. • Hear it played on a muted trumpet. • Hear the first four notes on a muted trumpet and the last four on an oboe. • Hear each note of the scale played on a different instrument. • Try this: trumpet, flute, clarinet, French horn, violin, oboe, cello, Vibraphone

There is a big difference between reading this exercise and actually doing it. IF you can really hear those instrumental colors sounding loudly in your head, playing the notes of the scale, you are ready for the “hearing orchestration” exercise.

Hearing Orchestration Picture an orchestra seated in a rehearsal space or concert hall; see everyone. Hear the following: • A trumpet plays a medium-range note pianissimo, crescendo to forte, diminuendo to

pianissimo. • The trumpet plays the same note, muted, mezzo-piano and holds it while the basses

softly play the same note pizzicato in a steady slow pulse.• The first violins play the same pitch very high, tremolo as the trumpet fades away and

stops, but the basses continue. • Now one flute and one clarinet enter together, playing still that same pitch, the flute

in a high octave, the clarinet two octaves below; now the cellos play a trill on the same pitch (any string you like) and a muted trombone quietly glissandos to and away from the note that the cellos are trilling.

Getting Harder:• Now the winds play a minor chord which has as its root the note that the orchestra

has been playing until now; hear the bassoons on the bottom, the clarinets in the middle, and the oboes and flutes on top; switch the oboe and flute notes back and forth; switch the oboe and clarinet notes back and forth;

• The timpani enters, doubling the pizzicato basses, and gradually making a crescendo; there is a roll with soft mallets on a suspended cymbal; the concertmaster plays a high, dramatic solo while the entire orchestra gradually diminuendos to silence leaving the violin alone. The violin solo ends, and very quietly a harp plays three harmonic tones.

• You must try to hear this exercise LOUDLY, Hear real sounds, not vague colors. Pic-ture the players if that helps. Also try the exercise without picturing the players, see-ing nothing at all (is that dark? Bright? What do you see when you see nothing?).

Hearing Voices • Choose a short passage from a book, play, poem, or magazine. • Hear it being read in the voice of someone you know very well. • Hear clearly the qualities of the voice: the tone, the inflection, the vowels and conso-

nants, the volume.• Hear the same voice read the same passage with different emotions. • Hear the person yell and whisper parts of the passage.• Choose another person and try the exercise.• Try to hear yourself reading it as someone else would hear you—do not speak out

loud.

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Scholarship Reflection: Alaina Wilson

“This will be the hardest work you’ll ever love.” These words were spoken to me several summers back as I was beginning my Level I Kodály studies. What truth I have found in those words! I had the privilege of completing my Kodály certification this past summer at Nebraska Wesleyan University. I cannot think of a time in my life when I have worked with such intensity to achieve a long-awaited goal.

My journey to Kodály certification was much longer than three summer sessions. While an undergraduate student, I had no doubt that I would teach music, but never did I imagine a fulfilling career at the elementary level. However, in my elemen-tary methods class, I was briefly introduced to Zoltán Kodály. That brief exposure changed my perspective, and I eagerly embraced the idea of teaching elementary students and have never looked back. For my senior thesis, I chose to pursue research on Kodály ideology. I graduated with every intention of pursuing certification. Life (and student loans) got in the way, and I

was not able to begin my Kodály studies until almost ten years later.

My methods and solfège instructors have played a huge role in my teaching, and my classroom bears the marks of each instructor. I had the privilege of studying Level I methods with Jo Kirk, who taught me the sheer joy music making brings to my own life, as well as to my students’ lives. Linda Hulsey taught me in Level II to never accept from myself less than the best, and as a result, my students offer me their best in the classroom. Tom Michalek’s instruction in Level III methods gave me confidence in my ideas and education; he helped bring everything together in the practical way I use everyday in my classroom. There are no words to describe the sweet spirit of encouragement that Kati Virágh brought to me my first year of solfège, while her husband Gábor lightened the stress and hard work of the whole Kodály experience my final two years. Will I ever sing a hymn in church again without thinking in solfège and hearing his Hungarian accent? Since I

began teaching with a focus on Kodály, I find my students to be better singers, more competent music readers, and generally full of more joy during music class.

Completing my third level may not have been possible without the assistance of the Jenö Ádám scholarship. I was honored, thrilled, and quite surprised when I discov-ered I was one of the recipients of this schol-arship. While the entire Kodály certification process lasts only six weeks, this dream was more than a dozen years in the making.

I have had colleagues ask about my Kodály experience. They have concerns about the expense or the amount of work involved. To all wondering about pursu-ing a Kodály certificate, I can only smile and say, “It will be the hardest work you’ll ever love.”

Alaina Wilson teaches K–6 vocal music at Laura Dodge Elementary School, Omaha, Nebraska, and completed her Kodály certificate at Nebraska Wesleyan in 2007. She can be reached at alaina.wilson@ops.org.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

For information about applying for OAKE scholarships, go to www.oake.org/php/downloads.php and click on the scholarship applications.

time music is brought into a situation, it makes things better. Music therapy is very important, and music has been shown to treat some kinds of depression. Music can also help people with severe emotional prob-lems to open up. Music can bring people together who have issues with each other, such as with kids from Palestine and Israel who have been at music camps together. They realize that some of the things their parents tell them just can’t be true.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our education included music and nutrition and a form of exercise that isn’t competitive? If kids went to school and they learned yoga and nutri-tion with some cooking, and how to play an instrument and be in an ensemble, as well as all the other subjects, then school wouldn’t seem like some kind of punishment. School would be like life extended and made more

accessible. The way society is now, many kids only listen to pop music, and in many cases, have never heard music that has no words, because it’s all about words, especial-ly rap, etcetera. Not that music with words is bad, but they’re not really paying atten-tion to music in a pure sense. And music is an abstract language that does affect the way one thinks. To be a really high-level, creative thinker, thinking abstractly is vital.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share?

Since this is for Kodály educators, I would like to say that I have a lot of respect for that program, because it’s so well thought out and is a complete approach. If there are people in the Kodály world who have ideas for working with me or who look at the Learning Maestros Web site and wonder

about the possibilities, I would invite those who are really curious and thoughtful to have a dialogue with me about it. I really appreci-ate the level of engagement of educators with Kodály training. I was also impressed with the sound of everybody singing at the confer-ence, it was fantastic!

I have sometimes wondered how many composers have devoted so much time to education the way I feel I’m do-ing. Certainly Kodály did that, but there are not that many others who have. I am referring to composers who didn’t need to focus on education, and that wasn’t their only outlet. I don’t need to have this company. I could stay very busy writing music and doing the radio show, but I feel this very powerful mission to get to the nitty-gritty of education. I have a lot of respect for that.

sUMMEr 2008 15

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http://graduate.loyola.edu/kodaly

KODÁLY ENVOY16

I want to publicly thank the OAKE Board for supporting this project through the OAKE Leaf Fund. Investing in our future teachers is critically important and perhaps the best way to “promote Kodály’s concept of ‘Mu-sic for Everyone’ through the improvement of music education in schools.” Please know that your investment in our students will have great returns. With appreciation—Warren Henry, University of North Texas.

Kodály in ContextAs a university instructor and past

Chair of Music Education at the University of North Texas, I always envisioned a course that would be truly collaborative in nature and include an international component designed to “humanize” the major figures in music education and to explore the roots of their teaching practices. This year, my vision was realized with a newly developed course called Kodály in Context, a 16-week class that used Kodály practices as the hub around which all other topics were explored. The course was collaborative in nature and purposefully designed to break away from the “egg crate” approach to teaching. In other words, the course worked very hard to integrate performance, history, music his-tory, pedagogy, and musicianship.

CollaborationOur course started in August 2007,

with nine enrolled students, most of whom did not know each other at the beginning of the semester. While I was listed as the teacher-of-record, there were three addi-tional teachers, each of whom played a very distinct role. One was a colleague of mine at UNT whose area of specialization was intercultural competence, an emerging field in music education that suggests that before persons can come to some kind of com-mon ground with a culture, they have to develop an awareness of their own beliefs, values, and attitudes, and how this might impact interactions with others. This served as a common theme throughout the course, with particular emphasis while we were in Hungary, and illuminated students’ think-ing about their roles as future teachers in diverse classrooms.

The additional two instructors were public school educators, one a certified Kodály specialist and the other a certified Orff specialist. It should be noted that we also had a Gordon specialist, which gave the class an interesting mix of educational ap-proaches and led to fascinating, respectful discussions on music teaching and learn-ing. While Kodály teaching was always the primary emphasis, I felt that integrating the ideas of Orff and Gordon would allow stu-dents to make comparisons and “learn what something is by learning what it is not.”

Our collaborative efforts also extended into the music history area. Because of the nature of this course and its international component, the history area at UNT al-lowed our course to count as one of the required music history electives. Therefore, using Kodály as the central theme, we integrated Hungarian history, Hungarian folk music, and Hungarian classical music (largely Kodály, Bartók, and Liszt) into the course. We invited several guests to class, one of whom was a UNT graduate student from Hungary. She taught us about Hun-garian history and shared highly personal stories of her life under communist rule. Interestingly, her mother was our tour guide in Budapest. We also invited one of our history faculty members to class, who gave a fascinating lecture on the “Three Bs:

Beethoven, Bartók, and Benny.” Yes, we heard a recording of Bartók accompanying Benny Goodman! We also invited a former UNT student and Grammy nominated pia-nist to perform Liszt’s music. In an intimate setting of just nine students and four faculty members, we heard virtuoso playing from a performer who normally plays in concert halls throughout the world. Follow-up classes led to some very thoughtful discus-sions about utilizing community members and what responsibilities we have as teachers to give back to the community.

Travel to HungaryThe actual trip to Hungary far exceeded

our expectations and offered learning oppor-tunities that would not have been possible in a regular classroom setting. I can only offer some highlights, which I hope will give a sense of how powerful this trip was for our students One highlight happened on our first day with an all-day private tour of Budapest, led by our graduate student’s mother. She took us to such places as Hero’s Square, Parliament, and Matthias Church, but the greatest impact of the tour came from her stories of growing up in Hungary and the brutality of communist rule. For all of us, this part of our world’s history was no longer something from a book. It was real and being told to us by someone with first-hand accounts.

OAKE Leaf Fund Grant Reflection: Warren Henry

Students at the Institute. Photos courtesy of the author

sUMMEr 2008 17

We spent two days in Kecskemét at the Kodály Pedagogical Institute, where our instructors took us through rigorous solfège training and gave us a sense of the scope and sequence of Kodály’s approach. Their teach-ing was exemplary and did not go unnoticed by our students. Peter Erdei, former director of the Institute, spoke to us and offered his perspectives on how Kodály teaching has changed, where it might be headed, and how we will need to adjust to a changing world. We spent two days visiting schools and were inspired by the students, the teach-ers, and their incredible musicianship.

After our time in Kecskemét, we re-turned to Budapest to take in museums, shops (of course!), and to experience the musical life of the city. We attended an all-Brahms concert at the Liszt Academy with the Hungarian Radio Choir and Men’s Chorus. The performance setting was over-whelmingly beautiful, particularly in light of the history of the Academy. We also attend-ed a concert of Richard Strauss, Goldmark, and Elgar in Budapest’s new Palace of the Arts, a state-of-the-art performance facility. These musical experiences were very power-ful. As one student remarked, “The concerts opened my eyes. Everything suddenly made sense to me, and I finally understood why I want to teach people to enjoy this.”

What cannot be adequately described here are the informal conversations with individuals or groups of students on such subjects as culture, teaching, Kodály, excel-lence, American education, and the purpose of our roles as teachers. Throughout our eight days in Hungary, and the weeks after our return, we had numerous conversations that made us either question or defend our beliefs about education. Ultimately, we all become more thoughtful practitioners. From a personal perspective, the conclusion

of the course left me questioning my own practices in regard to teacher education: Do we need to rethink the “egg crate” ap-proach? Am I keeping up with the new gen-eration of students and their way of think-ing? What do students need to get from a music teacher education program?

Student PerspectivesWe are in an age of accountability and

are increasingly asked to provide data to demonstrate learning. What the faculty and students learned from this trip cannot be reported in a number, and it could be argued that we will not truly know the impact this course had on the students’ teaching careers for many years to come. However, based on their insights below, I think it is evident that our students completed the course think-ing differently, which one could argue is the purpose of education. Here are some sample statements the students shared with us at the end of the semester:“What impacted me is when our music

teacher in Hungary talked about how we can impact our corner of the world, and it will spread. And in a country that is so much more disjointed than Hungary, it gives you hope. What we do is impor-tant and matters.”

“I’ve learned that we aren’t going to be any good as teachers unless we can do this well.”

“My perspective towards others has changed, and the most shocking thing that I’ve learned is how sub-par my musicianship skills are compared to the things I can already do musically (I’m a performance major). But the basic things kids should be able to do well, I can’t do well.”

“There is so much more that kids can learn, and that puts a tremendous amount of

responsibility on me to not just be a teacher, but to be that person who brings these things into the classroom.”

“I would have to say the biggest impact on me was the museum (House of Terror). It brought everything home. I was struck by how musical their culture is and how mu-sic can bring you up. In the airport com-ing home, something switched in me. I felt like I had a perspective; I felt older.”

“This semester was about broadening my thoughts and broadening my mind. I’m a pretty straight and narrow person, but not anymore. You think you have it all figured out, and then you find it’s not even in the same playing field.”

“This class was the best experience of my life and has opened my eyes and raised some serious questions about what kind of teacher I want to be.”

I want to again thank OAKE for their generosity. The investment in these students has had, and will continue to have, a sig-nificant return, both in terms of their com-mitment to Kodály-inspired teaching and their growth as teachers and individuals. On behalf of the instructors and students, thank you for supporting this initiative.

Budapest

Hero’s Square

Thermal Baths

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The 34th OAKE National Confer-ence was held in Denver, Colorado, March 27–29, 2008. The conference theme was “Kodály in Colorado: Music with Altitude,” and there were numerous presenters who

cleverly incorporated this theme into their session titles. There were over 1850 attend-ees at the conference, including 427 regis-tered teachers, 30 newcomers, 5 administra-tors, 35 presenters, 40 exhibitors, 455 choir participants, and 727 chaperones!

The effect of altitude was definitely felt (and breathless voices heard!) during Jill Trinka’s energetic mini-session on Thursday afternoon, titled “Exploring and Experiencing Singing Games and Play Parties.” Almost 200 participants were greeted by Jill’s enthusiastic personality, singing, and instrument playing as she guided participants through numerous circle games, line dances, and partner activities. Although definitely tuckered out after such an active afternoon, many remained for contra

dancing, led by Richard Myers. He even brought a bluegrass instru-mental group to accompany the session! The excit-ing part about this activity was that several choir students and their chaperones and family members joined OAKE members in the raucous fun.

The confer-ence officially commenced at the opening ceremonies Thursday evening. The Mariachi Aguilas from Adams City High School in Com-merce City, Colorado (led by Pamela Vird-en) gave attendees a flavor of the Hispanic culture present in Colorado, while Brent Gault, Karen Laskey, Karla Cherwinski, Laura Williams, and Cecile Johnson host-ed the banner parade. Bruce Adolphe then took over as keynote speaker, challenging us musically through interesting compositional combinations on the piano and making us chuckle over his quips and anecdotes.

Other highlights of the conference:• 65 sessions.• Five midday concerts provided by Young

Voices of Colorado (Jena Dickey, Artistic Director), Cantare Treble Choir (Dan-iel Todd, Artistic Director), Centennial Children’s Chorus (Peggy Rosenkranz, Artistic Director), Young Singers of Cen-tral Oklahoma (Darla Eshelman, Artistic Director), and Abendmusik (Richard Nutting, Artistic Director) which in-cluded conference cochair Ginger Little-ton and several other ROCKE chapter members. The Durango Children’s Choir (Rochelle Mann, Artistic Director) was also on hand as a demonstration choir for three separate sessions.

• The Friday night banquet featured a fancy take on the traditional Western barbecue. Entertainment was provided by the Trail-riders, who sang many traditional folk

songs (like “Shenendoah”) and songs which featured Western artists (like John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”). There were many funny references to Béla and Zoltán, which kept the room filled with laughter, as did the brave performances by Georgia Newlin, Karen Laskey, Anne

Comiskey, and Ginger Littleton.• Anne Laskey was honored as the 2008

OAKE Outstanding Educator. [Read about Anne on p. 22.]

• Newcomers and teachers of teachers were offered special sessions to increase their understanding and expertise.

• Free time was built in to the schedule to allow opportunity to explore Denver’s 16th Street Mall and experience the ambience, restaurants, shops, and street musicians.

• Ginger Littleton and Tanya LeJeune led common singing, which featured camp-

OAKE 2008 NAtIONAL CONFErENCE rEPOrt: ANgELA grEgOrY

Mariachi Aguilas from Adams City High School, Commerce City, CO, at conference opening. Photo by Beth Pontiff.

Jill Trinka at mini-conference. Photo by Douglas Towner.

Poster Session Participants: Back: Lynn Makrin (organizer), David Gadberry, Keith Wheeler, Jeri Bonnin, Carol McDowell, Susan Johnson. Front: June Grice, Emily Mason, Pamela Stover, Rebecca Cairo. Photo by Don Garrett.

TRIKE flag in the banner parade at the opening ceremonies. Photo by Don Garrett.

sUMMEr 2008 19

fire songs by a “real” fire, complete with marshmallows!

• Ginger led a bus tour on Sunday morning up into the mountains to visit the histori-cal mining town of Georgetown, where folks had an opportunity to stroll the town and frolic in the snow!

• The OAKE National Choir Concert was held at Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Center for Performing Arts. The three accompanists—Michael Yannette, Robert Vickery, and William McCon-nell—were exemplary, and various instru-ments accompanied the choirs (including oboe, flute, a string quartet, conga/doum-bek, and conference cochair Angela Greg-ory on clarinet). The Children’s Choir was led by Julia White, Youth Choir was led by Angela Broeker, and the Concert Choir was led by Robert Ward in pieces that challenged and inspired musicians and audience members alike.

On a personal note, Ginger Littleton and I would like to thank the Western Divi-sion chapters for their donations to the hos-pitality bags, as well as to all of the attendees who dropped by the registration desk or stopped us to offer assistance, a word of encouragement, a thank you, or simply a smile. Now it’s time to giddy-up to Wash-ington DC for the 35th OAKE National Conference—March 12–14, 2009!

… Happy trails to you, ’Til we meet again. —Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

2008 OAKE Conference Committee: Ginger Littleton, Angie Gregory, Rebecca Dellinger, Tanya LeJeune. Photo by Don Garrett.

Eastern Division skit for 2009 conference. Photo by Don Garrett.

Christopher Roberts and Vicki Dohrmann with Webster University program endorsement. Photo by Don Garrett.

Conference choir singers at new OAKE booth. Photo by Lynn Makrin.

Rochelle Mann and the Durango Children’s Chorale. Photo by Douglas Towner.

KODÁLY ENVOY20

The 2008 National Conference Choirs Concert in Denver was phenomenal! This year it was an honor to have the following conductors: Julia White (Children’s Choir), Angela Broeker (Youth Choir), and Robert Ward (Concert Choir).

All three conductors were passionate about the music they had chosen and of-fered the singers meaningful insight into that music. In rehearsals, observers saw master teachers getting the most out of these talented singers, bringing together children from varying backgrounds and choral expe-rience to create magic on stage. This could not have happened so beautifully without the help and dedication of the singers’ teachers back home. So many high-quality audition tapes and CDs were submitted this

year that choosing the singers was a difficult task for the judges. They wished that there could have been room to accept more.

The learning process began in cities all

across the country, where singers rehearsed the music with their teachers and choir direc-tors. When the singers arrived in Denver, most had all their music well learned. It is extremely fortu-nate that there are so many OAKE teachers willing to take on this extra responsibility so their students can have this incredible opportunity.

In Denver, each guest con-ductor worked to form a cohesive group that could learn together, grow together, and work diligently in their quest for musical excellence, producing a memorable and exciting concert experi-ence for both the choir and the audience. These passionate conductors successfully accomplished this through humor, moti-vational techniques, attention to detail, and just plain hard work. This was clear-ly evident on Saturday evening as the au-

dience responded to the joyful performances with great, and sometimes over-whelming, en-thusiasm.

The Denver Ellie Opera House was a beautiful venue for the OAKE singers who felt proud and excited to sing in such a lovely hall. Many thanks to Julia, Angie, Bob,

the NCC committee, and the OAKE teachers, but most of all, to the singers who made the music come alive, and who shared their hearts and souls with the audience that night. It is a concert that will not soon be forgotten!

The whole experience left a lasting impression on the singers, teachers, and par-

ents. Some of them shared what they gained from being part of the choirs:

Dr. Broeker not only set a very high mark for these singers, but she helped them clear the mark beautifully! Bravo!—D. H. (parent)

Angie really showcased the many possibili-ties in the voices and the brilliant potential of our kids.—P. C. (teacher)

I have been sending students to the Na-tional Honor Choirs since 1988, and this year’s Youth Choir was the best ever. Angela Broeker was meticulous. My parents were blown away by her professionalism and magi-cal music making.—D. S. (teacher)

OAKE was an amazing experience. I enjoyed meeting all the other singers and learn-ing from the conductor. The practice was hard

OAKE 2008 NAtIONAL CONFErENCE ChOIrs rEPOrt: JAYNE WENNEr

2008 OAKE National Children’s Choir–Julia White, conductor.Photo by Douglas Towner.

2008 OAKE National Youth Choir–Angela Broeker, conductor.Photo by Douglas Towner.

National Children’s Choir. Photo by Lynn Makrin.

National Youth Choir. Photo by Lynn Makrin.

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work but worth it, and I feel I left Denver as a better singer.—H. (singer)

Denver was a blast! I LOVED it so much and can’t wait till next year! The mu-sic/songs were awesome, the director was so much fun, and I made some great friends. —C. C. (singer)

The OAKE experience was a once in a lifetime. I am so happy I got to go. The songs were great, and I made lots of new friends. This is definitely an experience that will last a lifetime.—J. G. (singer)

My daughter had an EXCEL-LENT time! She absolutely loves to sing, and these ex-

periences were amazing opportunities for her to learn from the best while being immersed in 4 days of a nurturing environment, surrounded by like-minded and “like-talented” children.

I was personally amazed by the perfor-mance on Saturday night—a true tribute to the instructors—both the music instructors at home

and the wonderful instructors who devoted those four days to our children.—J.S.(parent)

My experience at OAKE this year was unique and exciting. It was most definitely the best one yet, because the music was so fun, and the director made it more fun.—L. S. (singer)

I felt musically the students did an out-standing job, and it was one of the best con-certs in OAKE history!—J. M. (teacher)

National Concert Choir. Photo by Lynn Makrin.

2008 OAKE National Concert Choir–Robert Jay Ward, conductor.Photo by Douglas Towner.

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Anne Laskey was named OAKE Out-standing Educator at the 2008 conference. Nancy Linford, NCAKE President, gave the following tribute to Anne at the banquet, Fri-day, March 28.

First, some words from Jerry Jaccard—also an Outstanding Kodály Educator:

Who is one of the sweetest persons on the planet?

Who continually supports and cheers on colleagues?

Who lovingly nurtures and nudges students into fine teachers?

Who diplomatically asks the tough ques-tions, digs deep for the answers, and then so generously shares with others?

Who is this gifted educator and leader we so adore?

The answer is of course Anne Laskey.I am so honored to represent the many

people who have nominated Anne for this long-deserved, well-and-truly earned award. Let me say that if you have never worked with Anne, then everything I say will be not enough to describe the depth, strength, vision, and artistry of this deceptively quiet woman. And even those who know her can miss how amazing she is, because she is al-ways sharing credit with others for her vast accomplishments.

First and foremost, Anne is an ex-traordinary teacher. Her manner is gentle,

respectful, patient, and encouraging. I have watched her turn many a difficult, nonpar-ticipating child into a capable, joyful music maker with mastery of the curriculum at that grade level. How does she do this? She ob-serves and affirms each student’s personality and musical level and with subtle and artful weaving of musical elements into her lessons invites their musical growth. They simply cannot resist the power of her teaching.

What works for elementary students also applies to her teaching of students at Holy Names University, where she has taught and administered the Kodály masters’ program for 15 years. Anne doesn’t expect students to teach the way she teaches, rather she encourages them to discover who they are and who they can become as teachers and musicians. To these students, she is so much more than a teacher: she is advisor, counselor, mother confessor, quiet cheer-leader, supporter of creative ideas—even impulses; always encouraging the students to discover for themselves.

Anne’s work and influence go far be-yond the students she teaches: Ten years ago, Anne single-handedly launched a children’s choral festival at Holy Names for school and community choirs conducted by Kodály-trained teachers. In 2004 Anne was the OAKE National Program Chair. She is organizing a 40th anniversary celebration at Holy Names University this summer. She is a tireless presenter at conferences; she writes letters, speaks to parents, speaks to school

staffs—promoting the principles of music teaching she knows so well and making them clear to all.

Perhaps Anne’s widest-reaching project has been the online folk-song collection she and her colleague Gail Needleman have labored over—researching materials at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, notating and analyzing these treasures, and putting them on the Web for all to use. Through this research, they have rediscov-ered gems for teaching that are not found in our usual “Kodály bibles,” and field record-ings are accessible for many of these gems.

One such gem has inspired how we would like to introduce Anne to you:

“Outshine the Sun” (Sung by Anne’s friend and colleague, Gail Needleman, joined by those at the banquet who knew the song.)

Outshine the sun, O Lord,Outshine the sun.Outshine the sun, O Lord,Outshine the sun.

O Anne, your name is called, I tell you your name is called.At Heaven’s Gate your name is called,Outshine the sun.

Outshine the sun, O Lord,Outshine the sun.Outshine the sun, O Lord,Outshine the sun.

OAKE 2008 OUtstANDINg EDUCAtOr: ANNE LAsKEY

Anne Laskey and OAKE President Georgia Newlin at banquet. Photo by Nancy Linford.

Anne Laskey at Banquet.Photo by Nancy Linford

sUMMEr 2008 23

Ten administrators from schools, school systems, and colleges and universities, some from as far away as Texas, participated in the OAKE Administrator Program on Friday of the 2008 conference, “Kodály in Colorado: Music with Altitude.”

Elaine Bernstorf of Wichita State University presented the Administrator session, “Music and Language: Sound Features for Teaching Literacy.” Admin-istrators chose other conference sessions to attend the rest of the day. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Glencoe graciously hosted the Administrators’ Luncheon. OAKE table hosts sought administrators’ input regarding music education in general and on ways for our organization to serve ad-ministrators in support of quality music education for their students.

George Arnold, President of Silver Lake College, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, presented OAKE Administrator Certificates of Rec-ognition to those being honored for excep-tional support of Kodály Music Education in their schools or systems.

Honored were:Brenda Barr, Strawberry Park Elementary

School, Colorado Springs, ColoradoPriscilla Barsotti, Queen Palmer Elementary

School, Colorado Springs, ColoradoTom Fleecs, Colorado Springs School Dis-

trict 11, Colorado Springs, ColoradoKim Miller, Ridgeview Classical Schools,

Fort Collins, ColoradoTerrence Moore, Ridgeview Classical

Schools, Fort Collins, ColoradoPeggy Schunk, Ridgeview Classical Schools,

Fort Collins, Colorado

OAKE members had this to say about these administrators: “has worked so hard to get a high quality music program,” “has been wonderfully supportive of Kodály.” “Many thanks [for] your support … [you have] provided for our needs by paying for Kodály certification and continuing educa-tion … even more important, though, you have supported us by attending our concerts and programs, and by giving us plenty of class time with our students. You have encouraged us to further our own musician-ship, recognizing that only by continuing to learn and grow will we be effective teachers. Thank you!”

The purposes of the OAKE Administra-tor Program are to foster communication between educators and administrators, to create a liaison between administrators and local Kodály chapters, and to reward admin-istrators who currently support the Kodály methodology in their schools, districts, or universities.

2008 OAKE ADMINIstrAtOr PrOgrAM: sUsAN gArrEtt

Administrator Luncheon attendees. Photo by Don Garrett.

Call for ProposalsOAKE National Conference

Washington DCMarch 12–14, 2009

The Organization of American Kodály Educators will sponsor a research poster session at its national conference in Washington DC, March 12–14, 2009. Research reports dealing with topics such as singing, composition, improvisation, developing music literacy skills, folk mu-sic research, and history and philosophy of the Kodály method are requested.

A poster presentation format will be used. The author(s) of each paper ac-cepted must be present at the conference poster session to discuss the research proj-ect with interested music educators. The author must also supply 25–30 copies of an abstract as well as 10 copies of the completed paper.

The following guidelines will be in effect for the paper selection process:

Submits six copies of an abstract (3-page maximum) excluding references, in 12-point type on 8 1/2 x 11” paper, single-spaced, for use in the selection process. The abstract should deal with as many of the following as are appli-cable: (a) purpose(s) of the research; (b) theoretical framework or background for the research; (c) methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry; (d) data sources of evidence; (e) results; (f ) conclusions; (g) importance of the study and recommen-dations for future research.

Submissions should be sent to:Lynn Reynolds Makrin2492 Hilltop RoadSchenectady, New York 12309The author’s name, institutional affilia-

tion, and address (including e-mail) should appear only on a separate cover page.

Papers submitted for the conference must comply with the “Code of Ethics” published in each issue of the Journal of Research in Music Education.

Submissions must be postmarked by December 1, 2008. A qualified panel of reviewers will read the abstracts submitted. Notification will be mailed by February 1, 2009. Abstracts will not be returned.

KODÁLY ENVOY24

rEsEArCh CONNECtIONs: gEOFFrEY rEYNOLDs

Singing is an important component of the elementary school music curriculum. The voice is an instrument that students can use to demonstrate musical understand-ing and express emotion. The National Standards for Arts Education (Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, 1994) lists singing alone and with others as something all students (K–12) should know and be able to do. Considering this, the de-velopment of children’s vocal skills has been an important focus of music research.

Research on children’s singing ability began in the first third of the 20th century. Several researchers have examined some of the variables that influence children’s sing-ing accuracy.

The relationship of age to children’s singing success has been the topic of several studies. There has been general agreement among researchers that singing accuracy improves with maturity (Boardman, 1964; Geringer, 1983; Goetze, 1985; Petzold, 1963), although significant differences may not be evident at successive one-year intervals (Flowers & Dunne-Sousa, 1988; Sims, Moore, & Kuhn, 1982; Sinor, 1984). Specifically, Gould (1969) reported that the number of inaccurate singers decreases with age. Davies and Roberts (1975) found that 38% of 6- and 7-year-olds and 18% of 10- and 11-year-olds are unable to sing accurately. Researchers have suggested that, in general, children first master accuracy of text and rhythm, then progress to accuracy of melodic contour, and eventually develop the ability to match exact pitches accurately. Dovetailing on the above research, the de-velopment of singing ability does not occur similarly in all young children. According to Apfelstadt (1984), singing involves hearing, remembering, and reproducing, and vast differences have been observed in individual children’s ability to coordinate these facets and produce tuneful expression.

Along with knowing what children are capable of achieving vocally, several stud-ies have been conducted to determine how children learn to sing. Jarjisian (1983) found

that a combination of diatonic and penta-tonic pattern instruction, rather than one or the other, aids the development of children’s singing. Levinoitz (1989) and Lange (2000) considered the use of text versus no text during instruction and found no difference in the tonal achievement of young children resulting from the treatment.

Studies investigating the effect of the vocal model apply directly to classroom instruction (particularly male teachers) in efforts to identify the best model for young children. Green (1987) found that the easi-est model to match for children in grades 1 through 6 was the child voice. Further, boys sang more flat than girls in response to the adult male model. Other researchers com-pared female to male vocal models. These data agree that the female model is superior to that of the male (Sims, Moore, & Kuhn, 1982; Small & McCachern, 1983).

There is inconclusive evidence regard-ing the effects of harmonic accompaniment on how children learn to sing. Hale (1977) reported that kindergarten subjects sang more efficiently when they heard both a melodic and harmonic piano accompani-ment. Petzold (1966) explored the accuracy with which children perceive and reproduce melodic fragments when they are presented with or without harmonic accompaniment. He reported that the accuracy with which children responded to a short melodic frag-ment was not influenced by the presence of a harmonic accompaniment during either the presentation of the melodic fragment or with the response. Further, Petzold (1966) also examined the comparative effects of dif-ferent types of harmonic accompaniment on students’ ability to sing melodic fragments accurately. Three types of accompaniments were examined: (1) a sustained single chord, (2) primary chords within simple chord progressions, and (3) secondary chords and inversions within complex chord progres-sions. Analysis showed that the use of simple chords resulted in greater singing accuracy for children. Sterling (1984) found (in four intact classes at each level) that both first-

and third-grade children (N = 100) sang familiar melodies better when accompanied by a melodic replication than when accom-panied by a harmonic accompaniment.

Stauffer (1985) reported contrasting effects of harmonic context when familiar song performance was compared with echo-singing of melodic patterns. No significant difference in singing accuracy among groups performing familiar songs was observed. However, first and second graders who received melodic echo-training with no harmonic context scored higher than those students who had training with a harmonic accompaniment. Moog (1976) indicated that the findings of observations, individual tests, and tape recordings of the singing of 500 preschool children showed “an abso-lutely unequivocal result: children of pre-school age cannot yet experience any sort of harmony at all” (p. 44).

Results from other studies revealed that harmonic accompaniment had no effect on children’s singing accuracy. Guilbault (2004) focused on the effect of harmonic accompaniment on the tonal achievement and tonal improvisations of children in kindergarten and first grade. Kindergartners received 30 minutes of music instruction twice per 6-day cycle (a private school that followed an A, B, C, D, E, F schedule in-stead of the typical Monday through Friday schedule). First graders received 40 minutes of music instruction three times per cycle. Data analysis revealed no significant differ-ence between the experimental and control groups for tonal achievement. The addition of root melody accompaniment (melodic line created by the fundamental pitch of the harmonic functions found in the songs) did not have an effect on children’s ability to sing accurately within the context of a song. Atterbury and Silcox (1993) and Petzold (1966) concur.

In light of these findings, questions arise regarding the ability of children to at-tend to an abundance of stimuli at once and be successful at focusing on a single element (singing the melody). According to Pfederer

Singing Ability and Characteristics among Young Children

sUMMEr 2008 25

(1964), who studied Piaget’s principal of conservation among the music abilities of children, “in the initial stage, the child fo-cuses on only one biasing aspect of the stim-ulus field” (p. 254). Until age 8, children center their attention on dominant aspects and are unable to attend to multiple stimuli. Results were found that reinforced this the-ory where children were not successful iden-tifying chord changes when the melody and harmony were played in the same register on the piano. Only when the attempt was made to separate the stimuli by performing the melody and harmony in separate registers and different timbres were the children able to detect change (Costa-Giomi, 1994). If

children are unable to attend to more than one stimuli at a time during the conserva-tion stage in their development, focusing on a melody surrounded by a instrumental ac-companiment might be difficult.

Children learn to sing songs in a variety of presentation styles. A common method is to have children echo-respond to a teacher model or a recorded song performance. The character of the aural model to be echo-performed may contribute to the ability of young children to attend to the essential me-lodic material. A song model surrounded by a thick, multivoice accompaniment may inhibit the ability of young children to reproduce the model due to the difficulty in attending to multiple stimuli. Poor aural perception of a model might contribute to poor mental clarity and therefore result in reduced song learning.

This article serves as a starting point for those interested in understanding the young singing voice. Although many researchers re-ported similar conclusions, more research is needed to address conflicting studies and to better inform the profession how we should teach young children to use their voices in healthy and expressive ways.

ReferencesApfelstadt, H. (1984). Effects of melodic per-

ception instruction on pitch discrimina-tion and vocal accuracy of kindergarten children. Journal of Research in Music Education, 32(1), 15–24.

Atterbury, B. W., & Silcox, L. (1993). The effect of piano accompaniment on kindergarten-er’s developmental singing ability. Journal of Research in Music Education, 41(1), 40–47.

Boardman, E. L. (1964). An investigation of the effect of preschool training on the develop-ment of vocal accuracy in young children. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Il-linois). Dissertation Abstracts International, 25, 1245.

Consortium of National Arts Education Associa-tions. (1994). The National Standards for Arts Education. Reston, VA: MENC.

Costa-Giomi, E. (1994). Effect of timbre and register modifications of musical stimuli on young children’s identification of chord changes. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 121, 1–15.

Davies, A. D. M., & Roberts, E. (1975). Poor

pitch singing: A survey of its incidence in school children. Psychology of Music, 3(2), 24–36.

Flowers, P. J., & Dunne-Sousa, D. (1988, April). Pitch pattern accuracy, tonality, and vocal range in the singing of preschool children. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, Indianapolis.

Geringer, J. M. (1983). The relationship of pitch matching and pitch discrimination abili-ties of preschool and fourth grade students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 31(2), 93–99.

Goetze, M. (1985). Factors affecting accuracy in children’s singing. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado). Dissertation Ab-stracts International, 46, 2955A.

Gould, A. O. (1969). Developing specialized programs for singing in the elementary school. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 17, 9–22.

Green, G. A. (1987). The effect of vocal model-ing on pitch-matching accuracy of children in grades one through six. (Doctoral dis-sertation, the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.) Dis-sertation Abstracts International, 48, 1410A.

Guilbault, D. M. (2004). The effect of harmonic accompaniment on the tonal achievement and tonal improvisations of children in kin-dergarten and first grade. Journal of Research in Music Education, 52(1), 64–76.

Hale, M. R. (1977). An experimental study of the comparative effectiveness of harmonic and melodic accompaniments in singing as it relates to the development of a sense of tonality. Bulletin of the Council of Research in Music Education, 53, 23–30.

Jarjisian, C. S. (1983). Pitch pattern instruction and the singing achievement of young chil-

dren. Psychology of Music, 11(1), 19–25.Lange, D. (2000). The effect of the use of text

in music instruction on the tonal aptitude, tonal accuracy, and tonal understanding of kindergarten children (Doctoral disserta-tion, Michigan State University). Disserta-tion abstracts international, 60, 3623.

Levinowitz, L. (1989). An investigation of pre-school children’s comparative capability to sing songs with and without words. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Educa-tion, 100, 15–19.

Moog, H. (1976). The development of musical experience in children of preschool age. Psychology of Music, 4, 38–45.

Petzold, R. (1966). Auditory perception of musi-cal sounds by children in the first six grades. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Coopera-tive Research Project No. 1051.

Pfederer, M. (1964). The responses of children to musical tasks embodying Piaget’s principal of conservation. Journal of Research in Music Education, 12(4), 251–268.

Sims, W. L., Moore, R. S., & Kuhn, T. L. (1982). Effects of female and male vocal stimuli, tonal pattern length and age on vocal pitch-matching abilities of young children from England and the United States. Psychology of Music, Special Issue: Proceedings for the IX International Seminar on Research in Music Education, 104–108.

Sinor, E. (1985). The singing of selected tonal patterns by preschool children. (Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University, 1984). Dis-sertation Abstracts International, 45, 3299A.

Small, A., & McCachern, F. L. (1983). The ef-fect of male and female vocal modeling on pitch-matching accuracy of first-grade chil-dren. Journal of Research in Music Education, 31(3), 227–233.

Stauffer, S. L. (1985). An investigation of the effects of melodic and harmonic context on the development of singing ability in pri-mary grade children (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Michigan). Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 1862A.

Sterling, P. A. (1985). A developmental study of the effects of accompanying harmonic context on children’s vocal pitch accuracy of familiar melodies. (Doctoral Dissertation. University of Miami). Dissertation abstracts international, 45, 2436A.

Geoffrey Reynolds is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Hartt School, University of Hart-ford, West Hartford, Connecticut. His teaching areas include world music (Arabic and African), technology, general music, and choral music. Before coming to Hartt, he was coordinator of music education at the University of Vermont. Geoffrey holds three levels of Kodály certification and is a frequent presenter at na-tional and regional pedagogy and research conferences He can be reached at greynolds@hartford.edu.

Children first master accuracy of text and rhythm, then progress to accuracy of melodic contour.

KODÁLY ENVOY26

It has been difficult in recent years to think that the words to the wonderful song “How Can I Keep from Singing?” are still true in America. The rise of all things electronic has seemed to make download-ing and listening to music much more fun than singing. But there is some good news on that front. The New York Times reports that community singing is alive and well in the land after all. Their article, “Shared Song—Communal Memory” (Sunday, February 10, 2008, Arts section), is the basis for the following.

Beloved folk singer Pete Seeger has championed group singing for over 60 years and continues to do so today. Seeger thinks that “singing together gives people some kind of holy feeling and it can hap-pen whether they’re atheists or whoever. You feel like, ‘Gee, we’re all together.’” Now, throughout our country, people seem to agree, as community sings, or sing-alongs are becoming more and more common. The antithesis of listening to pop songs on iPods, these occasions are about a lot more than just singing. They bring people together and are said to empower the ordinary citizen to consider his or her own ability to change society for the better.

Sing-alongs are casual gatherings of people of all ages who may or may not have sung in a group before. They feature a song leader who sometimes accompanies on guitar or autoharp, a songbook, and a casual structure where participants choose the songs as they go along. The meetings are open-ended and democratic in nature.

One of the first songbooks for commu-nity singers came about when Pete Seeger founded the People’s Song Collective in 1945. The collective disseminated its own songbook, which was frequently used in early folk festivals and song-circles. Then, in 1973, Peter Blood, a Quaker, political orga-nizer, and folk musician, compiled his own homemade songbook called Winds of the People. Group singers welcomed it warmly, and it became a great hit in religious and summer-camp circles.

Ten years later, Blood and his wife,

Annie Patterson, put together another book called Rise Up Singing. This second book includes words, chords, and sources for 1200 songs. The only notated songs are in the “rounds” section. There are a few chords indicating harmony, but essentially Rise up Singing is a collection of lyrics. Song leaders buy them by the boxful to pass out at sing-alongs. You can order one for yourself from www.quakersong.org. It is in its 15th edition, which now includes CDs of all the songs, for sale separately. It is difficult to know just how many of these books have been sold since it first ap-peared. There is no good way to tally them because the entire singing movement is so amorphous. In addition, the group-singing movement is very casual and has no cen-tralized organization. Still, according to the authors, 100 sing-along groups around the country now use Rise up Singing, and it is considered by many community song lead-ers to be the ultimate songbook.

One song leader mused that the core pleasure of folk music is the opportunity for everyone to participate. She continued that, when people are singing together in this way, they feel ownership of the music. One enthusiastic singer described participa-tion in sing-alongs as “a political need and a spiritual need.” Another agreed, saying: “I’m not much of a musician at all [but] if you enjoy it, you can jump in and do it.” Many previously self-described non-singers, who “couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket,” now feel confident enough to join their church choirs or other community choirs.

Shape Note singers can also be counted in the community sing movement. This method has a long history in the United States, dating back to the late 18th century and continuing today. Shape Note singers gather together in a “hollow square,” facing the song leader—a formation that many community singers have adopted as well. The Shape Note singers’ favorite book is The Sacred Harp, published in 1844. In it, all songs are notated but the noteheads of pitches are presented as shapes, making the tunes easy to learn at sight.

All in all, the community song movement adds up to a healthy and inspiring trend. There are many people who are discovering their musical mother tongue for the first time. I think Kodály would be pleased.

Ruth Boshkoff holds a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College and a master of education from the University of Buffalo. She has earned both Kodály and Orff certifications. A frequent composer, instructor, and clinician in those disciplines, she is currently the director of the Treble Choir in the Indiana University Children’s Choir Program. She can be reached at rbos2222@kiva.net.

ChOrAL CONNECtIONs: rUth bOshKOFF

America’s Music: A Gathering of Voices

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The Education You Want. The Attention You Deserve.

Discover ways to excite students, parents, principals and yourself about music!

KODÁLY ENVOY28

Like all Kodály teachers, I am continu-ously searching for new and interesting ways to actively engage my students in music making. As my particular interest lies in vo-cal development, I look for every occasion to practice methods that will further my students’ ability to sing beautifully and with varying techniques.

The use of books in my classroom offers myriad opportunities to incorporate such techniques as vocal exploration, creative movement, and dramatic expression as well as learning new songs and perfecting famil-iar ones. Regardless of age, children enjoy having a variety of opportunities to prac-tice the techniques that make them better singers and musicians. Exposure to new or unusual elements can be challenging, enjoy-able, or even threatening to some children. Over the years, I have discovered that the more play that is woven into the lesson, the more effort students are willing to put forth. The key lies in finding a “hook” that is in-teresting or unexpected and expanding the lesson from there. The following suggestions for using books in the music classroom are among my favorites and intended only as a starting point. Certain selections may be repeated over the course time, or you might choose several books that can be used to help build specific skills.

Books for Vocal ExplorationMooncake(by Frank Asch, Scholastic Books, 1983)Suggested grades: PreK–1

A bear vows to make a rocket ship to travel to the moon. His friends help him until winter arrives. He has wonderful adventures.

Use repeated words in the story as signals for specific sounds, such as “bird” or “little bird” (tweet! tweet!), or “moon” (gliding sound up and down using “mm-mmm”). After a few repetitions, students may become a bit complacent and require your encouragement. Over time, it be-comes a game to see if you can trick them, or if they can trick you by making the sound even when you haven’t left much time or space for it. Dramatic movement

while the story is being read is also very popular and frequently adds to the vocal interest of the sounds children produce.

Rain Talk(by Mary Serfozo, Aladdin Books, 1990)Suggested grades: K–2

This story is full of beautiful, descriptive verse, and highlights the interesting sounds made by rain upon various surfaces, like a dusty country road or a smooth, silvery pond.

Begin by reading the story and asking students to imitate the sounds described, such as “Ploomp, Ploomp,” PlipPlipPlip,” or “Flick … Flick … Flick.” Follow the activity by handing out cards with all those interesting words. Read the book again, and when the special words are spoken in the story, hold up the appropriate card as a signal for the group to make their sound. Make your own rain-storm by layering the sounds from the cards as they are held in the air, or using your own special signal. Give plenty of feedback regard-ing vocal quality, registration, leaving time for rests, and so forth. Students enjoy this activity so much they are willing to repeat the process over several days, ensuring everyone a turn.

The First Song Ever Sung (by Laura Melmed Krauss, Puffin Books, 1993)Suggested grades: 2–4

A little boy is followed as he asks all those around him, “What was the first song ever sung?” The illustrations are colorful and visually exciting for students.

Children are asked to help with the part of the storyteller in this book by say-ing the following lines, “What was the first song ever sung?’ and then a bit later, “The first song ever sung was …” As storytellers, it will be their job to keep the question and answer interesting by using a lot of vocal inflection. Practice it together, giving feed-back, or copying one person with a particu-larly interesting style. You can always refer to it later, “Remember how Jerry made it sound so interesting?”

The next read-through involves choos-ing narrators for all the characters in the book. Volunteers are each given a brief “script” of what their character says in re-sponse to the question and a few minutes time to practice reading with expression and desired dramatic movement and vocal sound effects. The “boy” then goes to each charac-

CLAssrOOM CONNECtIONs I: DEbOrAh LAMb

From Story to Song

Volunteers hold signs to signal vocal sounds from classmates while reading Rain Talk. Photos courtesy of author.

Small groups create dramatic movement and sound as the narrator reads The First Song.

Everyone enjoys watching as well as taking part in the drama The First Song.

sUMMEr 2008 29

ter, asking the question, or signaling the rest of the group to join him.

One third-grade classroom decided to break into small groups and create dra-matic movement as their script was read. The students worked intently and proudly presented some very delightful and in-teresting interpretations to the rest of us. Small groups positioned themselves around the room and waited for the little boy to approach asking, “What was the first song ever sung?” The actors delivered their lines with charming inflection as each of these ensembles gained confidence and energy, throwing themselves into their roles as the tale progressed to its conclusion. The dra-ma became a delightful exchange enjoyed by all the players, as can be seen in the ac-companying photos.

Books for Repeated Sung Vocal LineThe Hatseller and the Monkeys (by Baba Wagué Diakité, Scholastic, 1999)Suggested grades: 2–3

Listeners are fascinated by this West African tale of the adventures of a peddler on his way to the market and some wily monkeys. Children are able to sing a phrase that repeats throughout the book. I cre-ated a simple melody based on that phrase, and my students enjoy taking part in the storytelling process by singing each time it occurred. The children are also very excited to incorporate vocal effects throughout, al-lowing practice in using more of their vocal

range. Continuous coaching and feedback will allow the young musicians to develop greater facility and are key to skill building and long-term success.

There are a number of hat shapes drawn in the book. One might copy the basic

shapes onto paper, find some beautiful eth-nic fabric, iron the “hats” on the back using a fusing material, and cut out the shapes for students to hold when acting the parts. The class will enjoy taking on the roles of the monkeys, making the silly sounds, and mov-ing dramatically as the story unfolds. Stu-dents love being increasingly creative with their vocal inflections as each new sound appears throughout the narration.

Abiyoyo Returns (by Pete Seeger and Paul DuBois Jacobs, Aladdin Paperbacks, 2001)Suggested grades: 1–4

Abiyoyo Returns is the sequel to Pete Seeger’s original Abiyoyo. It includes the same silly song found in the original and delightful sound effects that help students vocalize throughout their ranges. You will find opportunities for including physical dramatization or even small percussion, to the delight of your singers. Slightly older children will enjoy taking some time to cre-ate their own versions of the various sections of the story.

The book also contains a number of messages regarding getting along that are very pertinent today. The story could easily be the starting point for discussions on tol-erance and problem solving in circumstanc-es where we have differences with others.

Books that Incorporate SongsWhat a Wonderful World (illus. by Ashley Bryan, Atheneum Books, 1995)Suggested grades: K–6

This beautiful book accompanies the song made famous by Louis Armstrong. Even the youngest children are fascinated by the gravelly sound of Armstrong’s voice as they listen and enjoy the illustrations.

Many children are already familiar with this song and join in on the refrain of “what a wonderful world” on the first hearing. Each year, students request to listen and sing along with this song in both primary and intermediate grades. Occasionally they need encouragement and reminders to use their upper register for singing. In performance with intermediate aged children, you may wish to select a key that will be a little more comfortable for your students, as singing

an octave higher than the recording may be uncomfortable for both males and females in the midst of vocal change.

One year, sixth-grade students who had studied the roots of jazz, including key performers and composers, requested to perform this song at their graduation. A community jazz ensemble accompanied the singers, and it was a wonderful intergenera-tional experience for all involved.

Follow the Drinking Gourd (by Jeanette Winter, Alfred A. Knopf, 1988)Suggested grades: 2–6

The story of the Underground Railroad is fascinating to children of all ages. The song “Follow the Drinking Gourd” is found at the back of this book. Students enjoy learning the lyrics that contain hidden direc-tions for following a route to freedom in the north—typically Canada. They will also en-joy looking at a map tracing the path escap-ing slaves took on their perilous journey.

The repetition in this song means it is easily learned. Students may sing the repeated lines and refrain while the teacher sings the remaining verses. Thus, children are even more actively involved in telling the story. At pertinent times, you may add a verse that relates to a particular section of the story. Being very much into the drama of the tale, students tend to be more than willing to work with various styles, inflec-tions, dynamics, and phrasing techniques, which are all valuable skills. Inserting the refrain of the song every few pages gives younger children the opportunity to remain engaged as they learn or review the song. In-termediate aged students can enjoy bringing the song to life in a jazz arrangement by An-dré Thomas called “The Drinking Gourd.”1

Many Thousand Gone: African-Americans from Slavery to Freedom, “The Brave

Students enjoy making silly sounds and acting like the monkeys in The Hatseller and the Monkeys.

Students sing as they enjoy the illustrations in What a Wonderful World.

KODÁLY ENVOY30

Conductor”—a story of Harriet Tubman(by Virginia Hamilton, Scholastic Books, 1993)

Use the song version of the story of Harriet Tubman written by Walter Robin-son with this book.2 The song is particu-larly appealing to intermediate students because its folk-like style makes it instantly engaging and memorable. “The Brave Conductor” is only a few pages long, yet it contains numerous opportunities for in-cluding the refrain at various points in the reading, helping students to learn it easily and quickly. More than one class has left the music room humming or singing this song and has returned the next class period requesting it. Any time I find something engaging to upper elementary singers, I am encouraged to seek opportunities to ex-pand on that interest, and this activity has been particularly successful.

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message

(by Chief Jake Swamp, Scholastic Books, 1995)

The Thanksgiving Address, an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Moth-er Earth and all her inhabitants is the basis for this beautiful book. The text comes from the Native people known as the Iroquois or Six Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora from upstate New York and Canada. These words are still spoken at some gatherings held by the Six Nations.

Intermediate students tend to be fascinated and intrigued by the Native American bond with the earth and all liv-ing things, making this selection an excel-lent choice. The book’s message is simple and powerful for these youngsters; many have studied native peoples in their social studies classes, and enjoy sharing their knowledge. It is a perfect book to partner with the song, “The Earth is Our Mother,” offering many opportunities for repetition every few pages, as well as artistic develop-ment in the singing.3 The book and song work as a lovely program pair, with the verses interspersed throughout. You may want to consider using an alto recorder, a few drums playing the beat, and shakers or jingles to complete the effect.

Books Help Develop Musical SkillsChildren young and old are strongly

drawn to books. Therefore, it makes sense to utilize them in the music classroom. Results of these types of activities will be most rewarding if you take time, initially as well as throughout the process, to give feedback. Using probing questions will help children become more discriminat-ing listeners and skillful singers. By asking students to model as they display target techniques, you will find even more enthu-siastic participation from your class.

Using books in this manner provides the opportunity for children develop their musical skills and sensibilities in new and exciting ways. You may be surprised at the variety and quality of your students’ subse-quent development!

Notes1. “The Drinking Gourd,” arr. by Andre

Thomas, 2 part, opt. flute or SATB, Lorenz,

2000. Performed by the Children’s Choir at the 2007 OAKE National Conference, DVD avail-able through Image One at www.imageoneme-dia.com/oake.

2. “Harriet Tubman,” in Rise Up Singing: The Group Singing Book, Peter Blood and An-nie Patterson, editors, (Sing Out! Bethlehem, PA, 1988), p. 60. Recording by Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert on the album Lifeline Extended available for purchase online as MP3.

3. A Circle is Cast: Rounds, Chants, and Songs for Celebration and Ritual (Native Ameri-can, Ladyslipper Publications, 1986), p. 23, and “Two Native American Songs,” 3-part treble, arr. by Barbara Sletto, Colla Voce.

Deborah Lamb is an elementary vocal music educator at Park Spanish Immersion School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She specializes in the teaching of voice skills to children in both class-room and choir settings. Deborah has presented papers and demonstration sessions for national as well as international audiences. She has also served as guest conductor for children’s choirs around the U.S. She may be reached at lamb.deborah@slpschools.org.

U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N

MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSICDavid Ashley White, director

UH is an EEO/AA institution.

www.pcs.uh.edu713.743.3398

The Kodály Institute of HoustonJuly 14-29, 2008

Level I & Level II Kodály Training* Rhona Brink & Janet Scarcella, instructors

Cecile Johnson & Charles Hausmann, guest clinicians*Training may be taken for continuing education credits and/or graduate credit

leading to a Master of Music in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis.

sUMMEr 2008 31

CLAssrOOM CONNECtIONs II: grEtChEN LIEChtY LYNCh

Last year I was asked to think of ways that I could incorporate language arts stan-dards into my K–6 music classes. Armed with the Indiana Department of Education handbook for language arts,1 I sat down to see if it was possible to add language arts standards into my once-a-week, 40 minute classes and still manage to accomplish my own program of studies. What I found was that many of these standards were already being addressed just by teaching a Kodály-based curriculum. The following is only a short list of the standards that already corre-sponded with my own lesson plans. I found it helpful to make this list and share it with my administrators and classroom teachers, as it became clear that we were working to-gether to accomplish our curriculums.

Indiana Language Arts Standards and Kodály/General Music Connections

K.1.2 Follow words from left to right and from top to bottom on the printed page.

When teaching students to read quarter notes and eighth notes on rhythm syllables, students are asked to read left to right and to read lines from top to bottom. I remind them that this is just like reading a book.

K.1.10 Say rhyming words in response to an oral prompt.

Students are asked to improvise the final word of a phrase, with the parameter that it must rhyme with a previous phrase. Examples are the songs “Jenny Jenkins” and “This Old Man.”

K.1.13 Count the number of syllables in words.Students are asked to identify the

number of syllables in words represented by pictures to prepare them for ta and ti-ti. I laminate photos of the following animals: dog, horse, fish, turtle, monkey, kangaroo, elephant, dinosaur, rhinoceros, and alliga-tor. The words are written on the pictures so the children can read them, and so that they don’t confuse them with a similar animal (for example, alligator with crocodile). I ask them to find an animal whose name gets one clap

(or syllable). We then say the word and clap the syllables to see if the child was correct.

K.2.2 Use pictures and context to aid compre-hension and to draw conclusions or make predictions about story content.

K.2.5 Identify the order (first, last) of informationI always conclude my kindergarten

classes with a sung story. Sometimes I sing the song from a picture book, while other times this is solely a listening activity. When singing the song without the aid of pictures, I ask the children to summarize the story after the first listen. When using a picture book, I pause and ask the children to make predic-tions about what might happen next. Some wonderful sung stories that have correspond-ing books include The Crabfish, adapted by John Feierabend; Oh Soldier, Soldier, Won’t You Marry Me, adapted by Pam Adams; and The Cat Came Back, by Fred Penner.

1.7.9 Provide descriptions with careful atten-tion to sensory detail.

I learned a wonderful improvisation technique from John Feierabend, which he calls “Arioso.” Children are asked to sing about their own experiences, making up the words and melody on the spot. In the beginning of first grade I ask them to sing about their favorite things—foods, clothing, weather, places, and more—using descriptive words.

1.5.1 Write brief narratives (stories) describing an experience.

By first grade, my students can give a sung narrative of a few sentences, which is great practice for writing these things down in the classroom. I usually give my students a parameter, such as asking them to sing about what they did over winter break, with the expectation that they can tell me anything as long as they sing. Nearly every child participates because they are so ex-cited to tell me about what is going on in their lives!

2.1.1 Demonstrate an awareness of the sounds that are made by different letters by:

distinguishing beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words.

clearly pronouncing blends and vowel sounds.Vowel sounds are essential to beautiful

choral singing. I spend a lot of time in all grade levels demonstrating the vowel sounds in the words we sing, and the difference be-tween the way we speak the words and sing the words. We also talk about the beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words, making sure that our consonants are audible and that an audience could understand our text.

2.1.6 Read aloud fluently and accurately with appropriate changes in voice and expression.

I ask my students to read aloud a phrase from a song we are learning, encour-aging them to read it expressively. Then we sing the phrase, trying to keep the expres-siveness and meaning in the phrase.

3.2.2 Ask questions and support answers by connecting prior knowledge with literal information from the text.

When singing a new song, students are asked to use prior knowledge as well as lyrics to determine meaning.

4.7.9 Engage the audience with appropriate words, facial expressions, and gestures.

Whether we are singing in performance or just in rehearsal, I work with my students to convey the meaning of their text with their facial expression, especially in their eyes.

5.3.1 Identify and analyze the characteristics of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction and explain the appropriateness of the liter-ary forms chosen by an author for a specific purpose.

In my fifth-grade choral rehearsals, we often sing compositions based on poetry. This year we are singing “The Raggedy Man,” set to music by Melissa Keylock and Jill Frieder-sdorf. It is based on a poem by James Wit-comb Riley and is written in a rural dialect. We discussed the appropriateness of words such as “ain’t,” and the author’s spelling of words in the way they would be pronounced rather than the dictionary spelling.

Connecting to Their Classroom—We Already Are!

KODÁLY ENVOY32

5.3.5 Describe the function and effect of com-mon literary devices, such as imagery, meta-phor, and symbolism.

So many song texts are full of imagery, metaphors, and symbolism. Another beauti-ful piece of music I have done with my fifth-grade choir is “Dona Dona,” arranged by Ruth Dywer. The lyrics contrast a calf, des-tined to be sold for food at the market, with a swallow, free as the wind. The children recognized that these animals symbolized human situations, and were more deeply connected to the music after discussing the metaphor used by the poet.

Note1. Indiana’s Language Arts Standards can be

found at www.doe.state.in.us/standards/ welcome2.html.

Gretchen Liechty Lynch is currently the K–6 choral and general music teacher at Freedom Hill Elemen-tary in Vienna, Virginia. She received her musical training from Indiana University, the Hartt School, and the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, and can be reached at gcliechtylynch@gmail.com.

At this year’s national OAKE confer-ence in Denver, leaders from chapters all around the country met to discuss strategies for growing our chapters.

Prior to our meeting in Denver, a sur-vey was sent out to chapter leadership. This survey asked for successes, concerns, and questions. Using this data, we planned our session together.

Aileen Brown and Nyssa Brown facilitat-ed a chapter leadership session focusing on:

Communication• Getting more people to workshops/get-• ting more people to join OAKEIdentifying new chapter leadership• Creating/collaborating with a Kodály • levels programWe would like to thank Amy Carter, Curt

Cereske, Karla Cherwinski, Noami Cohen, Kelly Griffin, and Cecile Johnson for their help

ChAPtEr LEADErshIP: NYssA brOWN AND AILEEN brOWN

Successes, Ideas, and Time to Sharein facilitating our collaborative session

Chapter leaders asked questions and shared ideas that have worked in their own chapter. The energy in the room was full of possibilities—congratulations to our amazing chapter presidents, treasurers, and boards across the U.S.

The ideas generated will be compiled and sent to all chapter presidents and trea-surers. If you would like a copy of these ideas, please feel free to contact either Nyssa or Aileen. We will also be starting an e-group to continue this discussion through-out the year. If you would like to be added to this list, please contact Aileen. We look forward to seeing this wonderful leadership team in Washington DC 2009!

Aileen can be reached at aileen43130@yahoo.com and Nyssa at nyssa_brown@yahoo.com.

Save the Date!

OAKE IsGoing to

DallasOAKE National Conference

March 18-20, 2010Mark your calendar now.The 2010 OAKE Nation-al Conference will be held in Dallas, Texas, from March 18 to 20, 2010.Plan to be there!

sUMMEr 2008 33

ScholarshipsMembership in OAKE has many bene-

fits, but only when taken advantage of. One of these benefits is scholarships to members for training or to members’ students selected for the National Conference choirs. In the past, there have been more worthy appli-cants than funds available to award, however this year was different.

Unfortunately there were no applicants for either educational scholarship this year and the choir scholarship was granted only to five eligible individuals. Please join us is spreading the word about these scholarships and encour-age your colleagues to pursue this support.

The Jenö Ádám and Susan Taylor How-ell Memorial Scholarships are used exclusively to support OAKE member seeking training at an OAKE approved institution or in Hun-

gary. The deadline for applications, essays, and references is February 1, with application materials being available online in the Mem-bers Only area by November 1 annually.

The National Conference Choir Schol-arships provide partial funding to students who would enrich the ethnic diversity of the National Conference Choirs. Applica-tion information is available in the audition materials. Recipients for the 2007 National Conference Choirs in Denver were:Children’s Choir:Hanifah Bostic, Massachusetts (teacher:

Katherine Hakim)Alisa Camacho, California (teacher: Aman-

da Isaac)Meghan Grip, Vermont (teacher: Kate Ullman)Youth Choir: Kari Davis, Colorado (teacher:

Ginger Littleton)

2008 sChOLArshIPs AND OAKE LEAF FUND rEPOrts: grEg A. WILLIAMs

Concert Choir: Meagan Davis, Florida (teach-er: Emily Mason)

OAKE Leaf FundThank you for the continued support of

the endowment, called the OAKE Leaf Fund, through your donations at the “Buy-A-Note” Booth. The gifts made at this year’s confer-ence added $1,131 to the OAKE Leaf Fund. This committee continues to encourage writ-ten funding requests for charitable and edu-cational activities and projects that further the purposes and objectives of OAKE. Please contact the National Treasurer if you want to inquire about funding for a specific project.

Please see the note and a reflection article from Warren Henry from the Univer-sity of North Texas, who received a $1,000 award in 2007 on p. 16 of this issue.

LEVELS I, II, III CERTIFICATION • July 7–26, 2008

The Kodály Summer Institute offers an introduction to Kodály philosophy, including musicianship training, conducting, curriculum develop-ment, pedagogical techniques, and materials for teaching. Course work within the institute can be applied towards Kodály Summer Certification, the Master’s Degree in Music Education, or the Kodály Specialist Certificate.

Faculty: Gemma Arguelles, Judit Hartyányi, Erzsébet Hegyi,Erzsébet Hegyi, Anne Laskey, Hélène Matters, Ildikó Thesz Salgado, Fran Smith

Visit http://kodalyhnu.blogspot.com for a summer brochure and updates regarding our 40th anniversary. For more information, call 510.436.1234 or email: laskey@hnu.edu.

Judit Hartyányi

HNU Ad: #PA143MUSize: (7 x 5)"Pub: OAKEArt Due: Jan. 25, 2008

Holy Names University

40 th KodálySummer Institute

Ear Training with 20th Century Art MusicErzsébet HegyiJuly 14–18Erzsébet Hegyi

40 th Anniversary CelebrationAll are welcome to join this historic celebration with returning faculty and alums.July 24–27

Kodály Center for Music Education

KODÁLY ENVOY34

Authorize that the consignment pro-• ceeds received from the sale of Bruce Adol-phe’s educational materials be deposited in, and used by, the Jenö Ádám Scholarship fund.

Compensate Nancy Johnson, Na-• tional Conference Business Director, $3,600 (1/4 of her annual salary) for additional NCBD work completed during fiscal year 2007–2008.

Dissolve the Choral Camp Committee.• Authorize that the funding of the •

OAKE Legacy Campaign, up to $5,000.00, come from the OAKE Leaf Fund.

Require that Chapters or Divisions • deemed “not in good standing” due only to faulty, incomplete or nonexistent fiscal requirements may correct the deficiency(ies) by submitting required materials within the deadlines of the fiscal year in question. Defi-ciencies not corrected in the given fiscal year result in loss of chapter or division grants and bonuses. In ensuing fiscal years, upon

Board approval, a chapter or division is not required to remedy previous years’ require-ment deficiencies.

Approve a gift of $1,000.00 to the • International Kodály Society.

Authorize the restructuring of the • Advisory Council to include Division Presi-dents and Treasurers, and Chapter Presi-dents and Treasurers, and Regional Repre-sentatives, to be cochaired by the President Elect and Treasurer.

Approve a change in the nominations • deadline for Outstanding Educator, Out-standing Administrator, Lifetime Achieve-ment, and Outstanding Research Awards to May 1 beginning in 2009.

Approve a change in the Board-• accepted Conflict of Interest Policy concern-ing the familial relationship between the current Administrative Director and Office Assistant to be “authorized as just, fair and reasonable to OAKE.”

OAKE Spring 2008 Board MeetingMarch 26–30, Denver, Colorado

The OAKE Board adopted the follow-ing motions at its spring 2008 meetings:

Authorize the OAKE National Office • to increase the office assistant position to 40 hours a week for the remainder of fiscal year 2007–2008.

Authorize the Scholarship Committee • to fund-raise for the Jenö Ádám Scholarship fund by selling OAKE wristbands.

Adopt the Ways and Means Com-• mittee and the Planning and Development Committee’s OAKE Legacy Campaign Pro-posal 2008–2011.

Authorize the Recognitions Commit-• tee to present the 2008 OAKE Outstanding Educator Award to Anne Laskey.

Require that the National Conference • Choir Scholarship Committee ask Board approval during each Fall Board Meeting to use the available funds for scholarships to be granted following the fall auditions.

Holy Names University Everyone is invited to join Holy Names

alumni for the 40th Anniversary Celebra-tion, July 24–27, in conjunction with the final days of this year’s institute. Current and past faculty and alums will present ses-sions and panels that reflect their contribu-tions to the Kodály movement in the U.S. and abroad. Returning American faculty will include Edward Bolkovac, Rita Klinger, and Ivy Rawlins Ward. Hungarians Judit Hartyányi and Erzsébet Hegyi, who will teach in the 2008 institute, will be joined by Sarolta Platthy, Helga Dietrich, and László Matos. Judith Johnson and Anne Comiskey, from Australia, will also participate, as well as Pierre and Margaret Perron from Canada. In addition to recognizing the achievements of our faculty and alums, we will address “Music for Everyone: Envisioning a Musical Culture” as we look forward to the next 40 years. On July 27, we are planning an out-ing to Angel Island via ferry for a picnic and historic tram tour of the island.

Sessions will begin the morning of

July 24, and the opening ceremony will be held in HNU’s Valley Center for Perform-ing Arts. Jerry Jaccard (MM ’76) will give the keynote address, and Chanticleer will perform. Judit Hartyányi will lead rehearsals of the alumni choir during these three days, and the choir will join the institute choir for the final concert on Saturday, July 26. We invite all alums and friends of the Kodály Center, as well as those new to Holy Names, to attend this exciting celebration of one of the most influential Kodály training centers in the United States. For more information, visit our blog at http://Kodályhnu.blogspot.com, or e-mail laskey@hnu.edu.

McNeese State UniversityThe 16th Kodály Institute at McNeese

starts June 8. The National Association of Schools of Music recently approved the of-fering of a Master of Music Education degree with a Concentration in Kodály Studies at McNeese. This years’ institute participants have the opportunity to enroll as a non-degree student for graduate/undergraduate

credit or through the Continuing Education Division for CEU credits. Joining the faculty this year are Ann Eisen, national clinician and textbook author; Jonathan C. Rappaport, codirector of the Kodály Summer Music In-stitute at New England Conservatory; Lamar Robertson, international workshop clinician and author; and Kari McCarty, a recent par-ticipant of the Kodály Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary. Highlights of the program include a student recital and the institute concert, where session participants are joined by stu-dents of the Children’s Choir Camp, held during the last week of the Institute. Sandra Knudson of Norman, Oklahoma, returns as camp clinician and conductor.

The institute is proud to acknowledge its many graduates who are now training new generations of Kodály educators in workshops throughout the United States. Information concerning all aspects of the Institute at McNeese can be found on the university’s Web site at www.mcneese.edu/performingarts/ or by contacting

continued on p. 44

INstItUtE NEWs

sUMMEr 2008 35

NEWs FrOM thE NAtIONAL OFFICE

Many of our members are having prob-lems with their user name and password—or they have too many and are not sure which one to use. So, here is a repeat of a previous article to help you through this situation.

Please note that your “Members Only” password is good for one year due to secu-rity reasons. So after a year, you will receive an e-mail stating that your password has expired. Go to the OAKE Web site and

click on the Members Only area of the tool-bar. A drop-down menu appears, click on Existing Member Password. Follow the di-rections to sign up for a new password. You cannot ask for the same user name, however, you can still use your favorite password once you have logged in using the password that comes in the e-mail. Once you are in the Member’s Only section, click on Change Password. Then you can change back to

your old password. It sounds confusing, but it really is quite easy.

If you would like to use the same user name contact Joan at the National Office prior to renewing and have all your user names cleared. Then you can start the pro-cess again.

If you have any trouble please contact Joan at the National Office (oakeoffice@oake.org).

NEW MEMbErs : FIrst QUArtEr 2008

See the complete member listings in the members-only section of www.oake.org. Restricted solely to the personal use of OAKE members and official OAKE business

Rebecca BoyleSanta Clara, Utah

Renee BrachearLittleton, Colorado

Holly BragdonDenton, Texas

Marjorie CampEnglewood, Colorado

Anandah CarterNew York, New York

Margaret ClarkEl Cerrito, California

Joseph ColemanPearl, Mississippi

Denise CoughlinColorado Springs, Colorado

Jared CoyleSandy, Oregon

Edna CuligLittleton, Colorado

Janet DammannEdmonton, AB, Canada

Leonard DavisAberdeen, South Dakota

Lisa DavisCanyon Lake, Texas

Arwen de CastellanosOakland, California

Jeri DownsCrestview, Florida

Manju DurairajWestchester, Illinois

Janelle EllisNewcastle, Wyoming

Phyllis ErnsbergerPortland, Oregon

Elisa Maria FrancaRio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

Melanie FreaneyKing of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Sarah FredericksonOmaha, Nebraska

Deborah GoughWestminster, Colorado

Susan HardingLoveland, Colorado

Marjorie HegemanNewberg, Oregon

Tsui-Fen HoFremont, California

Amanda HopperSeattle, Washington

Deenie JimenezSan Antonio, Texas

Len LangrickBaltimore, Maryland

Annette LauerColorado Springs, Colorado

Tamara LenzColorado Springs, Colorado

Marissa LeoninoAkron, Ohio

Jami LewisGrand Junction, Colorado

Lindsay LindermanBordentown, New Jersey

Rebecca LockwoodAlgoma, Wisconsin

Laura LoflandWichita, Kansas

Emily MazzarinoSunnyvale, California

Cheri McElroyLutherville, Maryland

Eileen McErlainWinston Salem, North Carolina

Kate McKeageLaramie, Wyoming

Susan MichalekWestminster, Colorado

Barrie MizerskiBrooklyn, New York

Valerie MontanoDenver, Colorado

Sophear NamLivermore, California

Suzie NelsonGrand Junction, Colorado

Laura NevinLakewood, Colorado

Anita PerlauCalgary, AB, Canada

Elizabeth PontiffSterling, Virginia

Gwendolyn RappColorado Springs, Colorado

Leslie RichartColorado Springs, Colorado

Kristin RobbinsColorado Springs, Colorado

Adrienn SalazarSterling, Virginia

Camille SankeyLittleton, Colorado

Hisae SatoPortland, Oregon

Pam ScottGrand Junction, Colorado

Helena SeiersenLarkspur, Colorado

Emily SextonCasper, Wyoming

Amanda SotoSeattle, Washington

Genevieve Stevens-JohnsonPortland, Oregon

Sandy StollerParker, Colorado

Robin StreeterGrand Junction, Colorado

Jorgianne TalbotEdmonton, AB, Canada

Jan Taylor-BilenkiCalgary, AB, Canada

Deborah TidwellGarden City, Kansas

Sara TyburczyBroomfield, Colorado

Lynn VannierLake Oswego, Oregon

Erin WagnerMcKinney, Texas

Sandy WagnerLongview, Washington

Cathie WeirSpringfield, Missouri

Kelly WisneskiPequannock, New Jersey

Lisa YarberryGarden City, Kansas

Linda ZimmermannAnchorage, Alaska

Gilbert de Greeve (IKS President), Naomi Cohen, Susan Glass, and Susan Garrett at the conference. Photo by Don Garrett.

KODÁLY ENVOY36

KEsNEKodály Educators of Southern New England Diana Brandt, President58 Cobb St., Oakville, CT 06779860-919-3815 laubin7@aol.com

This year we have had some terrific workshops. We started off the school year with a great workshop with Colleen Casey-Nelson. Colleen is a teacher in Connecticut and also works at Central Connecticut State University. Colleen shared with us different songs and games from all around the world. For our second workshop, we had Alice Hammel. Alice presented a very intuitive and helpful workshop on special education in the music classroom. She shared a wealth of knowledge with us, from activities to do in the class to legal things we need to know as teachers. If you are interested in learning more about special education in the music classroom please visit Alice’s Web page at www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/hammel/ under special learners. Our last workshop was a choral based workshop with local composer Amy Bernon in April.

In addition to having our three work-shops, KESNE was also a participant in Connecticut’s Elementary General Music Conference this past October. I would like to thank Jerry Kerlin for being our Kodály presenter for that conference. This year we also had several of our members partake in the Fall Tune-Up in November. Con-gratulations to all of the KESNE members who were presenters. Throughout all of our workshops and other endeavors this year we have stayed financially stable.

This summer our Vice President Lillie Feierabend will take over the reins of president.

KNJKodály/New Jersey Kristen VanOllefen, President 2676 Killian Pl., Union, NJ 07083908-686-8398 netsirkvo@aol.com

KNJ recently had two successful work-shops. We combined with the local Orff chap-ter in February for our annual sharing session. This year’s topic was listening activities. Many people presented that day, and everyone went away with a wealth of new information.

In March, KNJ combined with West-minster Choir College to host Betty Ber-taux. Her session, titled “Efficiency and Fun in a Choral Rehearsal,” lived up to its name. We learned lots of new activities to keep children engaged during rehearsals and also had the opportunity to read through some of her new repertoire.

Our last workshop of the year will be presented by Caroline Desmond and is titled “Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: Teaching Musicianship through Songs Games and Dances.” Caroline will present lots of repertoire and demonstrate how to incorporate solfège activities in your daily music lessons.

KONYKodály Organization of New York Karen Paulson, President 345 E. 81st St. #4G, New York, NY 10018212-861-9825 karenpaulson@gmail.com

KONY had three April events. On April 9, we hosted Lillie Feierabend who taught a demo lesson to first graders, followed by a workshop where we debriefed all that we saw. The following week, were excited to have Bet-ty Bertaux with us for two events: our Voices United! children’s choral festival on April 16 and a workshop on the topic of Vocal Peda-gogy for Children the evening before.

In February, we joined forces, as we do each year, with the local Orff and Dalcroze chapters. The Dalcroze chapter hosted Lisa Parker. We all enjoyed her engaging move-ment activities! Back in October, we opened our season with a choral reading with Brent Gault. For a twist on the traditional choral reading, Brent mapped his process of teach-ing several octavos.

MUsIKMaryland United Specialists in KodályAmy Branum Huggins, President307 Southway, Baltimore, MD 21218410-617-2391 abhuggins@loyola.ed

This year, MUSIK’s activities have been enhanced by our ongoing partnership with two other Kodály inspired organizations: Children’s Chorus of Maryland & School of Music (CCM) and the American Kodály In-stitute (AKI) at Loyola College in Maryland.

On March 8, to promote Kodály music education, OAKE/MUSIK membership and encourage Kodály training, MUSIK pre-sented a free workshop during which partic-ipants spent “A Day in the Life of a Kodály Certification Student,” attending classes in Solfa, Methodology, Materials, Conduct-ing, and Choir, as well as a session about OAKE membership and activities. Present-ers included Amy Branum Huggins, Tasha Maglocci, and Caroline Desmond. We were able to offer this workshop, as well as break-fast and a delicious luncheon in Loyola Col-lege’s Tudor mansion, free of charge thanks to a generous grant from OAKE Eastern Division and the donation of facilities and catering by Loyola College in Maryland.

Eastern DivisionbAKE

Boston Area Kodály Educators Nancy Paré, President 15 Harrison St. #3, Worcester, MA 01604508-799-9467 nancympare@yahoo.com

BAKE recently finished an exciting cul-tural exchange with a children’s choir from Belgium. Last fall BAKE was approached by Charlotte de Saint-Moulin Messiaen, the director of L’Ensemble vocal du Brabant wallon. She was interested in an exchange and performance opportunities. BAKE and New England Conservatory’s Kodály In-stitute & Vocal Vacation Camp welcomed the challenge. The ensemble vocal has just celebrated its 20th anniversary and com-prises male and female students ranging in age from 11 to 17. The group has traveled extensively in Europe, toured in India, and this trip was their second tour in America. They visited New York City as tourists and then journeyed to Boston where they were hosted by the Boston City Singers and their director Jane Money. The performance sponsored by KMI was on April 1 and was billed as an Urban Children’s Choir Festi-val. L’Ensemble Vocal du Brabant wallon and the Boston City Singers were joined at the festival by the Early Bird Singers of the Peabody School in Cambridge MA. The Early Bird Singers are under the direction of Wendy Silverberg. On April 2, the stu-dents toured Boston some more and then piled onto a yellow school bus and trekked westward to Worcester. The students stayed in Worcester with host families from Christ the King Parish. BAKE was able to arrange visits to an elementary arts magnet school and a high school choral program. They per-formed at Christ the King church and were welcomed by the Christ the King’s Youth Choir under the direction of Nancy M. Paré and the Worcester Public School’s All-City Chorus under the direction of Lisa Cohane Leach. While in the Worcester area the Bel-gians visited Providence College where they performed with a women’s choir. Everyone seemed to enjoy this exchange and we are all looking forward to similar adventures!

KEEPKodály Educators of Eastern Pennsylvania Anne Archer, President3802 Penns Court, Reading, PA 19606610-779-0616 ara90@ptd.net

NEWs FrOM DIVIsIONs AND ChAPtErs

sUMMEr 2008 37

MUSIK’s final workshop of the year, “Move It! Music Learning through Kines-thesia,” was May 10, with fabulous move-ment materials, games, folk dancing, and activities presented by outstanding music educators from MUSIK, AKI, and CCM, including Mairee Pantzer, Katie Cole, Mary Flora, and Amy Branum Huggins.

Workshops for the 2008–2009 school year are in the planning stages, and will include a joint workshop with VOKE (Vir-ginia Organization of Kodály Educators).

For information about MUSIK’s work-shops, our Friday evening series of Solfa Club and Folk Instrument sessions or the 4-summer (month of July) AKI/Loyola Col-lege Kodály Master’s Degree program, con-tact MUSIK president, Amy Branum Hug-gins at ahuggins@american-kodaly-institute.org. For information about Children’s Chorus of Maryland & School of Music opportunities for students and music educa-tors, contact Mairee Pantzer at mpantzer@ccmsings.org.

VOKEVirginia Organization of Kodály Educators Lucinda Sexton, President3710 Randolph St., Fairfax, VA 22030703-218-4717 lucinda.sexton@fcps.edu

We welcome new key players on the VOKE Board: Jack Layne is Vice-President, Erin O’Neil Rosa is Member-at-Large, Mi-chelle McCarten is Member-at-Large, and new dad Eric Sennett is Member-at-Large. Gretchen Liechty Lynch has created an amazing Web site, where you can pay for workshops by credit card! Please visit www.virginiakodaly.org. While there, please click on children’s choir camp. We are thrilled that the Vocal Arts Camp has grown under the direction of Jerrilyn MacDanel. Thank you, Emily Broeker, for bringing your mother back to Virginia! Harrisonburg will be rock-ing the last week of July with choral directors Angela Broeker and Lynnel Joy Jenkins.

Our membership goals: To involve college music ed majors and professors at workshops and to actively recruit teachers in the metro DC area

We had two winter workshops. January: Robbin Schaffer presented dul-

cimers as classroom instruments for older beginners (using so mi la songs). Robbin also danced us through that pocket-sized Handy Play Party book. She used carefully chosen words: “point to the man-hole cover you are standing on as it turns around” for a single turn.

February: Director of music education at Shepherd University, David Gonzol, pre-

sented “The Process and the Product and the Four Ps.” David’s advice: “step into the child’s world” and “show them how to play with music and all that music touches.” Our board recruited from DC private schools and Arlington County for this workshop; we had a record high turnout with new faces and e-mail addresses! David also brought his music ed majors who returned to observe Kodály teaching in Fairfax County in April. Our final workshop was a Chapter Sharing in May.

Here’s the line-up for next year:September Sip ’N Sing to welcome new or

new-to-Kodály teachersLeigh Ann Mock Garner, Multi-Uses of

Repertoire, October 18, 2008Chris Tranberg, Double Header: Assessment

and Orff/Kodály Materials, January, 2009OAKE Conference in DC, March 2009

(cherry blossoms!)Julie Swank, Toys in the Music Classroom

May 9, 2009

Midwestern DivisionAWAKE

Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály EducatorsAnnemarie Travia, President4110 Washington Rd. #209, Kenosha, WI 53144262-818-4325 a_travia@hotmail.com

AWAKE proudly collected funds in the fall for a donation to Silver Lake College in honor of Srs. Marella and Lorna for the long awaited new music building on campus. The donation was presented to the Sisters at our 10th Annual Children’s Choir Festival on February 9 at Silver Lake College. Over 75 students enjoyed working with director, Diane Skrobis and performed a beautiful concert. This spring, we enjoyed sharing our favorite singing games and folk dances in our Singing Games Festival on April 12. Teachers and their students learned many new songs and activities, presented by mem-bers of our chapter. We look forward to our annual membership meeting at Silver Lake College in July!

CAKEChicago Area Kodály EducatorsRegina Buckley, President2320 Masters Ln., Round Lake Beach, IL 60073847-543-0540 buckleyme@aol.com

CAKE was very excited to present Ny-ssa Brown on September 22, 2007, who dis-cussed the ins and outs of small-group work in the middle school music classroom. Then on February 16, 2008, Jacki Kelly-McHale shared with us different ideas and resources in using small bites of popular music to address a Kodály sequence. Both of these workshops were fascinating and inspiring. We truly appreciated the wisdom that these excellent teachers had to offer.

Our next workshop was our annual member share; the most successful to date. Members shared listening lessons, ideas on getting students to sing in tune and even a lesson on the ukulele. Then CAKE par-ticipants joined the Greater Chicago Orff Schulwerk Association for their workshop with Jo Kirk, on March 15. We were excited about this first collaboration and plan to continue it in the years to come.

Our series concluded with a much anticipated workshop presented by Brent Gault called “Moving towards Musician-ship,” on April 5.

CCKECapital Collegiate Kodály EducatorsJulie Sheline, PresidentCU 1558 Capital University, Columbus, OH 43209513-910-7335 jsheline@capital.edu

CMKECentral Missouri Kodály EducatorsLinda Burwick, President6402 N. Martingale Cir., Ozark, MO 65721417-725-2081 lburwick@classicnet.net

hAKEHeartland of America Kodály EducatorsMartha Hutchison, President12100 East 62nd Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64133816-737-0466 musiclady6577@sbcglobal.net

IKEIndiana Kodály EducatorsDiana Gillespie, President11312 Crows Nest, Fishers, IN 46038317-598-0034 thgilles@insightbb.com

KAKEKentucky Area Kodály EducatorsJune Grice, President321 Circle Dr., Morehead, KY 40351606-783-2470 j.grice@moreheadstate.edu

This past year was very exciting for KAKE. KAKE is the newest chapter in OAKE; it was recognized at the October MKMEA Divisional fall conference meeting in St. Louis and honored with a certificate at the General Session at the OAKE Confer-ence in Denver in March. March was the first time that KAKE was included in the national OAKE banner procession and it was great for Kentucky to be recognized

Down in the Valley at OAKE with Jerrilyn and Andrew MacDanel

KODÁLY ENVOY38

among the other chapters. The activities from the chapter have been

welcomed by the music teachers in Kentucky. The newly formed Kodály Institute of Ken-tucky at Morehead State University offered a Kodály kick-off day in October, started 2008 with a workshop in February with Jo Kirk as a clinician, provided another workshop in June, and is offering Level I in a summer pro-gram from July 7–July 18.

KAKE goals include increasing member-ship and providing training for the teachers in Kentucky and surrounding areas. A sur-vey to elementary music specialists showed that the teachers in Kentucky have a desire to learn more about Kodály and his vision for music education. KAKE plans on being an active member of OAKE.

OAKE President Georgia Newlin presents June Grice the KAKE charter. Photo by Don Garrett.

KCMKodály Chapter of MinnesotaNyssa Brown, President5341 Chowen Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55410612-481-3366 nyssa_brown@yahoo.com

This academic year, we were thrilled to welcome 4 new members to the board: Lindsey Andress, Member-at-Large; Andrea Halverson, Treasurer; Rachel Howe, Mem-ber-at-Large; April Robb, Member-at-Large.

We have chosen to continue with our theme, Community Music Making, with three guiding questions:What is the role of the music classroom in

the school and wider communities?How does the music classroom involve and

invite the community into the classroom?What is the role of a Kodály-inspired teach-

er in creating these environments?We were pleased to serve a Levels Lun-

cheon to levels participants at the University of St. Thomas during Kodály Levels in June.

We hosted three fabulous clinicians this year in addition to a chapter sharing: Leigh

Ann Mock Garner—“Curricular Connec-tions: Core Repertoire for Grades K–5”; Chapter Sharing—November 10: Reading session, make and take, and technology-focused member sharing; Georgia Newlin—January 19: “Challenges and Joys of the Cho-ral Ensemble”; Bob Walser and Julie Young—March 15: “A World of Dance,” focused on Bob’s ethnomusicology work around the world, as well as U.S. and global dance

We look forward to hosting the follow-ing clinicians for 2008–2009, choosing a theme of Global Music: Joan Litman—Middle Eastern Music; Kathy Robinson—Singing in South Africa: Preschool Songs through Four-Part Choral Music

KCM has been pleased to collaborate with other music education organizations in Minnesota in the following ways: Sarah Oyler, Secretary, attended the Classroom Music Advisory Council, an advisory board of MMEA; presented a session for the MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic, 2-hour session sponsored by KCM; hosted a collaborative conversation about how various music ed organizations can support one another and music teachers across the state.

In an effort to support new teachers, KCM created and awarded four New Teach-er Scholarships. The following were our considerations: Four New Teacher Schol-arships were awarded for the 2007–2008 academic year. Teachers in their first three years of teaching can apply for scholarship. Recipients pay $50 for 4 workshops; Recipi-ents must pay for their own membership to

OAKE. For more information, please visit: www.kodalychaptermn.org/events.html,

KCM was pleased to award the second full scholarship to the University of St. Thomas Choral Camp, allowing a student who otherwise would not have been able to afford the camp to attend. This scholarship is named in honor of Ann Kay.

Andrew Ellingsen, President Elect, has created and updated the KCM Web site,

including pertinent information and mul-tiple links to other music organizations, as well as resources for students and teachers alike. Please visit www.kodalychaptermn.org/welcome.html.

Pat McNabb, Membership Coordina-tor, has led us once again in a very successful recruitment effort. Pat contacted all MMEA members who are not currently OAKE mem-bers, inviting them to attend the first KCM workshop for free. To formulate a plan to increase membership, we are having a “Mem-bership Focus Group Retreat” for interested board members to discuss increasing work-shop attendance and OAKE membership.

KCM has gone (almost) paperless! Our newsletter has been discontinued. Instead we have chosen to send out a trifold in the fall about all workshops for the school year and a postcard in January, reminding about spring workshops. All other communications are via e-mail. We are also discussing implementing a communications position on the board.

Ann Kay continues to facilitate the Teacher-to-Teacher program, which pairs newer-to-Kodály teachers with experienced Kodály teachers who are either retired or on leave. This program has been so successful she is also working with the Minnesota Orff Chapter. For further information, you can contact Ann at annckay@comcast.net.

None of our workshops would be pos-sible without the support of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul with generous gifts of time and organization by Jill Trinka and Bev Johnson.

KEIKodály Educators of IowaShelley Droe, President1703 Olive St., Cedar Falls, IA 50613319-830-9941 droe@cfu.net

The Kodály Educators of Iowa had a nice turnout for our workshop on Febru-ary 23 with Mary Price. Mary presented a session titled “Orff and Kodály: The Perfect Blend.” She shared with participants how she blends both methods in her teaching and shared a lot of fresh ideas for us to take back to our classrooms. KEI was able to have a mini bookstore thanks to West Mu-sic, and we sold over $300 worth of books for teachers to use as resources. We had our first student from Iowa participating in the OAKE Conference Choir. Shelley Droe and her family attended the national conference in Denver, and we are looking forward to scheduling Tom Michalek for a fall work-shop. There’s lots more detailed information on our Web site at www.kodalyiowa.org.

Nyssa Brown and Aileen Brown at the OAKE national conference. Photo by Don Garrett

sUMMEr 2008 39

KMEKKodály Music Educators of KansasLisa Simmelink, President1507 North Clarence, Wichita, KS 67203316-204-8853 lmsimmelink@cox.net

KMEK has had an exciting few months! We cohosted (along with Senseney Music and GIA publications) John Feierabend for a wonderful workshop on “Becoming Tune-ful, Beatful, and Artful.” There were over 110 Kansas music teachers in attendance!

Two of our members presented sessions at our Kansas MEA in-service workshop. Judy Mareda presented on assessments (us-ing lots of great activities and games) and Kirk Olson presented a classroom demon-stration with the wonderful children from his school! Both were received incredibly well. We sold many teacher-made materials at our booth, too!

Our Treasurer, Mary Price, presented at KEI on using Kodály and Orff together. Past-President Kirk Olson will present to PSKOR in April.

We are working with great excitement and anticipation to host the 2008 MKMEA Conference in Wichita! Please plan to join us.

KOzKodály of the OzarksRene Spencer, President9204 Lawrence 2040, Miller, MO 65707417-452-2327 renespencer@hotmail.com

KOZ has had an exciting year: in addi-tion to two great workshops and a success-ful honor choir, Baptist Bible College in Springfield was the site of our first Kodály Level I training course. We’ve had torna-does, ice storms, and major flooding, but our excitement for music education has not been dampened!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our clinicians for the year: Nyssa Brown, Becky Moore, Lorie Harris, Trudy Tunnell (honor choir clinician), and Rene Spencer. Our organization could not have had such a wonderful year without the sup-port and assistance of Baptist Bible College and Michael Dove (BBC music department chair), as well as the graciousness of South-west Baptist University in hosting our sec-ond annual elementary honor choir.

In May, our annual year-end meeting took place at Maggie Mae’s Tea Room in Miller. We are especially excited to offer our second year of Kodály training at Baptist Bible College in July. Levels I and II will be offered. (Contact Michael Dove at Baptist Bible College, Springfield, MO for more information.)

NOCKANorth Coast Kodály AssociationAllison Hungerford, President45 Bellaire Dr., Painseville, OH 44077440-354-3861 allison.hungerford@adelphia.net

NPKC Northern Plains Kodály ChapterLori Watterud, President3382 10th St. S., Moorhead, MN 56560701-866-5961 watterl@fargo.k12.nd.us

The Northern Plains Kodály Chapter had a busy year this year, starting in September with our fall workshop. Our clinician for the day was Nyssa Brown, and we had about 30 area teachers and students. Nyssa provided us with some wonderful songs, games, and books to share with our K–5 students and got us fired up for the year! We also held a winter workshop on January 26. We had wonderful presentations by two local teachers, Jennifer Thrasher and Charlotte Morey. There were 20 area teachers in attendance. We finished the year with our 16th Annual Choral Festival on April 5. The Festival featured 110 students in grades 5–8 from schools in our area. Mela-nie Popejoy, the founder and Artistic Direc-tor of the Grand Cities Children’s Choir, was our guest conductor. We are looking forward to another great year next year!

PsKOrPlains States Kodály OrganizationEmily Hammiel, President23 Langley Dr., Offutt AFB, NE 68113402-630-5880 ejhammiel@aol.com

sEMKESoutheast Michigan Kodály EducatorsJennifer Lang, President7372 Rory St., Grand Blanc, MI 48439jnjlang@comcast.net

sLAKESt. Louis Area Kodály EducatorsKimberly Brush, President122 Brookfield Dr., Lebanon, IL 62254618-632-5066 kbrsh90@stclair.k12.il.us

trIKETri-City Kodály EducatorsAngel Hillyard, President431 Celina Rd., Columbus, OH 43228614-878-0471 ahillyard@west-jefferson.k12.oh.ussouthern Division

KEgAKodály Educators of GeorgiaSharon Vrieland, President3649 Essex Ave., Atlanta, GA 30339770-955-2544 svrieland@trinityatl.org

KEtKodály Educators of TexasAnn Burbridge, President3921 Arroyo Seco, Schertz, TX 78154210-945-0349 ann@satx.rr.com

Immediately upon our return to the classroom after the December break, most Texas music teachers made final plans to attend our state convention, TMEA, in February. KET is proud to share that sev-eral Kodály-inspired educators presented or directed a choir at this 20,000+ participant

convention. Sr. Lorna Zemke was one of the major headliners at this convention and her sessions were packed with eager teach-ers wanting to know more about in-depth music learning and the Kodály approach. Special thanks go to all OAKE/KET mem-bers who spent hours preparing to present the best of the best!

We are delighted that Cecile Johnson will be the 2010 OAKE Convention Pro-gram Chair. This undertaking is supported by many in the Southern Division, and with Cecile’s leadership we are planning on giving her our full support.

The KET Executive Board will be meet-ing in July to plan for 2008–2009. In the meantime we are excited about the state-wide participation in our many Kodály training programs. Be sure to visit our Web site to see our online magazine and articles: http://ket.oake.org/winter08front.htm.

KONCKodály Educators of North CarolinaDiane Nelson, President163 Dalehurst Dr., Forest City, NC 28043828-248-9824 rnelson@nctv.com

LAKELouisiana Association of Kodály EducatorsApril Winner, President5200 Nelson Rd. #808, Lake Charles, LA 70611337-207-0087 apegastal@yahoo.com

The LAKE Children’s Choir Festival was held in May. LAKE sponsors the Children’s Choir Festival every other year, so, our next festival will be in May of 2010. It has always been held at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, thanks to the wonderful help of the university as well as Norma Jeane Luckey. We as a chapter have always put the festival on a Saturday. However, we have recently been thinking about changing our festival to a weekday for 2010. Some have suggested that this may entice more choirs to participate. It may be easier for some choir directors to get more or all of their group to participate on a weekday rather than a weekend. What is your opinion on this possible change? Please e-mail me at apegastal@yahoo.com.

In June, McNeese State University hosted its 16th annual Kodály Institute (KIM) for Levels I, II, and III. The faculty consisted of Lamar Robertson, Ann Eisen, Jonathan Rappaport and Kari McCarty. It is our pleasure to prepare lunch for all the hard working students and faculty of the Institute. LAKE would also like to thank Michelle Martin for her constant support in keeping the Kodály Institute at McNeese available for future music educators. In con-junction with KIM, the Children’s Choir

KODÁLY ENVOY40

Camp was June 23 to June 27. The guest conductor was Sandra Knudson from Nor-man, Oklahoma.

LAKE is also pleased to announce that Jill Trinka will be coming to the Louisiana Music Educator’s Association Convention, November 20–24, 2008. This will be held in Baton Rouge. Mark your calendars for this wonderful event. If you are not from Louisi-ana, here is the perfect opportunity to enjoy our wonderful southern hospitality!

OKEOklahoma Kodály EducatorsEddie Lou Strimple, President1122 Ponca Ave., Enid, OK 73703580-234-4840 elstrimple@hotmail.com

On April 12, the Oklahoma Kodály chapter members joined with the Green Country Oklahoma Orff Chapter in Tulsa for a workshop titled “Street Games,” presented by Melissa Roth, from Richardson, Texas. Melissa used playground songs and children’s folk songs to teach form, movement, writing, composition, and improvisation.

In July, Level I Kodály training will be of-fered at the OU–Tulsa Schusterman Center, and will be taught by Angelyn Ullrich. Level II training will be offered at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, and will be taught by Joy Nelson, Sandy Knudson, and Angelyn Ullrich. On July 19, Judit Hartyányi, Associ-ate Professor of Choral Conducting and Mu-sic Education and Director of the Women’s Chorus at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, will present an all-day workshop titled “A Cappella Repertoire for Children’s Choirs.” Hartyányi will share two- and three-part a cappella music from the Renaissance and contemporary periods and will also address conducting techniques. If you wish further information about this op-portunity, please contact Angelyn Ullrich at www.kodaly@ou.edu.

sECKESoutheast Chapter of Kodály EducatorsW. Keith Wheeler, President303 Childress Ave., Sweetwater, TN 37874423-746-5234 wkwheeler@twcnet.edu

SECKE’s winter workshop was held on Saturday, February 23, 2008. The event took place at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. OAKE President Georgia Newlin presented “Part Singing for Young Musicians.” She gave a step-by-step ap-proach for developing skills in young singers and therefore help them to become inde-pendent choral musicians. Nearly 40 were in attendance as Georgia also implemented her strategies as we sight-read a choral octavo packet in this day-long workshop.

Our 24th annual Choir Sharing Festival took place on May 6 and 7 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Adjudicators were Elizabeth Britt and Susan Garrett. Last year’s festival saw a record participation of 19 choirs.

The Kodály Institute at UTC will offer their OAKE-endorsed certification courses this summer, June 9–27. SECKE will be offering scholarships which include those named in memory of Mary Ann Lowe and Helen Bryan. Those interested in attend-ing the Institute or applying for scholar-ships may contact SECKE officers Keith Wheeler at 423-746-5234 or Lee Harris at 423-425-4601.Western Division

AKtsArizona Kodály Teachers SocietyLiza Meyers, President2035 N. 30th St., Mesa, AZ 85213480-854-8967 meyers480@cox.net

bYUFOLKsBrigham Young University Fellowship of Local Kodály SpecialistsJerry Jaccard, President55 Park Ave., Provo, UT 84606801-422-3778 jerry_jaccard@byu.edu

CCAKECentral California Association of Kodály EducatorsRoxanne Cousins, President1432 W. Stuart, Fresno, CA 93711559-439-1665 rccousins4@hotmail.com

KAsCKodály Association of Southern CaliforniaKurt Cereske, President11643 Chandler Blvd. #111, N. Hollywood, CA 91601818-231-7522 kcereske@aol.com

KASC sponsored three wonderful work-shops in the 2007–2008 season, which were all well-attended and enjoyed by all. Start-ing off the year on September 29, Douglas Neslund, founder and director of the former outstanding California Boys Choir, pre-sented “Healthy Techniques for the Child Voice.” Doug placed special emphasis on both the male and female changing voice and had two excellent young singers there to demonstrate various techniques.

On November 10, a two-part workshop was presented. First, Sally Guerrero, taught us many “Music Games for the Young Child.” Her manner is authoritative, filled with knowledge and tips, while delightfully light and joyful. We were all down on the floor and up in the air doing a variety of activities. After the break came “Songs of the Season: Holiday Program Ideas.” The following members presented: Lissie Quish-enberry taught us an African song in French and English; from Joni Ellis, we learned a Russian dance (choreographed by Joni) and took part in an interpretive dance with scarves, both accompanied by music from

The Nutcracker. Eloise Porter had us sing through several appropriate chorus songs for the holidays, and Marilyn Sousa led us in some rounds, ending with a three-part round and dance to “Oh, How Lovely Is the Evening,” learned from Sanna Longden.

Which leads right into our final work-shop, February 23, with Sanna Longden herself, titled “Dances and Music Games from Seven Continents.” This proved to be one of the most well-attended and successful workshops of the past many years. Not only music teachers from both elementary and middle schools were invited, but also dance teachers. (Los Angeles Unified School Dis-trict has been lucky to actually be growing in the arts, with teachers in all four disci-plines, music, art, dance and drama.) There were smiles on every face and a wonderful joyful atmosphere.

Our final activity of this season was our 21st Annual Kodály Honor Chorus Festi-val on May 17 and 18. This year, Douglas Neslund was our Guest Conductor, and as always, the event was at the beautiful Hall of Liberty, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills. This summer we offer our 28th annual summer Kodály Certification Program, July 7–25. We are offering all three levels, and are pleased to welcome our outgoing president, Kurt Cereske as our Level I Methodology instructor. We remain the only OAKE-en-dorsed program in Southern California.

Our beloved founder and mentor, Katinka Scipiades Daniel, celebrated her 95th birthday on January 17. Although she has become more frail and her eyesight troubles her, her mind and memory stay active and sharp as ever. She continues to work on her many projects and still hopes to visit and observe some of our newer teach-ers. We were at her beautiful Santa Barbara home overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the end of May. Katinka always hosts our KASC Open House for all active members, provid-ing us with lunch and entertainment. She is a national treasure.

NCAKENorthern California Association of Kodály EducatorsNancy Linford, President1016 Peralta Ave., Albany, CA 94706510-524-7392 nancymusic@sbcglobal.net

NKENorthwest Kodály EducatorsMegan Oberfield, President916 N. Grant Ave., Tacoma, WA 98403253-383-7235 moberfield@harbornet.com

sUMMEr 2008 41

rOCKERegional Organization of Colorado Kodály EducatorsAmy Abbott, President784 Gateway Cir., Lafayette, CO 80026303-604-2144 abbott_amy@stvrain.k12.co.us

First of all, thank you to ROCKE mem-bers Angie Gregory and Ginger Littleton for all their hard work, time, and effort in planning the 2008 OAKE conference! I’m sure I speak for all of ROCKE when I say how grateful we are to have two such amaz-ing members. Great work Angie and Ginger!

In addition to the National Conference, ROCKE had two great clinicians come to Colorado this past winter. First, ROCKE sponsored Brent Gault at the Colorado Music Educators Conference in Colorado Springs. Brent presented two sessions on ac-tive listening. In February, Lille Feierabend presented “Music, Movement, and Multiple Intelligences in Early Childhood: A Great Place to Start.” The day was spent in discus-sion and lecture with fun activities, some of which included actual preschoolers.

On April 12, ROCKE hosted Peggy Rosenkranz for a half-day choral workshop followed by a chapter make-n-take. Peggy’s choir, the Centennial Children’s Chorus, performed on Saturday at the OAKE con-ference. Peggy taught conducting techniques for the Kodály levels at Colorado State University last summer. She will be teaching again this summer at the levels at CSU.

ROCKE is proud to support the Kodály In-stitute at Colorado State University. Kodály lev-els I, II, and III will take place July 18–August 1. Please contact Cindy McCaskill for more information: cindy.mccaskill@colostate.edu.

Congratulations to all ROCKE mem-bers who had students that were part of the choir at the National Conference! It was great to see so many ROCKE teachers’ names in the concert program!

sWOKESouthern Washington and Oregon Kodály EducatorsMichelle Trapa, President503 SE 15th St., Gresham, OR 97080503-465-9599 trapa5733@comcast.net

Need a motivational, challenging and inspiring session to start your 2008–2009 teaching year? Kodály Levels I, II, III, and IV Certification Workshop will be at the beautiful Portland State University July 27–August 8. This program expands on the philosophy, ma-terials, and methods of Zoltán Kodály through the study of musicianship, methodology, folk music, and music materials for K–8 curricula. Coursework is approved by OAKE, and the faculty again is absolutely fantastic.

Susan Brumfield, associate professor of

music at Texas Tech University, holds a PhD in music education from the University of Okla-homa. She is highly regarded nationally and internationally for her work with children’s choirs and as a Kodály educator. Carol Brown holds a two-year degree from the Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary. Kati Kiss is professor of choral music at Liszt Academy of Music and Kodály Peda-gogical Institute, Kecskemét, Hungary, and is the founder and director of Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble and Ars Nova Edition.

The deadline for registration is July 1. Call 503-72-LEARN or visit www.kodaly.pdx.edu for more information.

UFOLKsUtah Fellowship of Local Kodály SpecialistsJulianna Barker, President1154 South 1410 East, Provo, UT 84606801-372-1996 juliannb@provo.edu

UFOLKS has learned from three mas-ters over the past year. In September, we were fortunate to hear from Susan Brum-field who presented “Choral Arranging in the Music Classroom.” We loved how she masterfully taught us to weave musicianship skills into a choral rehearsal. She also shared many doable choral pieces for our elemen-tary school choirs.

Then, in November, Jerry Jaccard delved into the background of many well-known folk songs. We explored the historical setting of classroom favorites like “Ring Around the Ros-ies,” “Lucy Locket,” and “Chicken McCraney Crow.” His workshop, “Connections: The Story Behind the Songs” was very insightful!

In February, Klara Kokas made a side trip to Utah from Hungary to share her expertise in helping children develop intuitive movement to music. She demonstrated how she sequen-tially moves from song games, to small motor movement, to gross motor movement, always honoring the child’s individual interpreta-tion of the music. We were all touched by the strength of her spirit and heart as we each left feeling a true connection to the music and to each other. Her book, Joy through the Magic of Music, sums up the truly joyous experience that we shared that day!

Klara Kokas

Call for Papersand Workshops19th InternationalKodály Symposium

Karol Szymanowski Academyof Music, Katowice, Poland

From August 10 to 17, 2009, the 19th International Kodály Symposium will be held at the Karol Szymanow ski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland.

The Symposium Theme is “On Values of Music—Music and Mankind; Music and Community; Music and Tradition.”

We warmly welcome you to partic-ipate in the symposium and invite you to submit a paper or workshop related to the theme of the symposium. If you are interested please note the following important deadlines:

Before November 30, 2008For papers: Submit a 2-page abstract to the

following e-mail address: kodaly@am.katowice.pl to the attention of Do-minika Lenska.

For workshops:Submit a 2-page summary of the

objective and content to the following e-mail address: kodaly@am.katowice.pl to the attention of Dominika Lenska.

VERY IMPORTANT: Timing will be strictly respected! For lectures it is 20 minutes and for workshops it is 40 minutes

You submissions will be reviewed by a committee, and you will be noti-fied of acceptance or non-acceptance of your paper/workshop by March 1, 2009, at the latest. You can also visit our Web page: www.kodaly.am.katowice.pl.

KODÁLY ENVOY42

The International Kodály Society is much morethan just another organization…

It is an international forum and platform for the exchange ofideas, experiences, and know-how.

It pursues its goals and objectives through being a permanent center of information and documentation about the life and work of Zoltán Kodály, through a biannual Symposium (the next one is in 2009 in Kato-wice, Poland, August 10–17. Detailed information already available on the IKS Web site); through assistance to national and local conferences, workshops, and so forth; and through publications about Zoltán Kodály’s vision on music and music education, varying from scientific publications to methodology books and practical reference works such as:

• 2 issues of the scientific Bulletin of the International Kodály Society each year (free to members)• A CD in searchable PDF of the Bulletin Archives from 1976 till 2005 (containing 59 Bulletin booklets, 455

articles including photographs and general information about the International Kodály Society)• Music Should Belong to Everyone (Ildikó Herboly, 120 quotes of Zoltán Kodály, outlining his musical and

educational vision in excerpts from publications such as the Selected Writings, Mein Weg zur Musik, and Vissza-tekintés)

• The Legacy of Zoltán Kodály (Sr. Mary Alice Hein, a compilation of interviews with former Kodály students and collaborators)

• Reflections on Zoltán Kodály (Dr. László Vikár, only available on CD and on demand)• An Ode for Music (Judit Hartyányi, 11 analyses of choral compositions by Zoltán Kodály, with two CDs of per-

formances, including a recording of Zoltán Kodály conducting the Te Deum of Budavár)• The International Kodály Society Songbook (a compilation of original folk songs from various countries with a

choral arrangement done by a composer of the country involved, includes two CDs of recordings)• Who’s Who of the International Kodály Society (only available on CD in a searchable PDF form)

All these publications are offered to International Kodály Society members at a reduced price.Membership fees of the International Kodály Society are purposely kept low (only US$30 for a full yearly mem-

bership, US$20 for retired persons, US$18 for students). We keep the membership fee low to give people living in third- and fourth-world countries the opportunity to be members.

Please consider joining the International Kodály Society, not only for the various benefits that you will receive yourself, but also to support to your colleagues in other parts of the world.

Detailed information about the above mentioned publications and other activities of the International Kodály Society, as well as a membership application form can be found on the IKS Web site: www.iks.hu.

We look forward to having the pleasure of hearing from you and meeting you personally in the future. To work together in mutual respect and understanding, we have to know about you.

Only close international collaboration can offer the promise of success.—Zoltán Kodály: Opening Address at the Second International

Conference of Musicology in Budapest, 1961

the International Kodály society

sUMMEr 2008 43

Georgia A. Newlin (OAKE President), assistant professor of music, is the coordina-tor of music education at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, teaching music educa-tion courses, conducting, folk song, and music history, as well as supervising student teachers. She holds the distinguished title of totally groov-in’ professor among Bucknell’s students. She has also taught in early childhood and public school elementary music positions for 15 years.

Georgia has two daughters, both adopted from China, and each named after characters in folk music. Eliza plays cello and clarinet, while Sylvie is destined to become some type of drama queen.

Georgia considers herself most fortunate, in that she has been able to spend her life mak-ing music with others and has actually been paid for it. If you really care to know, you can read on her Web site about the honors and degrees she has earned under Curriculum Vitae (www.fac-staff.bucknell.edu/gnewlin/eportfolio/). Despite those things, though, she does not take herself too seriously.

Joy Nelson (OAKE President Elect), Samuel Roberts Noble Presidential Professor,

teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and directs the Kodály pro-gram at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. Winner of the Regent’s Award for Superior Teaching and the University of Oklahoma Students Outstanding Faculty award, Joy has presented numerous workshops and seminars for MENC, AOSA, and OAKE throughout the United States and other countries, includ-ing China and Guatemala. She served for seven years as Associate Dean in the College of Fine Arts, Chair of the 1992 national OAKE Con-ference, Regional Representative for OAKE, President of Southern Division, and President of the Oklahoma Kodály Educators. She is currently Director of the Board for the Interna-tional Kodály Society and will serve as Keynote Speaker for the National Kodály Conference in Australia in 2008.

Joy earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, her Kodály certification with Lois Choksy, Eleanor Locke, and Sharolta Pletthy at Holy Names College, with additional study in Santa Barbara with Katinka Daniel. She taught elementary general music and band in Washington state and California, and is the author of various articles and books, including The Music Effect, published by Alfred Publish-ing in 2006.

Laura S. Williams (Eastern Division President) received her BS, BA, and MM in Music Education from the University of Con-necticut, where she studied with Mary Ellen Junda. She received her Kodály Levels from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. Laura has taught K–6 general music, chorus,

and band in Connecticut and western Mas-sachusetts for over 10 years. Currently, Laura directs the High School Honors Chorus at the Community Music School of Springfield in Massachusetts, as well as teaching 6th-grade general music and 4–6-grade chorus in Granby, Massachusetts. Laura also teaches private oboe, piano, and voice lessons out of her house. She has served as President and Secretary of KESNE and as Eastern Division Secretary as well as Eastern Division Representative of OAKE. Laura is a member of MENC and ACDA.

Karla Cherwinski (Midwestern Division President) has a Bachelor of Music degree from Capital University, a Master’s Degree in Music Education from the Ohio State University, and a Kodály Certificate from the Kodály Institute at Capital University. Karla has been teaching elementary general music for 15 years, 10 of which have been at Indian Trail Elementary in Canal Winchester, Ohio, where she works with kindergarten, first, and second graders. Dur-ing the summer, Karla teaches Level III Kodály Methodology and Materials through the mas-ter’s program at Colorado State University. She also teaches piano lessons and early childhood music classes with WeJoySing in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Away from school, Karla enjoys reading, photography, and camping with her family, husband, Jim, and children, Nicholas and Stella.

NEW FACEs ON thE OAKE bOArD

KODÁLY ENVOY44

OAKE-ENDOrsED CErtIFICAtION PrOgrAMs

Arizona State UniversityTempe, AZContact: Sandra Stauffers.stauffer@asu.edu

Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UTContact: Jerry Jaccardjerry_jaccard@byu.edu

Capital University, Kodály InstituteColumbus, OHContact: Sandra Mathiassmathias@capital.edu

Colorado State UniversityFort Collins, COContact: Cindy McCaskillcindy.mccaskill@colostate.edu

Holy Names UniversityOakland, CAContact: Anne Laskeylaskey@hnu.edu

Indiana University School of MusicBloomington, INContact: Brent Gaultbgault@indiana.edu

James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg, VAContact: Gary Ritcherritchegk@jmu.edu

Kodály Association of Southern CaliforniaNorth Hollywood, CAContact: Kurt Cereskerkcereske@aol.com

McNeese State UniversityLake Charles, LAContact: Michele Martinmmartin@mcneese.edu

Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityLincoln, NEContact: Jeannette Youngjry@NebrWesleyan.edu

New England ConservatoryBoston, MAContact: Mary Epsteinmepstein@newenglandconserv atory.edu

New York UniversityNew York, NYContact: Daniel Young.dy14@nyu.edu

Plano Independent School DistrictPlano, TXContact: Kathy Kuddesskathy.kuddes@pisd.edu

Portland State UniversityPortland, ORContact: Debbie Glazeglazed@pdx.edu

Silver Lake CollegeManitowoc, WIContact: Sr. Lorna Zemkelzemke@silver.sl.edu

Texas State UniversitySan Marcos, TXContact: Patricia Morenomorenop@hayscisd.net

University of HartfordWest Hartford, CTContact: Meghan Fouracrefouracre@hartford.edu

University of North TexasDenton, TXContact: Julie Scottscottj@smu.edu

University of OklahomaNorman, OKContact: Joy Nelsonejnelson@ou.edu

University of St. ThomasSt. Paul, MNContact: Karen Howellgradmusic@stthomas.edu

University of Tennessee at ChattanoogaChattanooga, TNContact: Lee Harrislee-harris@utc.edu

Webster UniversitySt. Louis, MOContact: Kathryn Smith Bowersksbd@iglide.net

West Chester University of PennsylvaniaWest Chester, PAContact: Carolyn Andersoncanderson@wcupa.edu

Westminster Choir CollegePrinceton, NJContact: Scott Hoerlwoce@rider.edu

Continued from p. 34Michele Martin at 337-475-5020 or

mmartin@mcneese.edu.

Colorado State UniversityColorado State University Kodály Insti-

tute, endorsed by OAKE, offers Level I, II, and III training leading to a Kodály Certifi-cate. A Master’s Degree in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis can be earned in just three summers. The 2008 Institute will be July 18–August 1 in the beautiful new University Center for the Arts on the CSU Campus in Fort Collins, Colorado. Instructors include: Jo Kirk, Sue Leithold-Bowcock, Karla Cher-winski, Gabor and Katie Viragh, Jena Dickey, and Peggy Rosenkranz. For more information, contact Cindy McCaskill: 970-491-5076; cindy.mccaskill@colostate.edu.

Webster UniversityKodály 2008 @ Webster University

in St. Louis, Missouri, will offer Level I June 14–27, and Levels II and III June 12–27. The faculty includes Robbin Schaffer Marcus (Materials: folk song and art music research), Vicki Dohrmann (Pedagogy), Janet McMillion (Musician-ship 1), and Ivy Rawlins (Musicianship 2 and 3). Kathryn Bowers directs the choir and teaches conducting. Special topics on Saturday, June 14, will feature Chris-tine Saunders on vocal development and repertoire for children’s choirs. Kodály @ Webster is now OAKE-endorsed! For more information, please visit the Web site at http://webster.edu/depts/finearts/music/music.html.

A child is the

most susceptible

and the most

enthusiastic au-

dience for pure

art; for in every

great artist the

child is alive.—Selected Writings of Zoltán Kodály, p. 122

sUMMEr 2008 45

OAKE sUstAININg MEMbErs

Alfred Publishing Company Inc.Contact: Kathy Johnstonekjohnstone@alfred.com

Alliance Music Publications, Inc.alliancemusic.com

Backyard MusicContact: David Crossservice@backyardmusic.com

Books for ChildrenContact: Jacob F. Larsonjflarson@ou.edu

Discus Music Educations Co.Contact: Les Deanlesdean@discusmusic.com

Djembe DirectContact: Andy Jonesinfor@djembedirect.com

GIA Publications, Inc.alech@giamusic.com

Global ConnectionsContact: M. Richard Troehdtroeh@globalconnections-int.com

Hal Leonard CorporationContact: Marilyn Fleenormfleenor@halleonard.com

J. W. Pepper & Son Inc.Contact: Linda Schmidtlschmidt@jwpepper.com

John’s Music Inc.Contact: Margaret Swainmargaret@johnsmusic.com

Macie Publishing CompanyContact: Julie Sueta Kaufmanninfo@maciepublishing.com

Macmillan/McGraw-HillContact: Rose Presley-Alstonrose_presley-alstron@mcgraw-hill.com

MacPhail Center for the ArtsContact: Dianne I. Babcockdbabcock@macphail.org

Meeker Music, Inc.meekermusic@hotmail.com

Once Upon a Mind BooksellerContact: Carolyn Foatonceupmind@aol.com

Oxford University PressContact: Paul Steinerpaul.steiner@oup.com

Silver Burdett/PearsonContact: Alissha Watleyalissha.watley@pearson.com

Southern Music Companyinfo@southernmusic.com

Wenger CorporationContact: Stacy Hanson800.733.039

West MusicContact: Judy Pinejpine@westmusic.com

KODÁLY SUMMER XXVIII 2008Kodály Association of Southern California

Celebrating 28 Years of Quality Summer Certification Programs

THE ONLY OAKE-ENDORSED PROGRAM in Southern California

July 7-25, 2008 Levels I, II, III Methodology / Solfège, Folk Song Research I, II

Choral Ensemble / Choral Conducting

Distinguished Hungarian & American FacultyKurt Cereske, Lazslo Cser, Dr. Katherine Hickey,

Niké St. Clair, Marilyn Sousa, Pamela Wade

Held at Azusa Pacific UniversityContact: Kurt Cereske, President/Cert. Coordinator, kcereske@aol.com

KODÁLY ENVOY46

2008–2009 OAKE bOArD OF DIrECtOrs PAST PRESIDENTS

Brent Gault ..............2006–2008Katherine Hickey ..........2004-06Sandra Mathias..............2002-04Jill Trinka ......................2000-02Ann Kay ...................1998-2000John Feierabend ............1996-98Patricia Teske ................1994-96Pamela Wad: ................1992-94Betsy Moll .....................1990-92Virginia Irvin ................1988-90Lauren Abernethy ..........1986-88Laurdella Foulkes-Levy ..1984-86Jean Sinor ......................1982-84Christine Jordanoff ...........1980-82Sr. Lorna Zemke .................1980Helen Wyzga ......................1979David Buttolph ..................1978Mark William .....................1977Stephen Jay ........................1976

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

Anne Laskey ........................ 2008John Feierabend, Marilyn Brooks.. 2007Diane Geller, Sandra Mathias .. 2006Jerry Jaccard, William Dederer ..2004Jill Trinka, Cheryl Paschke ..2003Christine Jordanoff .............2002John May, Gerardo Gloria ..2002Betsy Moll, Ursina Swanson..2001Lamar Robertson ................2000Martha Rosacker ................1999Ruth Boshkoff, Paul Hillyer ..1998Pamela Wade ......................1997Lois Choksy .......................1996Mary Ozanne, David Falconer . 1995Gene Okerlund ..................1994Mary Goetze ......................1993Katinka Dániel ...................1992Michael Murray .................1991Jean Sinor ...........................1990Denise Bacon1 .....................989Sr. Mary Alice Hein ............1988Helen Bryan, Mary Richards ... 1987Eleanor (Toni) Locke ..........1986Sr. Lorna Zemke .................1985

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Sr. Lorna Zemke .................2002Katinka Daniel ...................2001Sr. Mary Alice Hein ............2001Denise Bacon, Jean Sinor ...2000Alexander Ringer ................1998

FOUNDERS

Lauren AbernethyLois Choksy

Rita ConcannonDoris Englehard

Sr. Mary Alice HeinStephen Jay

Christine JordanoffShirley Linscott

Betsy MollNorman WeeksMark Williams

Sr. Lorna Zemke

Executive OfficersPresidentGeorgia Newlin55 South Fourth StreetLewisburg, PA 17837570.713.9921gnewlin@bucknell.edu

President ElectJoy Nelson3910 Pine Tree CircleNorman, OK 73072405.325.5804ejnelson@ou.edu

Vice PresidentPenny Whalen61 Maple AvenueBloomfield, CT 06002860.242.9975penny.whalen@comcast.net

SecretaryDavid Gadberry3428 Chance LaneLawrence, KS 66047214.674.3158davidgad@ku.edu

TreasurerGreg Williams3 Meadow LaneSouth Hadley, MA 01075413.540.1952gwilliams@sualum.com

Administrative DirectorJoan Dahlin1612-29th Avenue SouthMoorhead, MN 56560218.227.OAKE office218.227.6254 faxoakeoffice@oake.org

Ex Officio MembersNational Conference Business DirectorNancy Johnson1280 Oakview Drive NEOwatonna, MN 55060507.413.0188njohnson@owatonna.k12.mn.us

National Publicity DirectorLeigh Ann Garner5920 Diamond Lake LaneMinneapolis, MN 55419612.822.3230lamockgarner@comcast.net

Past PresidentBrent Gault334 South Morton StreetBloomington, IN 47403812.323.9853bgault@indiana.edubmichaelgault@yahoo.com

Editor, Kodály EnvoyElizabeth Pontiff46781 Backwater DriveSterling, VA 20164571.434.0516pontiffediting@comcast.net

Members at LargeJerrilyn MacDanel3125 Arrowhead RoadHarrisonburg, VA 22801540.434.1514jmacdanel@hotmail.com

Lynn Reynolds Makrin2492 Hilltop RoadSchenectady, NY 12309518.280.6444lrmakrin@aol.com

Instrumental RepresentativeRoyce Tevis819 Sheridan AvenueChico, CA 95926-4054530.893.9608rtevis@csuchico.edu

Industry RepresentativeKathy Bohstedt%West Music1212-5th StreetCoralville, IA 52241800.397.9378 officekbohstedt@westmusic.com

Higher Education RepresentativeKristen Albert876 Skyline DriveGap, PA 17527717.442.5269kalbert1@comcast.net

Secondary Education RepresentativeShea ClayPO Box 1247Abingdon, VA 24212276.676.1169sbubbaclay@aol.com

Eastern DivisionPresidentLaura Williams3 Meadow LaneSouth Hadley, MA 01075413.540.1952laura.s.williams@comcast.net

Regional RepresentativesNaomi Cohen, Eastern-1242 West 104th Street Apt. 2EFNew York, NY 10025212.865.9662nkcsings@yahoo.com

Caroline Desmond, Eastern-28410 Thompson RoadAnnandale, VA 22003703.573.8348caroline.desmond@gmail.com

Midwestern DivisionPresidentKarla Cherwinski4767 Mason RoadCanal Winchester, OH 43110614.920.1656kcherwinski@hotmail.com

Regional RepresentativesAileen Brown, Midwest-1431 East Fifth AvenueLancaster, OH 43130740.654.7392aileen43130@yahoo.com

Nyssa Brown, Midwest-25341 Chowen Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55410612.481.3366nyssa_brown@yahoo.com

southern DivisionPresidentCecile Johnson113 Sheraton PlaceDenton, TX 76209940.382.1614cjohnson2@dentonisd.org

Regional RepresentativesDarla Eshelman, Southern-118415 Running Deer RoadNorman, OK 73026405.579.4038darla.eshelman@okbu.edu

Ann Crouch, Southern-2795 Spalding DriveAtlanta, GA 30328770.351.4904croucha@fultonschools.org

Western DivisionPresidentKelly Foster Griffin11055-108th Place NEKirkland, WA 98033425.889.0516tomkelhay@verizon.net

Regional RepresentativesKurt Cereske, Western-111643 Chandler Boulevard #111North Hollywood, CA 91601818.231.7522kcereske@aol.com

Christopher Roberts, Western-23112 South Washington StreetSeattle, WA 98144206.329.3635croberts777@aol.com

sUMMEr 2008 47

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN KODÁLY EDUCATORS

Member Benefits•The Kodály Envoy — OAKE’s quarterly journal•Online membership directory•Reduced registration fees at national conference•National conference choirs —OAKE members’ students may audition to participate•Divisional newsletters•Jenö Ádám Scholarship & Susan Taylor Howell Me-

morial Scholarship —for Kodály studies in the U.S. or abroad•OAKE Web site and chat room—www.oake.org•Reduced prices on OAKE publications•DVD library—rent free!•Chapter grants from Divisions•Voting privileges and the right to hold office•Online access to lesson plans

Membership LevelsActive: Persons interested in Kodály music education.

All benefits and rights including holding office and voting.

Corresponding: Individuals who reside outside the U.S. and are not American citizens but wish to support the organization’s goals and activities. All benefits except the right to hold office and vote.

Student: Full-time undergraduate and graduate stu-dents. Same benefits as corresponding members.

Institutional: Institutions/schools. Required of all OAKE-endorsed Kodály Teacher Education Programs. Privileges of corresponding members and exhibiting rights at OAKE conferences upon payment of prescribed exhibit fees.

Library: Libraries receive one copy of the OAKE quarterly journal, Kodály Envoy.

Retired: Regular privileges for those 55 or older and retired.

Sustaining: Any firm, retailer, business, or commercial venture that desires to support the purposes of OAKE. Exhibiting rights at OAKE conferences upon payment of prescribed exhibit fees.

Lifetime: Active members paying full lifetime dues.IKS: Membership is open to individuals and institutions

sharing the International Kodály Society’s aims.

OAKE-Affiliated ChaptersARIZONAAKTS - Arizona Kodály Teachers SocietyCALIFORNIACCAKE - Central California Assoc. of Kodály EducatorsKASC - Kodály Assoc. of Southern CaliforniaNCAKE - Northern California Assoc. of Kodály EducatorsCOLORADOROCKE - Regional Org. of Colorado Kodály EducatorsCONNECTICUT/WESTERN MASSACHUSETTSKESNE - Kodály Educators of Southern New EnglandGEORGIAKEGA - Kodály Educators of GeorgiaILLINOISCAKE - Chicago Area Kodály EducatorsINDIANAIKE - Indiana Kodály EducatorsIOWAKEI - Kodály Educators of IowaKANSASKMEK - Kodály Music Educators of KansasKENTUCKYKAKE - Kentucky Area Kodály EducatorsLOUISIANALAKE - Louisiana Assoc. of Kodály EducatorsMARYLANDMUSIK - Maryland United Specialists in KodályMASSACHUSETTSBAKE - Boston Area Kodály EducatorsMICHIGANSEMKE - South East Michigan Kodály EducatorsMINNESOTAKCM - Kodály Chapter of Minnesota

MISSOURICMKE - Central Missouri Kodály EducatorsHAKE - Heartland of America Kodály EducatorsKOZ - Kodály of the OzarksSLAKE - St. Louis Area Kodály EducatorsNEBRASKAPSKOR - Plains States Kodály OrganizationNEW JERSEYKNJ - Kodály New JerseyNEW YORKKONY - Kodály Organization of New YorkNORTH CAROLINAKONC - Kodály Educators of North CarolinaNORTH DAKOTANPKC - Northern Plains Kodály ChapterOHIOCCKE - Capital Collegiate Kodály EducatorsNOCKA - North Coast Kodály AssociationTRIKE - Tri-City Kodály EducatorsOKLAHOMAOKE - Oklahoma Kodály EducatorsOREGONSWOKE - Southern Washington & Oregon Kodály EducatorsPENNSYLVANIAKEEP - Kodály Educators of Eastern PennsylvaniaTENNESSEESECKE - South East Chapter of Kodály EducatorsTEXASKET - Kodály Educators of TexasUTAHBYUFOLKS - Brigham Young University Fellowship of Local Kodály SpecialistsUFOLKS - Utah Fellowship of Local Kodály SpecialistsVIRGINIAVOKE - Virginia Organization of Kodály EducatorsWASHINGTONNKE - Northwest Kodály EducatorsWISCONSINAWAKE - Assoc. for Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators

(first name) (middle initial) (last name)

Street Address

City

State Zip

Telephone

E-mail

Please charge my (check one): r MasterCard r Visa

Card number Expiration date

Name printed on card

Signature

TOTAL TO CHARGE $____________________

Check the appropriate categories:Teaching level Teaching arear Preschool r Choralr Elementary r Bandr Junior/Middle school r Orchestrar Senior high school r Keyboardr College/University r Guitarr Administration r Music therapistr Private/studio r General musicr Private/community r Researchr Church musician r Teacher educationr Other _________ r Jazzr History/Theory/Comp.r Voicer Technologyr Other _________

r New r Renewal r Intermittent (past member)Chapter Affiliation ID number Type of membership Please enter amountActive ..........................................$75 $_______Corresponding ............................$70 $_______Full-time Student*.......................$20 $_______Institutional ................................$75 $_______Library ........................................$70 $_______Lifetime ..................................$1,000 $_______Retired ........................................$40 $_______Sustaining .................................$125 $_______IKS..............................................$30 $_______Tax deductible contribution to: OAKE Leaf Fund $_______ Operating Fund $_______ Scholarship Fund $_______ TOTAL ENCLOSED $_______

Do not send cash. Make checks payable to OAKE or use credit card. Check should be in U.S. currency drawn on U.S. bank. International money order is acceptable. Dues are nonrefundable.*Individuals attending recognized music education institu-tions as full-time undergraduate or graduate students may apply for student membership. Include copy of current college ID card (front and back).

Please fill out the application completely and return it to:

OAKE National Office1612 - 29th Avenue South

Moorhead, MN 56560fax 218-227-6254

MEMbErshIP INFOrMAtION & APPLICAtION

KODÁLY ENVOY48

The Kodály Envoy seeks articles pertain-ing to Kodály-based music education at all teaching levels, as well as articles on related music and music education topics.

Kodály Envoy articles are refereed by practicing professionals who have exper-tise in the Kodály concept, membership in OAKE, writing and editing skills, and significant teaching, practicing, and writ-ing experience. This peer review process is double-blind. The initial review takes a mini-mum of six weeks, and most submissions require revision and re-review. Therefore articles should be submitted at least three months prior to the content deadline of the issue in which publication is desired.

Manuscripts and other documents ac-cepted for publication are edited to conform with Kodály Envoy style policies, which are based on The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition). A copy of the Kodály Envoy Style Guide may be obtained from the Editor. Manuscripts may also be altered to meet the requests of the editorial board or to fit avail-able space. Copy that is significantly edited is e-mailed in PDF format to the author for approval before publication. Final decisions regarding whether a manuscript or other document will be published and its content, revisions, scheduling, style, presentation,

grammar, punctuation, spelling, and artwork remain with the Editor.

Authors receive no financial compensa-tion, but do receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which their article appears.

• Electronic submission via e-mail is strongly encouraged. Microsoft Word files are preferred, but virtually any type of text file is acceptable.• Double-space all text, including block quotes, endnotes, and references. A suggest-ed length is 1,500 to 3,500 words, though articles may be longer or shorter. The font should be 11-point Times New Roman. Use endnotes instead of footnotes. Use only one space after a period.• Select and follow a single scholarly style throughout (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style or Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association).•Use a separate title page to show the au-thor’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and brief biographical information. The author’s name should appear only on the title page. A photo of the author may also be submitted; photos will not be returned.•Avoid jargon, terms that suggest bias, or sexist language.•Submit any photographs or illustrations,

including musical illustrations, in camera-ready format or as electronic files. If submitting photos, identify any persons in the photo and suggest a caption by placing information on a sticker attached to the back of the photo (do not write on the back of the photo). If submitting photographs as electronic files, they should be 300dpi TIF files (preferably not JPG). Send electronic graphics files to the editor at pontiffedit-ing@comcast.net• Submission of a manuscript implies that the proposed article is not currently under review by another publication and that it has not appeared elsewhere in part or in its entirety. Authors must secure and provide permission for the use of copyrighted mate-rial.

Content Deadlines: Fall: July 1; Winter: October 1; Spring: January 1; Summer: April 1.

Contact: Send all manuscripts, articles, reports, news, letters, items for review, other contributions, questions, comments, suggestions, or requests for permission to reprint to the Editor: Elizabeth Pontiff, 46781 Backwater Dr., Sterling , VA 20164; 571-434-0516; pontiffediting@comcast.net

Guidelines for Contributors

Advertising Rates & PolicyOutside Back Cover3/4 Page 7 × 7½” $335Inside Front/Back CoverFull Page 7 × 10” $335Half Page 7 × 5” $185Inside PageFull Page 7 × 10”$3052/3 Page 5 × 10”$215Half Page 7 × 5” $1651/3 Page 5 × 5”$1151/3 Page 2½ × 10”$1151/6 Page 2½ × 5” $70

NO BLEEDS ACCEPTED!

Discounts for repeated ads: two consecutive issues: 10%; three consecutive issues: 15%; four consecutive issues: 20%.Payment: New advertisers must pay for

be sure all fonts and graphics are included or embedded. All electronic submissions must be accompanied by a reference hard copy of the ad. Additional charges to handle electronic ads that do not meet these speci-fications will be billed to the advertisers. The Kodály Envoy will not be responsible for printing problems that result from electron-ic ads that do not meet these specifications.

Ad Deadlines: Fall: August 1; Winter: Novem-ber 1; Spring: February 1; Summer: May 1.

Contact: Send all requests for ad informa-tion, completed ad contracts, camera-ready or electronic ads, and ad correspondence to the Advertising Editor: Tom Michalek, 823 Valley Chase, Hastings, NE 68901, (402) 699-2342, t-michalek@charter.net.

their first ad in advance. All other advertis-ers will be sent an invoice accompanied by a tear sheet within 10 days of issue delivery. Payment is due within 30 days in U.S. dollars, by check drawn on a U.S. bank or major credit card. A service charge of 1½% per month or 18% per year is charged on all balances not paid within 30 days.Acceptance: The Kodály Envoy reserves the right to reject any ad for any reason at any time, with or without notice to the adver-tiser, and whether or not such ad was previ-ously published.Specifications for electronic submission: The Kodály Envoy accepts ads in EPS, TIF, or PDF file formats, and may also accept native InDesign or Illustrator files. Files must be high resolution, black-and-white only. Use only Postscript Type 1 fonts, and

PUbLICAtION INFOrMAtION

Outstanding EducatorThe OAKE Outstanding Educator Award is given to an OAKE member who, after having received formal training in Kodály education, has demonstrated years of superior music teaching in which the Kodály philosophy has been used extensively and has produced students who exhibit outstanding skills that were developed through the use of Kodály techniques. Submission deadline: October 1, 2008.Outstanding AdministratorThe OAKE Outstanding Administrator Award is given to a school principal, superintendent, or music supervisor who has demonstrated an appreciation for the value of the Kodály philosophy by creating an environment in which Kodály music education can thrive and has pro-vided tangible support for the Kodály music program and the Kodály teachers in his or her school(s). The recipient of this award does not have to be a member of OAKE. Submission deadline: October 1, 2008.Outstanding Research AwardThe purpose of the OAKE Outstanding Research Award is to encourage research about the Kodály philosophy of music education through the recognition of the best of such research conducted at all levels. The award is given at three levels: (1) academic—outstanding research by a college/university professor; (2) doctoral—outstanding dissertation; (3) professional and nondoctoral—outstanding research by a practi-tioner or graduate student. Submission deadline: November 15, 2008.Lifetime AchievementThe OAKE Lifetime Achievement Award is given to the rare person whose impact upon Kodály music education transcends that of what might be considered an outstanding educator, administrator, or researcher. This person has made such an extensive, far-reaching impact that, over time, his or her influence has left an indelible mark upon the state of American Kodály music education. Submission deadline: October 1, 2008.

Information about nomination procedures for all awards can be found in the downloads section of the OAKE website at www.oake.org.Further inquiries about these awards should be sent to:

David Gadberry, Chair, OAKE Recognition Committee, davidgad@ku.edu

2009 OAKE AWARDS: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

OAKE 2009 National Conference Kodály in the Capital: An American Legacy, in Washington DC, March 12–14, 2009 promises to be a great conference. We begin with the Mini-Conference on Thursday, featuring folk dancing, singing and games with the Amidons. After the opening ceremonies please join us for a Strawberry Social, with food, drink, singing and dancing with Robin Schaffer and local folk musicians from DC. Friday night will feature the banquet, as well as a concert by the vocal group Libana. Finally the conference will wrap up with the National Honors Choirs concert at beautiful Daughters of the Revolution Constitution Hall. Sessions topics range from general music to instrumental and choral music, with presentations for newcomers as well as veteran teachers. Please plan to come to beautiful Washington DC to sightsee and attend the national conference. We’ll be staying at the beautiful Wardman Mariott Park Hotel, which is on a Metro stop and within walking distance to the National Zoo. Come early and see the monuments, the White House, as well as the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, and many other attractions. Put the dates on the calendar now, and help us celebrate the legacies of OAKE—past, present, and future—as OAKE turns 35.

OAKE National Office1612 29th Avenue SouthMoorhead, MN 56560

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage PAID

Ames, IA 50010Permit No. 14