AOSA 2009 Professional Development Conference
Conference Presenters

note: photos are added as we receive them

Abril, Carlos (# 301 + 322)
It’s Not Eclectic!
See Bond, Abril, Gault, Valerio below for session description.

Artie Almeida teaches at Bear Lake Elementary in Florida. Her students have performed for AOSA and MENC conferences and on The NBC Today Show. Artie was Florida Music Educator of the Year, performs in the renaissance ensemble Ars Antiqua, teaches private saxophone and has been named UCF Alumni of the Decade.

Judy Bond is Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Education at UW Stevens Point. She is a past-president of AOSA and chairs the Alliance for Active Music Making. She has presented Orff sessions and courses internationally and at many national and state conferences. Judy has taught all three levels of Orff training.

Carlos Abril is Associate Professor of Music Education at Northwestern University. He has presented at many conferences and workshops throughout the US and abroad. His musical arrangements and instructional materials are published by World Music Press and found in the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill’s textbook series Share the Music.

Brent Gault specializes in elementary music, early childhood music and Kodály methodology. He has training in both Orff and Dalcroze Eurhythmics. He teaches at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, serves as the program director for the Indiana University Children’s Choir, and is the Immediate Past President of OAKE.

Wendy Valerio, PhD is Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Children's Music Development Center (CMDC) at The University of South Carolina where she teaches graduate and undergraduate music methods courses and conducts early childhood music development research, previously sponsored by The Texaco Foundation and The Presser Foundation.

Terry Boyarsky is a concert pianist, Dalcroze Eurhythmics teacher, Ethnomusicologist and frequent contributor to the Orff Echo. Terry is a Teaching Artist for Young Audiences and the Ohio Arts Council. She sings with the Cleveland Orchestra Blossom Festival Chorus and performs as the “Russian Duo” with a balalaika virtuoso.

Jenny Burnett has been teaching dance at Hathaway Brown School for nine years, has performed with numerous choreographers and companies throughout the country and presents locally as well. She directs the Crooked River Orff Ensemble.

Laura Webster has been teaching music at Hathaway Brown School for ten years, has presented workshops in Ohio and written for the Orff Echo. She directs the Crooked River Orff Ensemble.

Music teacher, clinician and author, Sharon Burch developed an effective method using fiction and fantasy to teach musical concepts to preschool through third-grade students. Sharon and her puppet partner Freddie the Frog share their interactive teaching methods. Sharon advocates the multiple benefits of music education in a child's brain development.

Margaret Orem and Debbie Burton are award winning elementary music specialists and presenters at national Orff and Kodály Conferences. Their teaching experience totals over 50 years and they have been team teaching for the last ten years. Margie conducts for the San Diego Children's Choir and Debbie teaches at San Diego SU.

II. High Five! Bringing the Schulwerk Alive for Primary Children
Using the Orff media, explore five engaging activities for primary students to be used as teaching tools in the classroom and as performance pieces.

Dena Byers teaches K-5 Music at Hillandale Elementary in Durham, North Carolina. She served on the AOSA National Board of Trustees as a Regional Representative. Her choir performed at the 2008 AOSA Professional Development Conference in Charlotte.

Jennifer Donovan teaches K-5 Music at Clear Creek Elementary in Shawnee, Kansas. She served on the AOSA National Board of Trustees as Treasurer. Her students have been selected twice to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop.

NEXT PAGE >>

<< return to quick index

top of page