Levels Courses
Level I, II & III Courses for Summer 2024
Orff Schulwerk is a child centered approach to music and movement education, developed from the work of Carl Orff, German composer and music educator, and his colleague, Gunild Keetman. During this course, educators will explore music through singing, speaking, moving, playing percussion instruments and recorder, improvising, and composing. The Orff approach is an engaging process for both the teacher and student that fosters community, encourages collaboration and inclusivity, and builds confidence.
Course Descriptions:
Level I:
Through daily lessons and activities, participants will engage and develop skills in the basic principles of the Orff Schulwerk approach. Introduction to the following concepts: arranging and composing pieces via ostinati and pentatonic scales, exploring and developing creative movement vocabulary/technique, and the use of soprano recorder as an instrument and instructional tool in the musical classroom.
Level II:
Level II is a time for expanded learning after using and developing elemental musical and movement materials following Level I. It is also a time when many questions about theory and pedagogy that arose during the school year may be answered, and class discussions concerning application are approached on a more knowledgeable and practical level. The curriculum will explore pentatonic, hexatonic, and modal melodies in ways that are accessible and appealing to both you and your students. Additional drone and chordal accompaniment building on those compositional strategies from Level 1 will be developed as well. Rhythmic work will include pieces in uneven and changing meters. Recorder classes will introduce and emphasize the alto recorder, play and create more complex repertoire, as well as further explore the pedagogy of teaching all sizes of recorder. Movement classes draw on the ideas and concepts outlined above and make use of more advanced technique and skill in addition to focusing on the pedagogy of teaching movement.
Level I is a prerequisite for Level II.
Level III:
Building on the skills acquired in Level II, this course includes arranging/composition using major/minor and other diatonic modes with appropriate ostinato and harmony-based accompaniments. Participants will see the progression from duple meter to triple to odd and changing meters, as well as the progression from elemental bordun/drone arrangements to shifting harmonies and then to I-IV-V harmonies. Recorder ensemble experience and group composition in larger forms are also covered.
Level II is a prerequisite for Level III.
Course Information and Requirements:
Dates: July 15th – July 26nd
Location: Seaside Charter – Mandarin Campus (10850 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257)
Times: 8:00am-5:00pm weekdays
Cost: $800 for Early Bird Registration (Early Bird EXTENDED to May, 24th) $900 starting May 25th
AOSA has partnered with Ashland University to provide graduate credit for chapter run courses. If taking for non-credit, participants can earn 70 hours of Professional Development.
This course has been approved by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and follows the guidelines of AOSA.
As part of the course requirements there will be nightly homework. Participants should plan to spend a maximum of two hours per night completing assignments. 100% attendance is required to receive credit for the course. Participants are encouraged to avoid scheduling additional activities during this course as it is an intensive program.
Course Instructors:
Level I Basic - Tara Clayburn
Tara Clayburn is the Lower School Music Teacher at The Potomac School in McLean, VA, where she teaches Kindergarten through Grade 3 music and movement classes. She is a teacher educator for the American Orff Schulwerk Association and she currently teaches AOSA teacher training courses at the North Florida Orff Course and at West Chester University. She has presented workshops for Orff Schulwerk Chapters and at the AOSA National Professional Development Conference in 2021. She has had articles published in The Orff Echo, AOSA Reverberations, and the Kentucky Music Educators Association’s Bluegrass Music News. She received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education from Morehead State University and received her Orff-Schulwerk levels certification from The University of Kentucky. She further studied the Schulwerk at the Summer Course at the Orff-Institute in Salzburg Austria, as well as many masterclasses and workshops throughout the United States. Tara is a Past-President of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of AOSA.
Level II Basic - Katie Traxler
Katie Traxler teaches K-5 music at Gateway Elementary, a public school in Madison, TN. Previously she taught 3K-5 music in NYC for 15 years. In addition to teaching general music classes, she leads a chorus, recorder ensembles, orff ensemble, and various after-school classes and clubs in piano, guitar, ukulele, and movement. Committed to collaboration and arts integration, Traxler works closely with the classroom teachers to maintain a rich curriculum integrating music, movement, drama, and visual art within the social studies, math and ELA content across all grade levels.
Traxler has worked as a clinician for various organizations in NYC including the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall, and has presented music education workshops for Orff Chapters, School Districts, and Universities across the United States. She served on the AOSA (American Orff Schulwerk Association) NBT as Region V Rep, is a past president of NYCCAOSA, is currently serving on CORS, and teaches Basic Pedagogy for various Orff Teacher Educator programs in the US.
Level III Basic - Brent Holl
Brent Holl lives in Bridgewater, Virginia, and taught middle school general music and choir in Augusta County, Virginia for 33 years. He currently teaches summer courses in Orff Schulwerk and is a national clinician and consultant in music education in the Orff Schulwerk design. He is an author and composer writing materials for Orff level courses, young singers, recorder ensembles, marimba and the Orff instrumentarium.
He received a B. S. degree from Bridgewater College, an M.M.Ed from James Madison University, and has completed all levels of Orff Schulwerk Certification at the University of Memphis with further study at George Mason University and Hamline University.
Mr. Holl is the owner of Beatin’ Path Publications, LLC, a publishing house dedicated to the development of high quality music resources for classroom music teachers in the design of Orff Schulwerk. Beatin’ Path Publications offers resource books for Orff levels course instructors, recorder, marimba ensembles, Orff ensembles, hand drumming, and general music.
Brent Holl is also a singer/songwriter specializing in children’s songs. He has recorded and produced several CD’s of children’s songs for church and bible school.
Movement - Griff Gall
Griff Gall is an elementary music and movement specialist in Danvers, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Westminster Choir College and completed his Level III Orff Schulwerk training through Boston University while earning his Master of Music in Education with additional Orff training at the University of St. Thomas. He is a frequent clinician for state, local, and national music education workshops in the areas of creative movement, Orff Schulwerk, and handbell pedagogy and has been on the Orff Schulwerk faculty for University of the Arts. He has contributed articles for the Orff Echo and Massachusetts Music Educators Journal and is co-author of Ring, Dance, Play: First Experiences with Choirchimes and Orff Schulwerk, published by GIA. He has studied dance with the Boston Ballet School and Urbanity Dance. Griff was the 2016 recipient of the Donna Nagle Award for Excellence in General Music from the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and the Spotlight award from ACEMM. He recently completed his CAGS in Educational Leadership from Salem State University.
Recorder - Allison Croskey
Allison Croskey is a General Music Teacher in Cincinnati, OH. There she teaches Kindergarten through 5th grade music. She is a Recorder Teacher Educator and has shared many workshops and presentations throughout the country. She is the president-elect of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of AOSA. A true Cincinnati sports fan, Allison loves to watch all her favorite games with her husband and daughter. When not rooting for her teams, Allison is probably rooting around in her garden.