Workshops
Workshops 2023-2024
We’d love to see you at any of our yearly workshops so that we can share our love of the Orff approach and help you gain ideas to use in your classroom!
What to expect at Our Workshops
Workshop participants do not need to be trained in the Orff Schulwerk approach in order to attend – in fact, we love to introduce new people to the magic of Orff! Music teachers and other educators are welcome to attend our workshops, and need not become members of Atlanta Orff or AOSA in order to participate. Pre-registration is not necessary.
Preparing for your workshop:
Expect to move, sing, create, and play! You’ll be actively exploring elements of Orff pedagogy, experimenting with composition and improvisation processes, and generating practical ideas for your classroom. Printed workshop notes are included with each session – participants are welcome to jot down notes of their own, but Orff Schulwerk is best experienced through immersion in the process
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that allow you to move about freely (some participants choose to work barefoot or in dance shoes). Bring along your soprano recorder if you have one. To accommodate participants with allergies, we ask that you refrain from strong fragrances. Most of our workshops are from 9:00 to 1:00. Snacks are provided!
Fees, Registration, and Times
- $100 for full workshop series for AOSA members
- $120 for full workshop series for non-AOSA members
- $45 for individual workshops (both in person and virtual)
- $40 for Local Membership and full workshop series for retired teachers
- Workshops are free for full-time undergraduate students, student teachers, and first year teachers.
To register for the workshop series and to become a member, go to Membership.
To register for individual workshops, scroll down and click the link under the workshop you wish to register for.
Virtual Option:
This year we are also offering a virtual option! All of our workshops will be recorded and anyone registered will have access to that workshop’s recording! If you would like to purchase the virtual option for an individual workshop, scroll below to the workshop you would like the recording for and register for that workshop. If you purchased the full workshop series, you do not need to do any additional registration.
Freedom Brass
"Creating Cooperatively - Using movement to teach students how to work in cooperative learning groups"
September 16, 2023 | Chattahoochee Elementary | 9am-1pm
Activities for building a positive learning environment that fosters cooperation through the Orff Schulwerk. Clinician Freedom Brass will share cooperative learning skills, steps to organizing the creative classroom, and lesson ideas that will inspire and guide your students to create together joyfully.
Freedom Brass currently teaches K-5 Elementary Music in Junction City, KS. She has over 20 years of music teaching experience in elementary and secondary classrooms and has a BA in Music Education and a Masters in Special Education specializing in difficult behaviors. She received all three Orff Schulwerk Music Certifications from Baker University in Kansas and is an AOSA Certified Movement Instructor of all three levels. Her professional affiliations include being a member of AOSA, district Elementary Music Team Leader, and a partner of Kansas State University’s student internship program. Freedom was the Geary County District Kansas Teacher of the Year Nominee in 2020. Her professional passions are music advocacy, mentoring new music teachers, building positive relationships with students, and creating an inclusive environment for all learners.
If you paid for the entire workshop series, no need to register for each individual workshop.
Only click below to register if you are registering and paying for an individual workshop.
Aaron Williams
"Games Galore!"
October 21, 2023 | Chattahoochee Elementary | 9am-1pm
A potpourri of games, refined by real students from K-6th grade, developed to hone the crucial skills of time-keeping, improvisation, listening, pitch matching, notation, form and structure, and more. In this workshop, we will not only play these games; we will apply them in real musical contexts with engaging Orff pieces.
Aaron Grooves is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, & music educator. His passion for all forms of music-making have led him to become proficient in percussion, piano, tap dancing, singing, ukulele, live-looping, and many other instruments, which he utilizes to pursue his mission of spreading joy and elevating humanity.
Aaron achieved internet fame with his viral video, Mario on Marimba, which has received over 100 million views worldwide. He is the composer of “Jazzy Note Blocks,” the music behind Alan Becker’s Note Blocks – Animation vs. Minecraft Shorts Episode 5, which has racked up over 200 million views on YouTube. Aaron is one half of the explosive duo group, Collision of Rhythm, where he performs, teaches, and keynotes all over the world with his “rhythmic soul brother,” Bronkar Lee.
In addition to his online and commercial successes, Aaron is a world-class music educator. He holds Level 3 Certification in Orff Schulwerk pedagogy, and he has presented teacher training workshops for AOSA, KIPP Schools, CMEA (California Music Educators Association), and several colleges and universities. He is a recipient of the ACEMM Winter Spotlight Award, which is granted for outstanding work in learning communities utilizing music and movement. Aaron has done extensive work as a Band Director, Private Lessons Instructor, and Music Specialist for humans of all ages.
More
YouTube: https://youtube.com/aarongrooves
Collision of Rhythm: https://collisionofrhythm.com
Bandcamp: https://aarongrooves.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/aarongrooves
Sheet Music: https://musescore.com/aarongrooves
If you paid for the entire workshop series, no need to register for each individual workshop.
Only click below to register if you are registering and paying for an individual workshop.
Katie Traxler
"Building Community Through the Orff Approach"
February 10, 2024 | Mary Lin Elementary | 9am-1pm
The Orff Schulwerk approach provides a multitude of organic opportunities to engage students in social emotional learning embedded in active music making. In this workshop, we will explore activities that demonstrate how to create a welcoming space where students can bravely share their ideas, feelings, and curiosity, and how to foster a learning environment where they are encouraged to build and strengthen both peer relationships and teacher-student relationships. We will learn some simple transitional activities and classroom routines that provide students opportunities to practice habits of mindful learning and reflection for those moments of chaos and uncertainty. We will examine how the literature and repertoire that we choose can provide fodder for meaningful human connections that transform into music and movement masterpieces. Orff Schulwerk puts our students at the heart of the experience. Let’s discover how we put our students’ hearts at the center of our practice.
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.
If you paid for the entire workshop series, no need to register for each individual workshop.
Only click below to register if you are registering and paying for an individual workshop.
Michael Vasquez
"Musical Expansion: Growing From an Idea"
March 9, 2024 | Mary Lin Elementary | 9am-1pm
Join us as we explore the various ways to build the idea of a collaborative classroom through song, dance, instrumentation, and teacher reflection. It is so easy for us to picture the end goal of a thriving community of musicians in our classrooms but many times we struggle on deciding what should be the first step. Come along and see some of the many ways to establish, reconnect, or further grow your student’s creative capacities.
Michael Vasquez Michael Vasquez teaches K-5 music at Kuentz Elementary in San Antonio, TX. He earned his bachelors and master’s degrees at the University of Texas at San Antonio and received his Orff training at Trinity University. He is an ACEMM spotlight award recipient and active clinician on Orff process, elemental movement, and recorder methodology. He is a NISD teacher of the year and HEB Educator of Excellence Nominee. Michael enjoys teaching summer courses across the nation as an AOSA movement and recorder instructor.
If you paid for the entire workshop series, no need to register for each individual workshop.
Only click below to register if you are registering and paying for an individual workshop.
Chapter Share
April 20, 2024 | Chattahoochee Elementary | 9am-1pm
Members who attended the November Professional Development Conference in Albuquerque, NM will share some of their favorite activities and ideas from conference sessions. This workshop is free for all to attend!
If you paid for the entire workshop series, no need to register for each individual workshop.
Only click below to register if you are registering and paying for an individual workshop.