CSU’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance — the home of the Colorado Kodály Institute — is hosting a Kodály Music Teaching Workshop with national presenter Julie Swank on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The workshop contains pertinent instruction for teaching music to grade levels K-5.
Join Swank, a Kodály inspired music educator, in a day of singing, playing and music-making. The day will begin with singing games, play parties and movement activities for the music classroom, and participants will move, sing, notate, memorize, improvise, listen to and reflect upon all types of folk and composed music. Time will be allotted for discussion and demonstration, dissecting the pedagogy of the morning experiences and offering ideas on curricular tie-ins.
The activities offered will feature the standard “bread and butter” ideas of master teachers and the “Swanky top three rules for a successful music classroom,” all accented with tasty morsels of lesser-known examples. Curricular ideas will span pre-K to adult, as well as both vocal and instrumental music. This workshop is geared toward any music educator interested in joyful music-making and skill-building in his/her classroom. Pre-service educators are welcome to join in play and movement.
Julie Swank has taught music at all levels from pre-K to the master’s level. She currently teaches band and musicology for grades six through eight at Northmont Middle School, near Dayton, Ohio. She is a graduate of Capital University and the University of Dayton, and has a Kodály certificate from the Kodály Center at Capital. She is a past-president of the Midwest Kodály Music Educators of America and has served as the archivist. She plays principal horn in the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra of Dayton and is a frequent presenter at workshops and conferences throughout the United States.
The cost to attend the workshop is $40 for members of the Regional Organization of Colorado Kodály Educators (ROCKE) and $50 for non-members; there is a half day rate of $20. Registration is required and can be completed at rockeonline.weebly.com/workshops.
