Julissa Chapa taught elementary music in the Houston area for twenty years. She earned her master’s degree in music education, received her Kodály Certification from the Kodály Institute of Houston, and trained in Music Learning Theory. She is currently a lecturer and supervisor for student teachers at the University of Houston, teaches summer courses at the Fort Bend Kodály Institute, and regularly presents staff development sessions for districts and conferences across the country. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of Houston, and her research areas are emergent bilinguals in the music classroom and music education accessibility in under-resourced areas. Her ultimate goal is to promote quality music education for all children, upholding Kodály's belief that music is every child’s birthright.
These sessions will provide music educators with strategies to create meaningful learning experiences for Spanish-speaking English learners. Rooted in pedagogical theory and enriched with practical application, the sessions delve into repertoire analysis, content development, and assessment design, emphasizing musical growth independent of language proficiency. Participants will explore repertoire, language development, and musical understanding. Blending personal insights, scholarly research, and actionable strategies, this series prepares educators to meet the unique needs of all students in their classrooms.
David Dockan is an assistant professor of music education at Louisiana State University where he teaches elementary music methods, courses in teaching music in diverse settings, and where he champions the integration of popular music in the curriculum. His goal is to help teachers design a curriculum that mirrors the diverse musical landscape of their students’ lives. His research has been published in leading journals, including the Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, the Music Educators Journal, and The Orff Echo, focusing on democratic music education, popular music pedagogies, and inclusive music classrooms. In 2022, he collaborated with Dr. Martina Vasil to develop a masterclass on Orff Schulwerk and popular music education. Dockan envisions classrooms where students create music that reflects their diverse experiences and cultural backgrounds.
Dive into an interactive exploration of popular music pedagogies designed for the music classroom. Discover effective strategies, including modern band approaches, insights into how popular musicians learn, and the integration of Orff Schulwerk and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. This session celebrates students’ musical identities and fosters an inclusive learning environment. Participants will leave with practical tools and resources to enrich their curriculum, ensuring every student’s voice is heard and valued in the vibrant world of popular music.
For more than forty years, Joan Eckroth-Riley has been sharing her passion for music education. She currently serves at Murray State University in Kentucky as associate professor and coordinator of music education. She is the author of Everyday Improvisation: Interactive Lessons for the Music Classroom and Everyday Composition: Interactive Lessons for the Music Classroom, and a contributing author to Kaleidoscope, which contains lessons on the new core music standards. Eckroth-Riley is a certified recorder and movement instructor for Orff Schulwerk teacher training courses, frequent workshop presenter on standards and assessments for elementary music, and musical clinician around the country. She holds a master’s degree in music education with an emphasis in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was honored to be named the North Dakota Music Educator of the Year in 2016.
If you have been overwhelmed with how much there is to teach in an elementary curriculum, you are not alone! Discover in these sessions how to scaffold a teaching sequence using processes inherent in the Orff Schulwerk and Kodály approaches. The sessions will focus on doing more with less by integrating the Orff processes of imitating, exploring, and creating, while introducing structured learning through preparing, presenting, and practicing curriculum concepts. Each session will focus on creating joyful experiences while sequencing and structuring a school year.
Michele Henry is a professor of choral music education and the director of music education at Baylor University. Henry teaches undergraduate music education courses, supervises student teachers, and oversees the music education program. She specializes in vocal sight-reading instruction and assessment. Henry is the co-author of the Level Up! sight-reading series which focuses on a systematic approach to individualized sight-reading instruction and assessment. Her research appears in many top journals, as well as Oxford and GIA presses. Henry is on the editorial boards for the Journal of Music Teacher Education, the Southwestern Musician, and Texas Music Education Research. She is also heavily involved with certification policies for music teachers. She holds a doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from the University of North Texas.
We want students to become lifelong musicians. Rehearsal is not only about the repertoire, it’s also about developing skills that singers take with them when they leave the choir room. In this series of sessions participants will discover ways to build singers’ eyes and ears, helping them decode melodic material and anticipate sound before they sing. Included are strategies to promote analysis, aural skills, and audiation, which will benefit rehearsal efficiency and create independent musicians. When they can see it and hear it, they will be ready to sing it—for a lifetime.
Jann Knighten received degrees in music education from East Carolina University, then attended the University of Texas at Austin. She began her career as a teacher of middle school band in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and completed thirty years of public school teaching in 2009. Knighten represented North Carolina as an educational ambassador for the U.S.-Japan Foundation’s Global Schools Initiative at Hiroshima University and Mihara Junior High School. She is currently the coordinator of the graduate certificate in music education for students with differences and disabilities, and a candidate for a doctorate in curriculum and instruction in special education at the University of Arkansas. Knighten has presented at national and international conferences and professional development sessions in many states. She is the president of the Arkansas Music Educators Association and the president-elect for the Council of Exceptional Children’s Division of Visual and Performing Arts.
Music educators are expected to maintain a high-quality performance standard in ensembles, but the demographics of student personnel have changed and caused challenges over the years. These sessions will provide the knowledge necessary to incorporate research-based strategies for delivering instruction, plus adaptations for providing access to instruction for all students. Based on the latest research in education, and the writings of such notable researchers and lecturers as Dr. Alice Hammel, participants will leave the academy understanding the differences in the way that students learn and have strategies to successfully teach all students.
Alfred Watkins retired as director of bands at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia, where he spent thirty-one of his thirty-seven years in the profession. He is currently musical director and conductor of the Cobb Wind Symphony. He is a graduate of Florida A&M University (FAMU) and received an honorary doctorate from the VanderCook College of Music. Concert bands under Watkins’s leadership have performed at thirty-two invitational concert band events, and he has conducted All-State High School Bands in thirty-four states. His concert bands have performed at the Midwest Clinic, Music for All National Festival, and at the Georgia Music Educators Association conventions. Watkins is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, the FAMU Gallery of Distinguished Alumni, and has been named to the Hall of Fame for the Bands of America, Conn Selmer, and the Minority Band Directors National Association. The $1.5 million band building at Lassiter High School bears his name.
These sessions will define the hallmarks of a teacher’s classroom that must never be compromised. These include learning readiness, the need for a strong fundamentals program, developing attention to details, pedagogical structure, and the development of comprehensive musical skills. Discussion will also address how to maintain a student’s attention, cultivate teacher enthusiasm, inspire respect for students, and set high expectations.
