Come experience classroom-ready activities which follow the eight part workout from First Steps in Music and integrate the Orff approach as well develop a better understanding of how to blend these two approaches from activities to lesson planning. Sing, say, dance, and play your way to learning how to develop tuneful, beatful, and artful students. This session is applicable to both the experienced teacher or the dabbling novice in First Steps and/or Orff.

Participants will gain an understanding of both First Steps in Music and Orff Schulwerk. Participants will experience parts of the First Steps in Music Workout extended with Orff Schulwerk such as Voice Exploration, Fragment Singing, Simple Songs, Song Tales, Movement Exploration, Movement for Form and Expression, and Movement with Beat Motions. Participants will learn how to learn how to apply the integrated activities of First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk in a lesson and a unit plan. Participants will gain an understanding of how the eight part work out is specifically designed to develop singing, beat keeping, and movement skills. Participants will experience activities and/or lessons they will be able to apply directly to their K-2 general music classrooms.

Betsy Green teaches general music, grades K-5 and chorus, in Burlington, Vermont. She is a graduate of the Crane School of Music (B.Mus.Ed.), SUNY Potsdam and the Hartt School (M.Mus.Ed.), University of Hartford, CT. She is both Kodàly and Orff certified. She received the Outstanding Arts Advocate Award from the past Vermont Arts Alliance in 1998 and the Music Educator of the Year Award by the Vermont Music Educators Association in 2008. Betsy is a founding member of FAME and is currently serving as President (2017-2019). In addition, she is a certified teacher trainer for First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege 1 & 2. She is a frequent presenter of workshops and graduate courses for First Steps in MusicTM and Conversational SolfegeTM throughout Vermont and New England. She is a co-author for First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk: Sing, Say, Dance, Play GIA Music, Inc: Chicago, IL, 2017. Betsy is a member of AOSA, FAME, NAfME, and Music-COMP.

Joani Brandon has been teaching music education methods courses at Anderson University (Anderson, Indiana) since 1999. She is the former director of the Anderson Area Children’s Choir Chorale (1999 – 2011). Prior to this she taught public school music in Carmel, Indiana (nine years) and Wilmington, Ohio (three years). Joani completed Feierabend and Kodaly certification at Hartt School of Music in 2002. She completed Orff Certification in 2005 at Anderson University under the instruction of Lisa Sullivan and Steve Calantropio, where she serves as the Director of Summer Certification Courses. Joani holds a Master of Music Education degree from Butler University where she studied with Henry Leck, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University. Her dissertation research was a history of Orff Schulwerk teacher training in the United States. Through this study, she interviewed twenty-one of the pioneers of the Orff Schulwerk approach.

Rachel Grimsby has 15 years experience in elementary general and choral music education. She holds a B.M.Ed from East Carolina University, and a M.M.Ed from The University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music. She has obtained certification in all Kodály and Orff levels. Rachel is a teacher trainer for FAME, holding certifications in First Steps and Conversational Solfege Levels One and Two. Rachel is a frequent clinician at the local, state and national levels. Rachel is a member of the National Association for Music Educators, Organization of Kodály Educators, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, and is a current and founding member of the Feierabend Association of Music Education. Rachel is currently pursuing her Ph.D at Michigan State University.

Craig B. Knapp is a graduate of the Crane School of Music and has been teaching Classroom Music and Chorus, grades 3 through 5, in the Rocky Point School District since 1998. With his innovative and energetic approach to music education, Mr. Knapp directs the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York’s Children’s Treble Choirs. Craig is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hofstra University. He is also the director of the Early Childhood Community Music Program at Stony Brook University, where he instructs children in Pre-K through 3rd grade. Craig is the co-author of the book, “First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk: Sing, Say, Dance, Play.”

Craig is a sought-after clinician and choral conductor and has guest conducted for the Connecticut Music Educators’ Association Elementary Honors Choir, KONY (Kodály Organization of New York) “Voices United” Festival, Pennsylvania Music Educators’ Association Elementary ChorusFest and various All-County chorus groups throughout New York. Craig has presented elementary classroom music and choral workshops at various music education conferences, including national conferences for NAfME, ACDA, OAKE and FAME.

Chris Tranberg is currently Assistant Superintendent of the Granby Public Schools (Granby, CT). Prior leadership experiences include: Principal of Avon High School (Avon, CT), Assistant Principal of Simsbury High School (Simsbury, CT), and Director of Performing Arts (Simsbury, CT). Before exploring a school leadership path, Chris enjoyed several years as an elementary music teacher in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Ohio. Chris is an active presenter and consultant in the areas of equitable instructional practices, curriculum development, measurement and evaluation, teacher collaboration, and various topics in music education. Chris is a former member of the The Orff Echo editorial board, Reverberations editorial board, and past-president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association. Chris is a founding member of FAME and served as the initial chair of Teacher Training at the inception of the organization. Chris is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.