Owen Hughes is a second year elementary school teacher in the Bedford Central School District in Bedford, NY. He currently teaches kindergarten through fifth grade students, as well as two sections of severely autistic children of varying ages and stages of development. In this position, Owen splits time between two very different schools; Bedford Village Elementary School, where he is the full-time general music and chorus teacher (4th and 5th grade), and Mt. Kisco Elementary School, where he teachers one section of general music to each grade level in a dual-language setting. In both of these settings, Owen uses the First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege curricula. At the district level, Owen choreographs the musical theatre productions at Fox Lane High School.
Owen attended the State University of New York at Fredonia School of Music, where he received two undergraduate degrees Magna Cum Laude: Bachelor of Music (Vocal-Music Education) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance). He attended the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford for his graduate studies, and received a Master of Music Education degree. While at Hartt, Owen received certification for all Kodály levels, as well as FAME certifications for FSIM and CS.
Owen continues to grow as a young educator by attending professional development conferences, including both of the conferences presented by FAME.
The FAME organization is an inclusive music education community full of talented educators.
Taking on a more active role would allow me to connect with these inspiring individuals in a more meaningful way, and allow me to give back to a group that has given me so much.