Rachel is a passionate educator, with experience teaching elementary general music, choral music, and music in early childhood. In 2002 she earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from East Carolina, and in 2010 graduated from The University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music with a Master of Music Education. Rachel is a A.B.D. at Michigan State University and recently accepted a position at Illinois State University as an Associate Professor of Music Education. Her research interests include the professional development and collaborative needs of in-service teachers and paraprofessionals, course work for undergraduates and graduate students in teaching music to students with disabilities, music and language acquisition in students with disabilities, and how music may benefit those with language delays.
Rachel is the co-author of two publications; First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk, and Feierabend Fundamentals: History, Philosophy, and Practice. She also has been published in the Orff Echo and the Journal of Music Teacher Education. Rachel is fully certified in Feierabend, Kodály, Orff, and holds GIML Elementary I and II certificates. She also is a teacher trainer for both First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege Level 1 and 2. Rachel is a member of AERA, AOSA, GIML, OAKE, NAfME, ECMMA and is a founding member of FAME. She lives with her husband and two children in Lansing, Michigan.