Music Education Workshops

To register for credit for the events listed below, please follow the directions to find, select the courses as described below. Make sure that the course number matches the workshop or conference you will attend (VMEA, ASTA, VKE). Also be sure to download the syllabus and complete the required assignments by the given due dates.

Contact Dr. Stephanie Standerfer via email at sstander@su.edu if you have any questions about registration or assignment.

Juliet Hess

Juliet Hess is an associate professor of music education at Michigan State University, having previously taught elementary and middle school music in Toronto. Her book, “Music Education for Social Change: Constructing an Activist Music Education,” explores the intersection of activism, critical pedagogy and music education. Hess received her Ph. D. in Sociology of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include anti-oppression education, trauma-informed pedagogy, activism in music and music education, music education for social justice and the question of ethics in world music study.

Amy Lewis

Amy Lewis is an assistant professor of music education and director of the Center for Inclusive Music Engagement at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Her research is focused on critical race theory, antiracism education and activism in music education. Previously she studied her doctoral work at Michigan State University in music education. Her work is published in Action, Criticism, and Theory in Music Education, and Michigan Music Educator Journal.

About the Course

This course provides a venue for learning, discussing, developing and applying mindset and mindfulness skills and strategies in the personal and professional life of the music educator. Music educators will engage with the topics of mindfulness, growth mindset, positive psychology and neuroscience to develop methods for maximizing their potential as teachers and raise the quality of their own students’ learning and performance. The course will consist of readings, discussions, writing and a practical project designed to work for your personal life and for the students and classes that you teach. Students will learn how meditation, focusing on gratitude, deep breathing techniques, living in the now and a heightened awareness of the senses all elevate one’s daily experience. Students will examine their own habits of thinking and develop positive habits of thought that can impact the trajectory of their day and influence their own students in a positive way.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding and be able to implement elements of mindfulness into their own life.
• Develop a daily mindfulness practice.
• Create an application of mindfulness techniques to the music classroom or ensemble.
• Increase understanding and application of research on the topics of growth mindset and positive psychology into personal and professional life.

Dr. Matthew Arau

Dr. Matthew Arau, author of “Upbeat! Mindset, Mindfulness, and Leadership in Music Education and Beyond” and founder of Upbeat Global, is an associate professor of music, the chair of the music education department and associate director of bands at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Dr. Arau has guest conducted and presented on mindfulness, growth mindset, student leadership, rehearsal techniques, and creating positive cultures in person in over 25 states and 4 continents in person. He draws on a deep reservoir of fifteen years of experience as a successful middle school and high school band director. Dr. Arau earned his D.M.A. in Wind Conducting and Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder, his M.S. in Music Education from the American Band College at Southern Oregon University, and a B.M. in Music Performance (jazz studies), Music Performance (classical), and Music Education and a B.A. in Government from Lawrence University. Discover more about Dr. Arau at www.upbeatglobal.com.

About the Course

Helping students become musically literate is central to the school, community and church music curriculum. While there is much agreement about why we should teach sight singing and musicianship skills, there is less agreement about how we should teach those skills. Far too often students are taught to be savvy symbol decoders rather than independent literate musicians.

Working from the premise that students learn musical skills in much the same order as they do language skills, participants will explore how we ‘learn’ music through hearing and imitating patterns before reading (translating notation into sound) and writing (translating sound into notation). The pedagogy also includes sequential techniques for teaching improvisation which is central to developing musicianship and demonstrates the student’s comprehension.

The TAKADIMI rhythm-pedagogy system, a beat-oriented system whose originators see it as evolving from Gordon’s syllables, will be incorporated. The rhythm syllables can easily be adapted to elementary through adult choral and instrumental rehearsals in the church and K-Collegiate setting.

To aid the development of aural-oral tonal skills, the moveable do and la minor tonal system will be incorporated. In addition, a sequence of vocal pitch exercises and chord progressions will be presented in a graphic form to further aid in the acquisition of tonal skills. The exercises explore various tonalities (major, minor, modes, etc.) and tonal functions (tonic, dominant, subdominant, etc.) as well as support the development of audiation, healthy vocal technique and application of skills to literature.

Workshop participants will also be presented with teaching strategies and techniques for integrating and applying literacy skills to appropriate repertoire. Special attention will be given to the development of music literacy curriculum maps and diction maps.

About the Course

Insights, review, and renewal of conducting gesture and skills for church and public school choral and instrumental conductors/educators will be the main focus of this workshop. Special attention will be given to strengthening and clarifying physical presentation, self-analysis, and matching gesture with the musical ideas embedded in the score. Advanced techniques include mixed meter, independence of hands, phrasing, cues and releases.

This workshop will also address score study and provide creative and practical rehearsal strategies to move beyond the notes and the rhythms and “bring the music to life.” Phrasing, articulation, rhythmic interest and text will be explored using the three main learning modalities: visual, aural and kinesthetic.

Dr. Hillary Ridgley

Hillary Ridgley is assistant professor of music education at Shenandoah Conservatory and University. Ridgley holds a Ph.D. in choral conducting/music education from the Florida State University. An active conductor, clinician and adjudicator, Ridgley most recently presented seminars in Mississippi, New York and Virginia, interest sessions at Eastern Divisional and Southern Divisional ACDAs, and conducted the Kentucky SSAA High School All-State Choir. Her research interests include choral text, the poetry of Sara Teasdale in choral music, music literacy and community service partnerships and field experience for music therapy and choral music education students. Previously, she taught 12 years in the public schools.

Dr. Carol Krueger

An active conductor, clinician and author, Carol Krueger has conducted festivals and honor choirs at the collegiate, high school and middle school levels in 20 states and presented interest sessions/workshops in 30 states, Australia and England. Krueger formerly served as associate professor and director of choral activities at Valdosta State University, Emporia State University and Florida Southern College. She also served as the associate director of choral activities at the University of South Carolina and the University of Montevallo. She is also widely recognized for her work with music literacy.