2019 - 2020 Professional Development Workshop Series

**All workshops take place on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in Hunziker Hall at William Paterson University unless otherwise noted**
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September 14, 2019
MICHAEL VASQUEZ
REFLECTIVE MOVEMENT: GROWING AN IDEA

Rob Amchin
Including movement activities and extensions in class increases student buy-in
and engagement, but how do you build a movement culture without sacrificing
time or content? See how easy it is to include daily movement games and
activities in your lessons while also teaching students to appreciate its
usefulness through self-reflection, group analysis, and peer evaluations.
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Michael Vasquez has taught music for 10 years and is the music specialist at Charles L. Kuentz Elementary in San Antonio, TX. He has been recognized as a two time Northside ISD educator of the year and was the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement Spotlight Award winner in December of 2014. Michael is a two time nominee for the HEB Excellence in Education Award. Michael received his bachelors and masters degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and all of his Orff levels from Trinity University. He serves as the president of Central Texas Orff and is the co-author of his book "Percussive Play". Over the summer, Michael is an Orff levels instructor in recorder and movement. He also received his Dalcroze Eurhythmics training under the direction of David Frego and Marla Butke.

October  19, 2019
JOSH SOUTHARD
IT'S ALL ABOUT PROCESS: KEETMAN'S
RHYTHMIC BUILDING BRICKS & BEYOND

Kate Bright
Using the elemental rhythmic building bricks, we will explore improvisation
and composition in the classroom. Diving into pieces and examples from the
Music for Children volumes and supplements, as well as children’s literature,
participants will learn how to play, improvise, create, and expand on them.
Come ready to Sing, Dance, Play, Move, and CREATE!

Josh Southard is the Music Specialist at Smoky Row Elementary School in Carmel, IN. There he teaches K-5 music, as well as a 5th grade Orff Ensemble, and was named the 2018 Teacher of the Year. In January 2019, Josh was named the Indiana Elementary Music Teacher of the Year by the Indiana Music Educators Association. Josh has completed all three levels of Orff-Schulwerk
certification, as well as Orff Curriculum and Composition at Anderson University. He served as
the Indiana Orff Schulwerk Association’s President from 2010-2014, and in 2011, Josh was
appointed to the American Orff Schulwerk Association’s Historical Committee, where he served as
the Chairperson of the committee from 2014-2017. Recently, Josh was elected to the National Board
of Trustees of the American Orff Schulwerk Association, serving as the Regional VI Representative
for Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, W. Virginia, Illinois, and Michigan. ​Josh is a featured presenter at Orff workshops around the country, state and national conferences. He has also had articles published in both the Orff Echo and Reverberations. He teaches Level I Orff Certification courses in Gwinnett County in Atlanta, GA, DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and Anderson University in Anderson, IN.

November 16, 2019
CHAPTER SHARING SESSION

Join us on Saturday, November 16, 2019 for a Chapter Sharing Workshop featuring teacher-tested and kid-approved lessons presented by our membership. 

January  25, 2020
CONFERENCE SHARING SESSION (snow date February 1)

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Highlights from the AOSA Professional Development National Conference in Salt Lake City, UT (November 20-23).

MARCH 7, 2020
JOHN BARNES
A NIGHT'S JOURNEY: MAKE IT YOUR OWN

Rick Layton & Jacque Schrader
Using familiar pieces from the volumes, favorite rhymes and children's games,
and a wide variety of poetry, participants will embark on a journey that travels
in time from dusk to dawn. We will explore ways to take these old favorites
and make them your own through shifting tonalities, improvisation, and
composition projects. Participants will leave with materials that could serve as
stand-alone lessons or be combined into a program for upper elementary students.

John Barnes is a member of the faculty at Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC, where he teaches general music to students in grades two through eight. Previously, he taught for nine years at Sully Elementary School in Loudoun County, Virginia. While at Sully, John served as chair of the district’s All-County Chorus Festival, contributed to the district’s research newsletter, Stride, and was a finalist for Shenandoah University’s Teacher of the Year award. Outside of the classroom, he has served in several capacities on the board of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. He currently holds the position of past president. John has presented workshops for various state MEA conventions and local chapters of AOSA. He completed his Orff-Schulwerk certification and Level IV coursework at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, apprenticed for recorder at The University of St. Thomas, and has been a participant in additional masterclasses throughout the US. John earned a bachelor of science degree in music education at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, and a masters degree in saxophone performance at the University of Florida.

APRIL 18, 2020
AIMEE PFITZNER
HANDS TO HANDS: CLAPPING GAMES, SONGS, AND DANCES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Andrew Ellingsen
Get ready to sing, move, and play in this high energy, hands-on workshop that will leave you smiling (and maybe a little out of breath)! The songs, games, and dances are from many of the areas of the world including New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, Germany, and many others. The best part? You will be able to
immediately implement the activities into your music classroom on Monday!​

Aimee Curtis Pfitzner has been the Lower School Music Director at Cannon School in Concord for 20 years. She holds a Masters of Music degree from UNC-Greensboro and completed Level I Orff-Schulwerk Training at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, Levels II and III at UNLV, and Master's Level at the University of Memphis. Aimee is a frequent presenter at AOSA chapter workshops around the country and National AOSA conferences. Her books, “Hands to Hands, Clapping Songs and Games from Around the World”,  “Hands to Hands, Too”, and “Painted Music” are available from Beatin’ Path Publications. She is passionate about music making, gardening, adoption, and anything and everything creative; painting, zendoodling, digital scrapbooking, making jewelry, writing music, crafting, and sewing. When not teaching or writing music, singing, or creating, she can be found musically musing on her blog, http://ofortunaorff.blogspot.com.