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Education Through Music Strengthens New York City Music Teachers’ Skills with Orff Training

Education Through Music (ETM), a New York City nonprofit focused on rebuilding music education in New York City schools, is providing its second series of Orff Schulwerk Teacher Education Courses, Levels 1 and 2 as a two-week professional development course to ETM and non-ETM affiliated teachers. This course prepares music teachers to better serve ETM partner school students throughout New York City with high-quality music education, increasing academic achievement and general development. This event is taking place through Aug. 11, 2017, at P.S. 150Q, 40-01 43rd Ave in Sunnyside, Queens.

ETM partners with inner-city schools to provide music as a core subject for all children, and utilizes music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school and self-confidence. The nonprofit believes that music should support learning in other key areas, including math, science and language arts, and engaged parents and school communities are key to the success of students.

Orff Schulwerk’s teaching model uses active music making in order to “build musicianship in every learner,” and seeks to extend creativity beyond the music classroom. Teachers participating in Level 1 actively learn to use speech, rhymes, poetry, percussion, singing and improvisation to create an active music curriculum for their students. This course is part of ETM’s year-round professional development opportunities for music teachers to ensure the highest quality of music education, taught by qualified and well-trained music teachers. The Level 1 course workshop is being led by BethAnn Hepburn, an endorsed teacher education instructor for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), Michael Vasquez, an award-winning, certified AOSA instructor, and Ben Torres, a certified AOSA instructor and President of the North Texas Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association.

Participants in Level 2 will continue learning to improvise, compose, and teach musical materials representing the elemental style including varied use of modes and scales. Level 2 will also continue developing movement and recorder skills. The Level 2 course workshop is being led by Michael Chandler, an AOSA certified instructor, a former President of the North Texas Chapter of AOSA and a former Regional Representative on the AOSA National Board of Trustees. Chandler will also be joined by Michael Vasquez and Ben Torres.

“We’re very excited to again be offering Orff training to New York City music teachers,” said Director of Programs Peter Pauliks. “We believe qualified, well-trained and dedicated music teachers are core to providing high-quality music education to all children, and ETM’s line of professional development opportunities enhances the quality of music education for our partner school students.”

About Education Through Music

The ETM model currently serves nearly 27,000 students in inner-city schools in New York City, and our model reaches another 12,000 children through the work of our licensed affiliate organization in Los Angeles. ETM’s comprehensive, sustainable music education network has garnered the support of corporations, public policy makers and foundations, including The Music Man Foundation, CMA Foundation, The Jerome L. Greene Foundation, Ford Foundation and D’Addario Foundation. For more information visit ETMonline.org.