New England Orff Chapter
Chapter History
The New England Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association was chartered at the National Conference in Chicago in April, 1972. However, its roots go back to 1963 when Grace Nash was invited to be the headliner at the National Association of Independent Schools’ summer workshop in Beverly, Massachusetts. It was Grace, Summer School Chairman, who was responsible for having brought Doreen Hall to the Music Center of the North Shore in Winnetka during the summer of 1961, and who was an alumna of the summer conference and course at the University of Toronto in 1962, taught by Carl Orff, Guild Keetman, Wilhelm Keller, Lotte Flach and Barbara Haselbach. One of the participants of that summer workshop in Beverly was Murray McNair, music teacher at the Shore Country Day School in Beverly.
In the Fall of 1973 Edna Geary became President. In addition to her organizing workshops given by Orff specialists, Tossi Aaron, Maureen Kenney, Gerry Dyck, Pat Brown, Edna, and one by Robert Abramson, a Jacques-Dalcrose specialists, she was local chairman of the National Conference in Boston in March, 1974.
What We Offer Today
The New England Orff Chapter is an affiliate of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. The Chapter offers six professional development workshops for teachers annually. Each year the Chapter also offers scholarships for members to attend the American Orff Schulwerk National Conference as well as scholarships to attend Orff Levels teacher training courses. The number of scholarships offered varies from season to season. For more information on scholarships, look click on the word "scholarships" in the above menu.
What is the American Orff-Schulwerk Association?
The American Orff-Schulwerk Association is a professional organization of educators dedicated to the creative music and movement approach developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. Their mission is to demonstrate the value of Orff-Schulwerk and promote its widespread use; to support the professional development of their members; and to inspire and advocate for the creative potential of all learners.
What is Orff-Schulwerk?
Orff-Schulwerk is an active approach to music and movement education. Students of all ages and abilities explore, imitate, improvise and create their own material through singing, expressive speech, playing instruments, and creative movement. To learn more about Orff-Schulwerk and how it focuses on 21st century learning objectives, check out the following articles:
Orff-Schulwerk: What It Is and What It Is Not from a talk by Wilhelm Keller, then Co-Director of the Orff Institute, at Dana School in Wellesley, MA, 1969.
What Is Orff-Schulwerk? by Nick Wild, Past-President of NE/AOSA
Rationale for the Orff-Schulwerk Learning Model: AOSA document
Background of the Pedagogy included in workshop notes by BethAnn Hepburn, AOSA Endorsed Instructor
What is elemental music?
"Elemental music is pattern-based music built on natural speech and body rhythms, familiar melodic patterns, and simple forms that can be learned, created, understood, and performed without extensive technical or theoretical musical training." - from "Defining Elemental Music" by Nick Wild, Past-President of NE/AOSA and AOSA Endorsed Instructor
To read the rest of "Defining Elemental Music" click here.
The New England Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association was chartered at the National Conference in Chicago in April, 1972. However, its roots go back to 1963 when Grace Nash was invited to be the headliner at the National Association of Independent Schools’ summer workshop in Beverly, Massachusetts. It was Grace, Summer School Chairman, who was responsible for having brought Doreen Hall to the Music Center of the North Shore in Winnetka during the summer of 1961, and who was an alumna of the summer conference and course at the University of Toronto in 1962, taught by Carl Orff, Guild Keetman, Wilhelm Keller, Lotte Flach and Barbara Haselbach. One of the participants of that summer workshop in Beverly was Murray McNair, music teacher at the Shore Country Day School in Beverly.
In the Fall of 1973 Edna Geary became President. In addition to her organizing workshops given by Orff specialists, Tossi Aaron, Maureen Kenney, Gerry Dyck, Pat Brown, Edna, and one by Robert Abramson, a Jacques-Dalcrose specialists, she was local chairman of the National Conference in Boston in March, 1974.
What We Offer Today
The New England Orff Chapter is an affiliate of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. The Chapter offers six professional development workshops for teachers annually. Each year the Chapter also offers scholarships for members to attend the American Orff Schulwerk National Conference as well as scholarships to attend Orff Levels teacher training courses. The number of scholarships offered varies from season to season. For more information on scholarships, look click on the word "scholarships" in the above menu.
What is the American Orff-Schulwerk Association?
The American Orff-Schulwerk Association is a professional organization of educators dedicated to the creative music and movement approach developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. Their mission is to demonstrate the value of Orff-Schulwerk and promote its widespread use; to support the professional development of their members; and to inspire and advocate for the creative potential of all learners.
What is Orff-Schulwerk?
Orff-Schulwerk is an active approach to music and movement education. Students of all ages and abilities explore, imitate, improvise and create their own material through singing, expressive speech, playing instruments, and creative movement. To learn more about Orff-Schulwerk and how it focuses on 21st century learning objectives, check out the following articles:
Orff-Schulwerk: What It Is and What It Is Not from a talk by Wilhelm Keller, then Co-Director of the Orff Institute, at Dana School in Wellesley, MA, 1969.
What Is Orff-Schulwerk? by Nick Wild, Past-President of NE/AOSA
Rationale for the Orff-Schulwerk Learning Model: AOSA document
Background of the Pedagogy included in workshop notes by BethAnn Hepburn, AOSA Endorsed Instructor
What is elemental music?
"Elemental music is pattern-based music built on natural speech and body rhythms, familiar melodic patterns, and simple forms that can be learned, created, understood, and performed without extensive technical or theoretical musical training." - from "Defining Elemental Music" by Nick Wild, Past-President of NE/AOSA and AOSA Endorsed Instructor
To read the rest of "Defining Elemental Music" click here.