October 6-7, 2023: BethAnn Hepburn
Location: Real Life Community Church, 120 14th Ave. South, Nampa
8:30 am-4:00 pm
About the Workshop:
Friday: Invitations for Creativity
Manipulatives invite students to work together to create movement and music that is their own. This workshop will focus on students working with a partner or a group to create their own movement, rhythm, and melodies. Discover ways to use manipulatives to meet individual student needs and spark student creativity. Explore objects hands-on to inspire rhythm building bricks and phrases to develop larger ensembles. The lessons will be focused on both primary and upper elementary classroom lessons, join us and put creative ideas right in the palms of your hands! Please bring a recorder.
Saturday: Level Up! Bumping Up Games & Rhymes!
We will "level up" in two ways: we will "level up" from grades K -5 with a variety of singing games. Each of the games will go to the next level by focusing on student creativity through the Orff Schulwerk process that focuses on improvisation, composition, and ensemble extensions of games. We will also bump up rhymes by using rhymes and poems as the impetus to guide student elemental ensemble creations.
About BethAnn:
BethAnn Hepburn, M.A. University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. BethAnn is the professional development chair for general music for the Ohio Music Education Association and the north central representative to the NAfME General Music Council. She teaches general music and choir for Streetsboro City Schools in Ohio. She serves as the mentor for the Ohio Department of Education Fine Arts Cohort. She is a frequent presenter and teacher educator for AOSA, and elementary honors and Orff ensembles. BethAnn is co-author of Purposeful Pathways: Possibilities for the Elementary Music Classroom Books 1 -4. She is a Ph. D. candidate in Music Education at Kent State University.
“It’s a joy to share lessons that bring out the unique creativity of children. A Schulwerk-based classroom fosters a sense of community as well as individual contribution to that collective. AOSA is synonymous with that model, and I am honored to be asked to contribute to the efforts of AOSA by sharing this work with others!”
Friday: Invitations for Creativity
Manipulatives invite students to work together to create movement and music that is their own. This workshop will focus on students working with a partner or a group to create their own movement, rhythm, and melodies. Discover ways to use manipulatives to meet individual student needs and spark student creativity. Explore objects hands-on to inspire rhythm building bricks and phrases to develop larger ensembles. The lessons will be focused on both primary and upper elementary classroom lessons, join us and put creative ideas right in the palms of your hands! Please bring a recorder.
Saturday: Level Up! Bumping Up Games & Rhymes!
We will "level up" in two ways: we will "level up" from grades K -5 with a variety of singing games. Each of the games will go to the next level by focusing on student creativity through the Orff Schulwerk process that focuses on improvisation, composition, and ensemble extensions of games. We will also bump up rhymes by using rhymes and poems as the impetus to guide student elemental ensemble creations.
About BethAnn:
BethAnn Hepburn, M.A. University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. BethAnn is the professional development chair for general music for the Ohio Music Education Association and the north central representative to the NAfME General Music Council. She teaches general music and choir for Streetsboro City Schools in Ohio. She serves as the mentor for the Ohio Department of Education Fine Arts Cohort. She is a frequent presenter and teacher educator for AOSA, and elementary honors and Orff ensembles. BethAnn is co-author of Purposeful Pathways: Possibilities for the Elementary Music Classroom Books 1 -4. She is a Ph. D. candidate in Music Education at Kent State University.
“It’s a joy to share lessons that bring out the unique creativity of children. A Schulwerk-based classroom fosters a sense of community as well as individual contribution to that collective. AOSA is synonymous with that model, and I am honored to be asked to contribute to the efforts of AOSA by sharing this work with others!”
January 20th, 2024: Chapter Share & Instrument Repair
Location: TBD
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Learn how to repair your Orff xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels. Join us for some fun folk dancing and movement ideas. Also learn how to take children's literature and turn them into wonderful performances!
Location: TBD
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Learn how to repair your Orff xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels. Join us for some fun folk dancing and movement ideas. Also learn how to take children's literature and turn them into wonderful performances!
February 24th, 2024: Kate Miller
Location: TBD
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
The Volumes and You! What YOU can do!
Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you look at the Music for Children Orff Schulwerk Volumes? Are you afraid to admit that you don’t use the volumes like you think you should? You are not alone!
This presentation gives a ‘down to earth’ perspective of how to use the volumes! Ideas and suggestions are shared to help get you started using and understanding the volumes like an Orff teacher should!
About Kate:
Kateri (Kate) Miller, Ph.D., is assistant professor of music education at Minot State University in North Dakota. She has over 20 years of experience teaching children and adults and is certified in Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, and has training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. She is past president of the Orff chapter in Las Vegas and is currently serving as a trustee on the national board of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. She has presented original material at KMEA, NDMEA, Orff Chapters, and the National Orff Conference and has presented the GAMEPLAN curriculum in various school districts throughout the United States. In addition, she has presented research at NAfME, Mid-South Music Education Research Symposium, Mountain Lake Colloquium, and OAKE. Currently, Dr. Miller teaches music education majors both elementary and secondary choral methods as well as non music education majors at Minot State University. In addition, she also conducts the Western Plains Junior Choir and Music Makers, an elementary Orff instrumental group.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you look at the Music for Children Orff Schulwerk Volumes? Are you afraid to admit that you don’t use the volumes like you think you should? You are not alone!
This presentation gives a ‘down to earth’ perspective of how to use the volumes! Ideas and suggestions are shared to help get you started using and understanding the volumes like an Orff teacher should!
About Kate:
Kateri (Kate) Miller, Ph.D., is assistant professor of music education at Minot State University in North Dakota. She has over 20 years of experience teaching children and adults and is certified in Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, and has training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. She is past president of the Orff chapter in Las Vegas and is currently serving as a trustee on the national board of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. She has presented original material at KMEA, NDMEA, Orff Chapters, and the National Orff Conference and has presented the GAMEPLAN curriculum in various school districts throughout the United States. In addition, she has presented research at NAfME, Mid-South Music Education Research Symposium, Mountain Lake Colloquium, and OAKE. Currently, Dr. Miller teaches music education majors both elementary and secondary choral methods as well as non music education majors at Minot State University. In addition, she also conducts the Western Plains Junior Choir and Music Makers, an elementary Orff instrumental group.
Announcing our 2022-2023 Scholarship Recipients
Congratulations to our 2022-2023 Velma Allen scholarship recipients Renee Corvo. For more information on scholarships visit our scholarships page and see below for more information on levels teacher trainings below.
Levels Teacher Trainings Summer 2024
FREE! Lesson Plans and Ideas
Missing our workshops and the chance to collaborate and learn from other music teachers in our area? Check out a new section of the website with lesson plan ideas and resources. Lessons can be found under the "More" tab. Simply look for the "Lesson Plans and Ideas" page. Our IOSA board will be updating regularly with lesson plan ideas from the board and our membership!
Instrument Loan Program
Through some very generous donations, the "Treasures" part of the Idaho Orff Chapter has put together sets of Orff instruments, guitars, ukes, and hand drums that are available for lending out to music teachers in Idaho! Fill out an application to be selected. We will be accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year in spring 2023! .
Find Us on Facebook and Instagram
Find us on Facebook at, Friends of Idaho Orff, or Instagram @IdahoOrff for the most up to date information!
VOLUNTEER!!! We would love help with upcoming events!
The board is currently looking to fill the roll of Membership Chairperson and Secretary on the board. Click the link below to contact the board and let them know you are interested in learning more.
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