Orff Certification for Teachers
Develop your teaching skills in the Orff-Schulwerk Approach!
Register for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) certification program
Dates: July 6-17, Monday-Friday (10 Days)
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Settlement Music School, Mary Louise Curtis Branch, 416 Queen St., Philadelphia, PA
Tuition: $650
Registration Fee: $5.
WHAT IS THE ORFF-SCHULWERK APPROACH?
The Orff-Schulwerk Approach was developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman to build musicianship through singing, playing instruments, speech, and movement. This is an active music-making approach where learners develop a long-term understanding of their musicianship. Improvisation is key in the exploration of the music-making process. The Orff-Schulwerk Approach involves PLAY, building independent music-makers who can explore, imitate, and create music.
THE TEACHING PROCESS
Children learn about and holistically interact with the world; educational experiences that replicate this learning style provide natural, optimal learning. Children’s play serves as the prototype—speech, song, movement, dramatic situations, and often instrumental play as well, join and overlap as appropriate. The Orff-Schulwerk model maintains the concept of integration, combining music, movement/dance, speech, and drama as natural extensions of each other. The process of integration complements the development of skills in each area, stimulates creative imagination, and offers an opportunity for individual strengths to be used and recognized. Integration of these areas results in a unique, elemental synthesis of the performing arts.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
You will be instructed in Level 1 Orff Education. You will grow in your musicianship and develop skills in the Orff-Schulwerk Approach to process teach in the Elemental Approach. You will learn how to break down the music into the smallest elements in preparation to teach your students.
Instructors:
Course Director: Michelle Fella Przybylowski
Basic: Becky Burdett
Movement: Janie Vance
Recorder: Kristin Showalter
Philadelphia School District Course Liaison and Special Topics Instructor: Maura DiBerardinis
COURSE SCHEDULE
This program follows the minimum required time amount for each portion of the AOSA Teacher Education Curriculum in Level 1 Orff instruction.
- Basic: 3 hours per day, Becky Burdett
- Movement: 1.5 hours per day, Janie Vance
- Recorder: 1.5 hours per day, Kristin Showalter
Graduate credits available through Ashland University.
ACT 48 also available.
Learn more!
Michelle Fella Przybylowski (Course Director)
Michelle Fella Przybylowski, B.S, M.Ed., NBCT, American Orff-Schulwerk Association Past President, Orff Schulwerk Teacher Educator, Choral Music Experience, and Kodaly Certification, retired from Cheltenham Elementary School K-4, The American Orff-Schulwerk Orff Echo-Editorial Board 2011-17; University of the Arts Senior Professor 2000-2024, Undergraduate and Graduate Program, Orff Program and Course Director, Level III Instructor, and Adjunct Senior Professor; Kent State University, Ohio, University of Hawaii and New York City Orff Program Instructor Orff Level II & III. Michell currently volunteers as a docent for the Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert Program and mentors Music Educators. Michelle presents workshops. Her major instrument is the harp. She is the wife of Ted, the mother of three children, and the grandmother of six grandchildren.
Becky Burdett (Instructor, Basic)
Becky currently teaches grades K-6 general music and chorus at the Lackawanna Trail School District in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Her goal is for each student to be joyful in the act of making, expressing, and creating music. Becky completed her Orff-Schulwerk levels at the University of the Arts, and went on to complete a MasterClass at George Mason University, as well as numerous supplementals since her certification in 2010. She is an approved Teacher Educator (Basic Pedagogy) for the American Orff Schulwerk Association.
In addition to Orff Schulwerk, she has studied Eurhythmics, and earned her Kodaly Certification from the Hartt School of Music. Her classroom pedagogy blends together the elemental patterns and movement basis of Orff-Schulwerk with the fluency of Eurhythmics and the vocabulary of patterns presented in the Kodaly method. Becky believes that students can be capable musicians when allowed the guided freedom to explore all areas of musicianship.
Her work with students extends beyond the classroom. Becky has taught several in summer camps for children and teens, and conducted three groups with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Choral Society. She is also a clinician, having led sessions for AOSA and its local chapters (Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Jersey). Her local work includes in-services for PMEA, and she has been an invited clinician for school district professional development.
Becky is an active member of several music education organizations: AOSA (2016 local conference committee, National Board of Trustees 2025-2027), PAOSA (Past President, Act 48 coordinator), PMEA (District level Professional Development Representative)
She was named to the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement Roster of Excellence and has received the PMEA District 9 Citation of Excellence. Her journal contributions can be found in the Orff Echo, an AOSA publication.
Janie Vance (Instructor, Movement)
Janie Vance is an active educator, clinician, and researcher in the field of music education. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University, a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Miami (FL) and a Master and Doctor of Education in Music Education and Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her certification and Masters certificate in Orff Schulwerk from George Mason University. Janie has taught movement for the Orff Schulwerk certification courses at University of the Arts, Villanova University, Peabody Conservatory, and George Mason University. She is an active presenter in Orff Chapter Workshops and National Conferences. Janie has taught general/vocal/instrumental music Pre-K through 12th grade for 30 years and is currently the Academic Dean, and a Music Teacher at The Town School in New York City.
Kristin Showalter (Instructor, Recorder)
Kristin Showalter teaches early childhood and elementary general music in Howard County, Maryland. A native of Pennsylvania, she holds BS and BA degrees in music education and flute performance from Lebanon Valley College. As an Orff Schulwerk educator, Kristin completed her levels training and certification through the University of the Arts (Villanova University) and the Master Class in Orff Schulwerk through George Mason University. She serves as a recorder pedagogy instructor for AOSA approved levels courses and is a past president of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of AOSA. Kristin has served on the board of The American Center for Elemental Music & Movement (ACEMM), and is a clinician for professional development opportunities for elementary general music educators.
Kristin’s experience includes teaching general as well as choral and instrumental music, focusing primarily on early childhood and elementary music instruction. In collaboration with the University of Maryland, she serves as a mentor teacher for undergraduate music education interns. She finds inspiration in helping to foster individual creativity and collaborative artistic experiences in all learners, and values the opportunity to help nurture this approach to musicianship, exploring ways it can positively impact our world.