In this episode I share a conversation with Charissa Duncanson on her music teacher journey.

Charissa Duncanson (kuh- rih-suh dung-kin-sen) has taught K-5th grade general music in the Metro Detroit Area since 2014. Born and raised in Michigan, Charissa began her musical journey in elementary school.

Throughout her childhood Charissa participated in choirs, bands, and theatre within her community and schools. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Education from Wayne State University and currently teaches at Blackwell K-8th Grade Institute in Detroit Public Schools.

As a professional, Charissa has presented locally and internationally at conferences and PD workshops. Being an avid advocate for music education, Ms. Duncanson has served on multiple boards for music education associations including MMEA Michigan, Detroit Orff Schulwerk Association, and The American Orff Schulwerk Association.

In her spare time Charissa loves to craft and go on walks with her husband and dog, Maizey.

I absolutely loved being able to chat with Charissa. She shares so many wonderful insights into music education and her journey to become the music teacher she is today.

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In this episode I share a conversation with Katherine Miller on her music teacher journey.

Katherine Miller proudly teaches Kindergarten-5th grade music in Waukesha, WI as well as serving as a model tech classroom for her district. In 2018, she was recognized as a WPT Education Innovator by Wisconsin Public Television Education.

Katherine holds a Bachelor of Music in Education degree from Otterbein University (Westerville, OH) and a Masters of Educational Leadership from Antioch McGregor Midwest (Yellow Springs, OH).  The training she received gave her a firm foundation in leading a Kodály-inspired classroom. She also loves to incorporate technology as another tool students can use to be their most musical selves.

In her free time, you can find Katherine with a good book, a great travel companion or her chocolate Lab.

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In this episode I share a conversation with Anne Mileski on her music teacher journey.

Anne Mileski is an elementary music specialist in Eastern Washington. She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy, Music Learning Theory Elementary General Level I, and has completed coursework in Dalcroze Eurythmics.

She is a regular clinician at local chapter workshops, state music conferences, and has presented at both the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and Organization of American Kodály Educators national conferences. In the summers, she has served as a pedagogy instructor for Kodály teacher education programs at both the American Kodály Institute at Loyola Maryland, and the Plano ISD/SMU Kodaly Certification Program in Dallas Texas.

Anne holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Michigan where she studied with Bill Campbell and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from Southern Methodist University where she studied with Tom Booth of the Dallas Symphony. She has performed on trumpet with prestigious groups such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Wind Symphony.

In addition to her applied music studies, Anne holds a Master of Music degree in Music Education from Southern Methodist University. Prior to relocating to the pacific northwest, she completed coursework toward a doctorate in music education at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music. She served as an associate instructor for the music education department, both as a supervisor for student teachers and as a teaching assistant for choral and elementary music methods courses. Also while at IU, she conducted second and third grade singers in the IU Children’s Choir.

Anne currently serves as a conductor for the Spokane Area Youth Choruses, and founded the ABC early childhood program for young singers through SAYC. She presents regularly at local, state, and national workshops and conferences, on topics including purposeful movement and curricular sequencing in the elementary classroom. She is the founder of anacrusic.com and The Anacrusic Podcast, where she helps music teachers get more intentional with their teaching through trainings, custom curriculum, and weekly podcasts.

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In this episode I share a conversation with Taylor Nardone on his music teacher journey.

Taylor Nardone is an elementary music teacher based on the eastern shore of Massachusetts.

Passionate about giving each student an equitable opportunity to build a love and joy of music, he consistently strives to blend the newest teaching techniques into his practices through technology, movement exploration and music production.

Taylor is currently in his fourth year of teaching general music and chorus.

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In this episode I chat with Vicky Weber about her journey as a music educator and a children’s book author.

Vicky Weber is a musician and an elementary educator with a love for children's literature. While she has taught a variety of grade levels, primary level education is where her passion lies. It has long been a dream of hers to teach children through the magic of books and she hopes you love reading her works as much as she loved writing them.

I absolutely loved being able to chat with Vicky. If you have not seen her books, I cannot recommend them enough! They are perfect for reinforcing and introducing various musical concepts!

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In this episode I chat with Meghan Kennedy about using picture books in the music classroom.

Meghan Kennedy is in her fourth year of teaching elementary school music. She has taught elementary general music (K-5) and chorus (3-5) for the past 3 years in Georgia. Before moving to Georgia, she taught elementary general music and band in New Jersey where she grew up and began her music journey with the flute in the third grade.

Meghan attended the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College for her Bachelors in Music Education. While in college, Meghan spent her summers earning her Level I, II and III Kodaly Certification from Westminster Choir College. Through these experiences Meghan discovered that her passion for teaching lies in Elementary Music, which is where she feels she can be the most creative with her students.

This passion for elementary music education mixed with her joy in connecting with other educators led Meghan to create her music teacher instagram a few years ago. You can follow along with Meghan @musicmrsk where she shares daily life as a music teacher, lesson ideas, materials and book recommendations (these are shared weekly in a series called "Music Book Monday").

She has also shared a series of rhythm call and response and play along videos on her YouTube channel MusicMrsK, which was created as part of an effort to create more free online resources for music educators in Spring 2020.

In conjunction with her social media presence, Meghan loves working on her TeachersPayTeachers store in her free time, Music Mrs K. Her store features elementary general music curriculum, lesson plans, and both digital and printable lesson materials. Meghan loves connecting with other music educators online as Music Mrs.K!

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In this episode I share my conversation with Darlene Machacon about how we can be sure we are respecting the identities of our students by allowing our curriculum to allow all students to feel seen and accepted in our music classrooms.

Darlene is a TK-6th grade elementary music educator, chorus director, private piano teacher, and podcaster in southern California. Her experiences include designing curriculum, directing studio music programs, leading professional development, and training new teachers.

She is passionate about creating student-centered learning environments and is a firm believer in “knowing better, doing better”.

She holds two Bachelor’s of Music degrees in Music Education and Piano Performance from Biola University and is currently pursuing a Master of Music Education degree from VanderCook College of Music.

I thoroughly enjoyed being able to chat with Darlene, and I hope that you find the episode as informative as I did.

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This week’s podcast comes from an Instagram live I did with a General Music Mastermind alumnae. Kate took the course when we did our beta launch over the summer and is going to be taking it again with us this time around.

Kate shares her experience with the course and helps me answer questions about the course for those who were tuning in live.

If you want to learn more about General Music Mastermind, click here! Hurry, we’re closing the doors on January 31st.

In this episode I share my conversation with Rainy Barton about how we can advocate for music education and our programs.

Especially now during the time of COVID-19, it is important for us to make sure we are advocating for high-quality music education for our students.

Rainy Barton is a K-5 elementary music teacher in Central Fl, and has been teaching for six years- all at the same school. She is on her way to being Orff -Schulwerk certified (It's taking a lot longer due to Covid).

She also is a teacherpreneur that creates digital music resources for music teachers, and her mission is to help them utilize a purposeful musical curriculum that inspires active music-making in the hearts of their students!

Her favorite food in a heartbeat is tacos, and in her spare time, you'll find her teaching silks and trapeze at her local circus studio (They have those- who knew?) She loves her job with a passion, and hopes to instill a love and appreciation for music with everyone she meets.

I enjoyed this conversation with Rainy, and I hope that you are able to find some ways to advocate for elementary music education in your community.

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