Carrie Nicholas
Keep Them Singing,
Keep Them Playing!
This live event had passed. If you are interested in obtaining the link to the recording which will remain active until September 2, 2023, please register as usual, and the link will be sent to you within 24 hours.
Playing singing games in the elementary music classroom is a fun and engaging way to get students actively participating in joyful music-making. In this session, participants will receive an arsenal of singing games for grades Kindergarten through 6th grade that can be implemented into their classrooms right away. We will also explore ways to expand the singing games into literacy, composition, and instrumental activities. Participants should come dressed to move and play!
Carrie Nicholas is in her 23nd year as an elementary general music specialist, currently teaching K-5 general music in Lakewood, CO. She received her bachelor’s degree of Music Education from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master’s degree of Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Colorado State University, completing her Level III Kodály certification in 2005. She is an active presenter, having shared sessions and presentations for various school districts, county and state music education conferences, and OAKE chapters and conferences. Carrie is a proud member of OAKE and currently serves as Member at Large on the OAKE board. She is past president of ROCKE (the Regional Organization of Colorado Kodály Educators) and past president of the OAKE Western Division. Carrie has taught at the Colorado Kodály Institute and Seattle Kodály Levels Program as Level III Pedagogy and Folk Song Analysis instructor. When she is not teaching or presenting, Carrie enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and enjoying the Colorado outdoors with her family. Carrie co-hosts the podcast “Music Teacher Coffee Talk” with her colleague and friend, Tanya LeJeune.
Ruth Dwyer
Harmony in Sequence
Developing Part-Singing
March 2, 2024*
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
50 West 200 North
Provo, Utah 84601
*A recording of this live event will be made available until March 16, 2024.
Ruth E. Dwyer is internationally recognized as a treble and children’s choir specialist and Kodály educator. She has been the guest conductor for the OAKE National Children’s Choir, numerous ACDA All-State Choirs and NAfME. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Hoosier Hills Choral Festival in Southern Indiana. She founded and directed Philanthropy Through Song, which presented choral festivals supporting anti-drunk driving education. Mrs. Dwyer is a frequent guest conductor with Texas International Choral Festival, MidAmerica Productions, the New England Symphonic Wind Ensemble and guest lecturer in São Paulo, Brazil where she conducts the GRAN FINALE Festival Nacional de Corais Infantis e Jovens.
Mrs. Dwyer has been a conductor and Director of Education with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir for 33 years. She recently added the title of Composer in Residence to her ICC honors. She is celebrating nearly 30 years as the Founder and Artistic Director of the Columbus Indiana Children’s Choir, a co-operative effort of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir. Her ensembles have performed for the Indiana Music Educators Association, the AOSA National Conference, in New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, across North America and throughout Spain and Central Europe. She has prepared ensembles for performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Butler Ballet, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Indianapolis Opera and numerous other organizations.
Mrs. Dwyer served the State of Indiana for 19 years as a public school music educator. Her teaching experiences include all levels of music instruction from 3 year olds to post graduate students. She has received the Organization of American Kodály Educator’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Golden Baton Award, the IMEA Elementary Music Teacher of the Year, the Hoosier Musician Award and the Indianapolis Public Schools’ Rising Star award. She is an accomplished choral composer, arranger and the editor of the Ruth Dwyer Choral Series with Colla Voce Music, LLC https://collavoce.com/ distributed by Canticle Distributing Company.
Mrs. Dwyer has authored and published three curriculum books for ICC and is a frequent guest author for the Hal Leonard choral textbooks series. She also teaches at Butler University and works as a studio conductor for a variety of national and international music publishers.
Ruth E. Dwyer is a graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She enjoys traveling, reading, crocheting and gardening.
Ms. Dywer joins the Utah Fellowship of Local Kodály Specialists courtesy of a grant from the Provo Arts Counsel.
Dr. Rebecca Penerosa
Songs and Games of Samoa
April 20, 2024
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Westminster University
1840 South 1300 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84105
*A recording of this live event will be made available until May 4, 2024.
Dr. Rebecca J. Penerosa is the Associate Professor of Arts Education and Director of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowment at Westminster University in Salt Lake City, UT. She teaches courses in arts integration, K-12 music pedagogy, Orff methodology, and TESL instruction. She directs the Continuing Arts Education programming for in-service teachers across the state of Utah and oversees the Sorenson and ArtsBridge Scholar programs at Westminster. She has enjoyed over 20 years of teaching as a general music teacher, arts integration coach, and choral instructor from early elementary grades through higher education. With an emphasis on Samoan music, multilingual instruction, and arts integration, she continues to create and foster ties among the community with classroom teachers, arts educators, and pre-service students. Dr. Penerosa is Orff certified and presents at conferences locally, nationally, and internationally on her research and application methods for multicultural music education and arts integration.
