A Word from the President
August 19, 2023
Dear Music Family,
Welcome Back!
Welcome back to another amazing year of music-making! The beginning of the school year often feels even more like a fresh start than January 1. Right from the start of the year, the Connecticut American Orff-Schulwerk Association has opportunities for you to join a community of like-minded colleagues, delve deeply into your pedagogical practices, explore new ideas, and enjoy the opportunity to be a student. Every workshop is a fantastic reminder about what made us want to become general music teachers in the first place!
The Workshops
September 30, 2023 Colleen Bretthauer 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Setting Up Students for Success: Transitions and Honoring Students' Need to Move!
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October 28, 2023 Pascal Rekoert 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Dance: Music of the Body
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November 1-4, 2023 AOSA Professional Development Conference Albuquerque, NM
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November 7, 2023 (Election Day) Dr. Kimberly McCord 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Teaching General Music in the Self-Contained and Inclusive Classroom
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March 2, 2024 Liban Gómez 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Cultural Connections in The Music Classroom:
Bringing Language and Cultural Awareness into your Orff Classroom Through Music, Songs, and Stories from Latin America Culture
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April 20, 2024 Chapter Share 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
For more information about our workshops, please visit the "Workshops" page. You can also find us on Facebook at Connecticut American Orff-Schulwerk Association. These are great resources for you to learn about scholarships for the National Conference, musical happenings around CT, and special events that will be taking place throughout the year!
NEW! Membership & Fee Structure
This year, AOSA has made some changes to the fee structure for all of its local chapters. This includes the introduction of a subsidy to most of our membership fees. If you are an Active Member, you MUST also join AOSA. Please visit www.aosa.org to join the National Organization- you can no longer sign up for National Membership through our payment portal. The $95 fee covers your CT membership, as outlined below.
If you opt out of being a National member but would like to continue as a chapter member, there is a $5/workshop subsidy (as required by National). The $125 fee includes a $20 subsidy ($5/workshop), which we will send to AOSA.
If you do not wish to be a member but would like to attend certain workshops, a $10 subsidy will be added to your registration for a total of $50. This $10 will be sent to AOSA.
As always, we are very grateful to be able to provide our collegiate members and first year teacher members with a free membership!
Active Membership: $ 95
Active members are also members of AOSA! Please go to www.aosa.org to join our national organization.
* National & Chapter Membership, plus ALL Saturday Workshops! (Election Day not included)
* Access to grants through AOSA!
* Access to scholarships through both AOSA and CTAOSA!
* Myriad resources on the AOSA webpage!
* Subscription to the Orff Echo!
* One FREE pass for a friend or administrator
Chapter Membership: $ 125
Includes a $20 subsidy ($5/workshop) to be sent to AOSA
* Chapter Membership, plus ALL Saturday workshops (Election Day not included)
* Access to scholarships through CTAOSA
* One FREE pass for a friend or administrator
First Year Teachers: FREE!
* FREE Chapter and National Membership, as well as FREE admission to all Saturday workshops
(Election Day not included)
* Access to scholarships through CTAOSA
* One FREE pass for a friend or administrator
The Orff Doctor
Have some damaged instruments in the closet? You’re in luck! Margaret O’Hara-Best is our resident Orff Doctor, and she makes house calls. Margaret can fix problems as small as replacing nails and tubing to fixing a very damaged bass xylophone dropped on the floor. Parts are sold at cost, and labor is a nominal fee. Contact us today!
We are also happy to endorse our chapter member Kris Curtis, a formally trained Orff repair person with a business out of Westport. Please contact him directly if you are interested in having him to repairs for your school! His email address is curtiskr6234@gmail.com.
¡Viva, Viva La Musica!
Every year at the AOSA National Conference, attendees join together to sing “Viva, Viva La Musica” in a round. Being physically surrounded by hundreds of music teachers singing this simple song with its simple message is incredibly powerful, bringing a tear to my eye every time. Dear musical community, you are the reason that music lives on. You are the reason that music in our schools has survived the last few years. Rejoice in that, and remember the joy and passion that brought you to be a music teacher. I hope you will join us this year as we join together and enjoy the art of teaching music.
¡Viva la musica!
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Musically,
Magdalena O’Brien
President, CTAOSA