I had the incredible pleasure of taking Level 2 Orff training this past summer in Burnaby, B.C. along with a cohort of 9 learners. The course was an incredible journey into rich learning materials for a wide range of grade levels. The day was divided into three core sections (sometimes four): dance, Orff instruments, recorder (soprano and alto), and sometimes special classes from 4 PM to 5 PM. I am not gonna lie- it was a very busy 2 weeks. Coming from the laziness of long stretches of leisure for the first 6 weeks of summer break, the sudden transition to a packed day took a few days to get used to.

I cannot exaggerate the level of professionalism by all the instructors. Bethany Elsworth's dance/movement instruction was a beautiful way to start the day at 8:30 AM. We explored more deeply how movement can help students have another way to explore structure in music. We collaborated with a partner to teach and even used standardized notation to convey our ideas in written form. Bethany used a variety of mediums to expand our thinking about how to incorporate movement in all levels of primary and elementary education. For me, movement is not something that comes naturally, so I really appreciated expanding my repertoire of what is possible.

Amanda Ciavarelli was our amazing Orff ensemble instructor. Hailing from a city I've yet to visit (Winnipeg), Amanda brought a wonderfully cheerful disposition, was very knowledgable about all things Orff, and made everyone feel that they were "still a good person" when they messed up (inside joke). We laughed a lot and explored some awesome sounds using modal tonalities on the Orff instruments. Karen Epp was our recorder PhD guru. We ventured in alto recorder territory and tried to master how to switch effortlessly between the same fingering on different instruments to produce different pitches. I was not the worst in the class; I was the one who had "the greatest potential for development". Despite my poor chops, I enjoyed the lively two and three part recorder repertoire. Finally, our special classes were rich explorations of Gamelan music, beautiful Indigenous choral music arranged for Orff instruments (composed by Sherryl Sewepagaham), and other rich offerings by exceptional teachers. It was the busiest two weeks of my 50's and I would not trade it for all that sunshine that was sacrificed over the summer. I highly recommend this course to expand your teaching, meet lovely folks and make beautiful music.

-From a scholarship recipient