It’s hard to belieafterve been home a week now after my two weeks teaching at New Saint Andrews College’s “Chenaniah Summer Music Institute.” Above is a montage video highlighting some of the images and video clips from our music teacher training course. In 2022, we had 33 teachers come from 14 states to participate in our Kodály music teacher certification course. The goal of the course is to equip musicians and teachers e approach and direction in how to skillfully give music literacy to others in their schools, c, and communities. Those of you musicians out there know that just because you possess the ability to make music, it is not a given that you can impart to others.
The Layout of the Two-Week Course
Each day students begin with a short morning devotional service before adjourning to one of three levels. It takes three summers to complete the course and receive the certificate of completion with each summer comprising a level. Participamusicians, music teachers, college students, home school moms, church musicians, amusicians nd more musicians with various music training and abilities. There are four main sections of the course:
Kodály Pedagogy & Song Research
Participants learn how to teach the sequence of music concepts, games, and activities from Kodály master teachers who demonstrate how it is more than solfege syllables and Curwen hand signs.
Conducting/Choir
Since singing is the primary method of instruction, conducting becomes very important in the Kodály ph,ilosophy whether one teaches general music or high school ensembles.
Special Topics Sessions
A variety of classes help the classical and Christian educators be better equipped to teach music. Special topics have included: folk dancing, psalm-singing, music practicum, Bible & Music, and more.
Musicianship
Participants build upon their own personal musicianship through sight-singing, dictation, memorization, solfege, and more in an effort to better equip the Kodály music educator.
I teach the musicianship course for all three levels. Participants see me for an hour and fifty minutes each day where we work on their singing, aural, and dictation skills all centered around the Kodály approach to music literacy that is language based. These folks come in and get to be pushed in how to teach this stuff to their students, but more importantly how to grow and advance in their own musicianship as teachers.
A Stellar Group of Graduates
These nine teachers and musicians have been an absolute joy to work with over these past three years. Yes, they started in 2020 when they could have easily chosen to wait it out. They came and have forged a bond that is setting a high bar for those who follow them. They are our fourth graduating group at Chenaniah Summer Music Institute, and I’m pleased to call them friends and music colleagues. I also have a great group of colleagues teaching with me.
2022 CSMI Faculty
Diane Engle hails from south Louisiana and southeast Texas. David Erb and Aaron Snell both live and work in Moscow, Idaho. Then Sarah Davis and I both teach at Geneva Academy in West Monroe, Louisiana.
Former Geneva Music Students in Idaho
This year was neat because I had two of my former students at Geneva Academy participating during our course. Jonathan Sprowl recently moved to Moscow, Idaho, for work and sang in our two-week participant choir. Megan Lang Mason just finished her level three and earned her certification. It is neat to see things come full circle and have your music students become trained to be music teachers themselves.
If you know a musician or music teacher who feels they need more training and encouragement in the area of music literacy and how to equip young people and adults in their community to be more musically literate, send them our way, the last two weeks of July 2023. Have them email me with any questions at jrichey@nsa.edu. I’d happily explain why we would love to have them join us.
Recapping Two Weeks in Idaho