Orff Schulwerk Certificate

Mary Beth Alexander (she/her) teaches K-4th grade music and movement at The Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. In addition to her ongoing work in the elementary music classroom, she teaches a middle school drumming elective and serves as a member of the Lower School leadership team.

In addition to teaching Level I Basic at the University of St. Thomas, Mary Beth teaches movement in levels I, II and III in the Memphis Orff Course. She is committed to addressing issues of equity and inclusivity in the music classroom through culturally responsive and anti-bias teaching practices. In addition to her work as a teacher in the Orff approach, Mary Beth is a singer and violinist with an active performing career in New York City.

Meg Tietz teaches K-5 movement and music at Saint Paul Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Meg completed her Master of Arts Degree with a concentration in Orff Schulwerk at the University of St. Thomas. She is an active presenter for local and national workshops and conferences and teaches summer Orff Levels at Southern Methodist University, Metro State University, and the University of St. Thomas. Meg has served the American Orff Schulwerk association as a member of various subcommittees and also as a Trustee on the National Board.

Jay Broeker serves as Director of Visual and Performing Arts at Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Broeker holds Kodály and Orff Schulwerk certification, and is a frequent clinician for national and state music education organizations in the areas of musical creativity, curriculum development, and effective teaching practice. During the summer he is an instructor in music teacher education courses at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. His choral arrangements are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing and by Boosey & Hawkes.

Andrew Ellingsen works as an Education Program Coordinator at Vesterheim Folk Art School. Ellingsen taught elementary music and worked as an instructional coach in Iowa and Minnesota for nearly twenty years. He earned his B.A. at Luther College and his M.A.M.E. at the University of St. Thomas with a dual concentration in Kodály and Orff Schulwerk. Ellingsen has taught movement in the Orff courses at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN and has presented at both OAKE and AOSA national conferences.

Mona Mann currently teaches K-4 general music in River Forest, Illinois. She leads Recorder Clubs in her school district, and plays regularly with her own group, Recorder Disorder.

Ms. Mann completed her Orff-Schulwerk levels at the University of Saint Thomas and the University of Kentucky. She has presented for the Fox Valley and Heart of Illinois Orff chapters, and at the 2015 AOSA National Conference, as well as for the Junior Music Educators conference in northern Illinois, and the 2018 summer Orff course in Pasadena, CA. She serves on the recorder faculty for the Whitewater Early Music Festival in Whitewater, Wisconsin. She has recently completed training for Suzuki Recorder Units 1, 2, and 3.