Nothing we do as choral singers, directors teachers, music appreciators and consumers would be possible without the “garden” that grows our young musicians in elementary school. Music as a language grows best in the early years. Let’s water the garden.
This week, Elementary general music and choir director, Chy Billings from Olathe, KS joins me in my home studio for a lively discussion about our PRIMARY constituency. The elementary school music student.
Why do we teach music to kids in elementary? The idea of a “feeder program” misses the point? We build musicianship skills in order for kids to learn to MAKE music. Builds the brain, the spirit etc. But without opportunity to put skill into practice, I fear we lose students to the belief that music learning is not a practical skill. Young kids need to perform using their skills they are learning in music that empower THEM as makers of music.
We discuss the building blocks to establishing musicality, musicianship, and music literacy in the elementary music classroom (incorporating how musicianship and literacy are addressed in Orff-Schulwerk and Kodaly-inspired lessons). We also touch the tricky topic of transfer of skills into Middle and High School ensembles. It’s tricky because it can’t really be separated from the reality of recruiting and the concept of “the feeder program.”
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Chy serves as the music teacher and choir director at Arbor Creek Elementary in Olathe, Kansas, as well as the assistant director of the Children’s Choir at Church of the Resurrection’s Leawood campus. Additionally, he directs the Allegro Vivo children’s choir (grades 3–6), inspiring young singers to develop their musical potential.
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
Chy holds a Master’s degree in Music from Wichita State University, is certified in the Orff-Schulwerk approach, and has partial certification in Kodály. His training also includes advanced vocal studies at Bowling Green State University. In addition to his work as an educator, Chy occasionally performs with opera and musical theater companies, blending his passion for music education with real-world performance experience.
Through his diverse roles, Chy is dedicated to fostering a love of music and building strong foundations for young musicians
Great deals, speedy shipping, and back to school sales at SheetMusicPlus!
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
We have had an influx of new listeners, subscribers and Curious George’s to the show over the last week. Welcome! This program began in February of 2019, and contains some mission and values episodes from early on, but boy howdy has it grown and changed since then.
In this short episode, I will take listeners through a “what to expect and why” discussion. Over the last week, I have gotten more messages, questions, and had more conversations than ever. So, as we prepare for our 6th Anniversary this winter, this may serve as a calling card, or resource for audience members to share when you tell your friends about why you value this program, and want it to continue for another 6 years! Regular programming, guests, PD topics, composers, and so much more will continue next week!
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
Great deals, speedy shipping, and back to school sales at SheetMusicPlus!
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
I plan to keep it is short as possible. Presenting what I see as three categories of this controversy ranging from legit criticisms I need to seriously consider, to misunderstandings to things that just aren’t true. This weekend an argument or debate of sorts erupted on a post of mine on my personal FB page. “Kids from families of all political philosophies are welcome in my class. Their parents are welcome at all of our events.” I stand by this statement.
But some commenters were not not happy with it, and took the opportunity to use some pretty strong language in opposition to my message. But that argumentation has turned to some very concrete and specific accusations and criticisms. I will address the ones that are fair, and the ones that crossed a line.
In this response to Arreon Harley-Emerson of Equity Sings, I address:
1. The terrible racist message sent to his website on my behalf
2. My ill timed, and ill considered social media videos on the election.
3. Arreon’s choice to take screenshots of various things not said by me, plus ONE thing I said published without context, and tie these things together into one new story. This was unfair and dishonest.
4. My process for creating clips and quotes for show promotion, and ways I can be more sensitive in the future to guests and their needs and desires. I can get better at this.
5. My belief that Arreon has crossed a line in threatening to “out” 2700 colleagues who are members of my private FB group. This is not ok.
The quest to advocate for music education as integral to all stages of human life, continues on Choralosophy.
I am excited to welcome Dr. Peju Simoyan, an addiction medicine physician with a fascinating musical journey. Growing up in a Nigerian diplomatic family, Dr. Simoyan has always held a passion for music, even with limited formal training, and later in life, she rekindled her desire for piano training.
Her work took an innovative turn when she began incorporating music into group sessions at an inpatient addiction facility, where it became a powerful therapeutic tool, even inspiring patients to compose songs as part of their recovery.
Together, we explore the deep connections between music, mental health, and medicine, discussing how learning and addiction share similar neural pathways, the potential of music therapy for chronic pain, and the benefits of musical training for both personal and professional development. Through our conversation, we highlight music’s profound impact on mental health and personal growth, making a case for its broader integration in both medical and educational fields. This episode offers a thoughtful exploration of how music shapes minds, heals, and inspires across disciplines.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Dr. Simoyan is an addiction medicine physician and holds an appointment as a full professor in the department of psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. She also holds adjunct faculty positions at Penn State University College of Medicine and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. She was the Founding Medical and Executive Director of Research at Caron Treatment Centers and the program director for the addiction medicine fellowship at Geisinger Marworth prior to her current position. She was also a founding faculty member at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.
Dr. Simoyan earned her medical degree from Penn State University College of Medicine, receiving the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award at graduation. She completed an internship in psychiatry/family medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Western Psychiatric Institute and her family medicine residency at the Penn State/Good Samaritan Hospital Family and Community Medicine Residency program, graduating with the Family Medicine Resident Award for Scholarship.
Prior to her medical training, Dr. Simoyan received a dental degree from the University of Ibadan College of Medicine in Nigeria and a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is board certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine and has contributed to international public health education as a Fulbright specialist in Nigeria and an Erasmus Mundus scholar in France and the U.K. She has also volunteered on medical mission projects in Nigeria and Haiti.
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
Dr. Simoyan has several peer-reviewed publications and has previously served on the editorial board of Medical Education Online, the Publications Council of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the addiction medicine sub-board of the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
She was the Founding Editor in Chief of Black Diamonds and Silver Linings, literary journals published by Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and Reading Hospital, respectively.
A member of the American Medical Women Association’s Music and Medicine committee, Dr. Simoyan has curated a photographic exhibit featuring prominent women in medicine. As someone committed to bridging the gap between the medical sciences and the arts, she has served on both the research and the medical humanities Graduate Medical Education subcommittees at Reading Hospital/Tower Health.
Dr. Simoyan’s scholarships and awards include the Emerging Leader award from the Family Medicine Education Consortium (2010) and the American Association of Medical College’s Herbert Nickens Faculty Fellowship (2012). She also received the Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold Gold Foundation (2022) and the Award of Excellence in Humanitarian Services from Pro-Health International (2022). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Women’s Association and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Great deals, speedy shipping, and back to school sales at SheetMusicPlus!
She has combined her interests in writing and photography in several books, including a workbook for patients in recovery, Transformation and Recovery – lessons from the butterfly. Dr. Simoyan strongly believes in the need to transform education and healthcare, with a focus on creativity, problem solving and integration of the arts and sciences.
Addendum –
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
Her latest book, “I Played My Best for Him! – The Inspiring Stories Behind the Little Drummer Boy and Other Christmas Favorites” will be released on November 18, 2024. This book features the stories behind the songs on her Christmas CD,
“Peju Sings! The Little Drummer Boy and Other Christmas Favorites”
“Filling in the Gaps,” simply refers to a premise I believe we should consider: 1. No Theory gets it all right. 2. All good theories get SOMETHING right. 3. We should be focused on filling in the gaps in Music Education
Are you an Gordon MLT devotée? A Kodály-guy? A Tonic Solfa Curwenator? How about a Takadimician? I think all of those frameworks are wrong. But also right!
In addition to these concepts, you will get a rare peak behind the scenes at creating a popular music education podcast, and why you might think you should try to make your own! But, you probably shouldn’t.
Recently, I went to share some thoughts with a meeting of the Kodaly Educators of Texas at Magnolia High School. Shout out to Thea Persinger for the invite! This is the audio AND video version of excerpts from my “Filling in the Gaps” presentation. It is based on the premise that all music education or pedagogical theories have important insights. But, of course, they all miss something. This is my attempt to fill in one of our most common music ed gaps: The Science of Reading, and how it can inform our pedagogy if COMBINED with Kodaly, Edwin Gordon, Curwen and the others.
Most popular music education theories were generated during, and draw on practices of a time when music education was almost entirely practiced on the privileged and/or kids that showed high musical aptitude at a young age. Almost any theory of music education works if you pre-select for talent in advance…
We know SO much more than we did 50 years ago about the brain and the most impactful ways to maximize its function. This presentation provides IMPORTANT context to supplement episode 219 on the importance of individual assessment, and 220 with Dr. Anita Collins, expert researcher on music and the brain.
As always, the slides to this presentation and all of my past ones, are in the shared Google folder!
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
If all our choir’s problems could be fixed with “a short bullet point” or “tip” this job would be much easier.
One of the reasons I subscribe to Choralosophy is because I know that long form content with in depth analysis and demonstrations is so much more valuable than “3 easy tricks to…”
I am a professional. I do not need tricks, I need professional development, knowledge, and skills.
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
I have listened to and supported your podcast since from around its inception. You have done an amazing job growing it into what it is—a tremendous resource for those of us in the choral community. Also, I agree that disingenuous is not a word to describe you. Anyone who has listened to your podcasts would know that. Keep up the good work and thank you.
Great deals, speedy shipping, and back to school sales at SheetMusicPlus!
The expectation that fellow educators will share resources (or do extra work) on demand/beyond what they’ve chosen to share has become a major problem in education social media spaces…
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
