Welcome to San Diego AOSA

2023-2024 workshops are below:

Fees for all workshops are included with an SDAOSA membership.
Click HERE for details and to PAY FEES.

Oct 14, 2023   9am – 1pm   Aaron Williams
Jan 20, 2024   9am – 1pm   Tiffany Barry
Feb 10, 2024   9am – 1pm   Judith Chan *
* (joint workshop with San Diego Kodály)
Mar 9, 2024   9am – 1pm   Chapter Share

For updates and other info, scroll down or see the menu.
For more about Orff-Schulwerk, please click here.

2020-2021 Professional Development Workshops

ALL WORKSHOPS WILL BE VIRTUAL (VIA ZOOM).
Fees for all workshops are included with an SDAOSA membership *
Click HERE for details and to PAY FEES.

  • Sept 12, 2020  9:30-11:30am – Roger Sams & David Thaxton
  • Oct 10, 2020  9:30-11:30am – Casey Goryeb & Crystal Pridmore
  • (Nov 14, 2020  see aosa.org – AOSA Virtual Symposium) *
  • Dec 5, 2020  10:30-11:30am – SDAOSA Community Hour
  • Jan 23, 2021  9:30-11:30am – Drue Bullington & Community Hour
  • Feb 6, 2021  9:30 – 11:30am – Natasha Thurmon
  • Mar 13, 2021  9:30-11:30am – Chapter Share
  • Apr 10, 2021  10:30-11:30am – SDAOSA Community Hour
  • May 8, 2021  10:00-12:00noon – Kanisha Howard
  • May 22, 2021  10:30 – 11:30am – SDAOSA Community Hour

* NOT included in SDAOSA membership fee but highly recommended

SDAOSA Community Hours are for checking in with one another, celebrating teaching successes from this very unique school year, sharing and processing our emotions, and simply enjoying one another’s company.

Roger Sams & David Thaxton
Sept 12, 2020
9:30-11:30am

Roger Sams
David Thaxton

Tending To Teacher (Roger Sams) and Reconnecting With Joy (David Thaxton)

Roger Sams will lead us in activities to center ourselves and go into the next school year caring for our artistic, teacher souls. As we begin a school year unlike any other, meet with SDAOSA to learn some tried and true (and fun!) distance learning lessons from David Thaxton.

Let’s face it, these are very demanding days on planet earth. The whole world is in crisis and transition. Some days just getting out of bed and showing up for life feels like an accomplishment. There’s a lot to manage in our lives, in our jobs, and within our hearts and minds. In this workshop, Roger Sams, a trained Gestalt therapist as well as music educator, shares artful processes for nurturing yourself – body, mind, and spirit – through your artistry as you serve your students and your community with your teaching and with your presence. Self-care is no longer optional. It is a requirement if we’re going to be our best selves in the world. Let’s come together for an hour and learn a little bit about how to tend to ourselves while we tending to the well-being and the education of our students. Everybody wins when we learn to be attentive to self-care.

Come experience the joy of unfolding creativity through Orff Schulwerk approaches in a variety of settings both digitally and in-person. We will explore ways to refocus on student-centered music making with student choice and improvisation. Discover elemental approaches to voice, percussion, ukulele, recorder and composition that have foundations in face-to-face instruction, but that are modified to work in a digital or blended learning environment.

Casey Goryeb & Crystal Pridmore
Oct 10, 2020
9:30-11:30am

Casey Goryeb
Crystal Pridmore

Move it and Bon Appetit! Orff Schulwerk Process to Performance

Using children’s literature as a point of inspiration, Casey will lead participants as they sing, say, dance, and play their way through a series of activities that can be used for any elementary class. Each activity will include an opportunity for participants to explore the concepts through movement, song, and playing instruments. All activities can be modified to fit a virtual or in-person lesson. Crystal will lead participants through a series of movement-focused lessons inspired by SEL literature to help students explore and process their feelings and emotions. All activities will be appropriate for both in-person and virtual teaching.

AOSA Digital Conference
Nov 14, 2020
please see aosa.org

This digital conference requires addtional NATIONAL AOSA membership and is NOT INCLUDED with just SDAOSA membership. We highly recommend it though!

SDAOSA Community Hour
Dec 5, 2020
10:30-11:30am

SDAOSA Community Hours are for checking in with one another, celebrating teaching successes from this very unique school year, sharing and processing our emotions, and simply enjoying one another’s company.

Drue Bullington and SDAOSA Community Hour
Jan 23, 2021
9:30-11:30am

Drue Bullington

Playful Possibilities

This adventure will have us exploring what playful possibilities elemental music and movement offers us (teacher/facilitators and our student learners) to be innovative, creative, and collaborative artists. The activities will be transferable to in-person, hybrid, or fully online learning models.

Please bring along your Orff Schulwerk Volume I, a hand drum, a smile, and a playful spirit! We will spend time together after Drue’s presentation to check in with each other.

Natasha Thurmon
Feb 6, 2021
9:30-11:30am

Natasha Thurmon

Finding Balance in a Virtual World

Teaching during times of COVID-19 can be challenging: is learning in person, online, or hybrid? Do you teach from home, at school, or even on a cart? How do you create lessons that will add value to your students’ lives without overwhelming anyone? On top of it all, how do you maintain your own personal health and happiness (as well as your family’s) and maintain balance? This workshop will provide teachers with tips and tricks to use in various teaching settings, while centering the mental and emotional health of both teachers and children.

Chapter Share
Mar 13, 2021
9:30-11:30am

Sing, say, dance, and play with SDAOSA’s brilliant educators!

SDAOSA Community Hour
Apr 10, 2021
10:30-11:30am

SDAOSA Community Hours are for checking in with one another, celebrating teaching successes from this very unique school year, sharing and processing our emotions, and simply enjoying one another’s company.

Kanisha Howard
May 8, 2021
10:00-12:00noon

Kanisha Howard

Turning a D.R.E.A.M. Into Reality

We welcome Kanisha Howard as she shares her perspective of how to promote and include D.R.E.A.M.- Diversity, Resources, Equity, and Anti-Racism in Music Education.

SDAOSA Community Hour
May 22, 2021
10:30 – 11:30am

SDAOSA Community Hours are for checking in with one another, celebrating teaching successes from this very unique school year, sharing and processing our emotions, and simply enjoying one another’s company.

Important chapter news

From executive board member Sharon Evans (April 6, 2020):

Dear SDAOSA Members,

We hope you are all doing well during this difficult season. Crystal Pridmore, incoming SDAOSA President, wanted to recognize the amazing Margie Orem for all of her faithful years of service to the chapter in many roles (some repeated) and particularly for her leadership the past two years as president. We had hoped to celebrate her at the March workshop with a parting gift, cards of love, and our gratitude. Feel free to send her an email anytime thanking her for a job well done since it may be a while before we are able to meet again.

The SDAOSA Executive Board also wanted to convey our deepest thanks to other board members who are stepping down: Debbie Burton (Past President) and Zoe Kumagai (Secretary). Your work and talent was so appreciated!!! Big thanks also to Tom, Crystal, Sasha, Sharon M, Tiffany, Sandra, Ondrya, Dorothy, Bethany, Maya, Kevin, Marc, Kathy, Angelina, Jonathan and all the rest who gave of their time to help (forgive any omissions).

Marc Keehmer, the San Diego Area Orff Levels Course Director wanted to tell you that ALL LEVELS TRAINING for our San Diego area has been CANCELED this summer (many throughout the US as well). We are deeply disappointed about this development but hope San Diego Area Levels will return in 2021.

The votes are in and the membership has APPROVED the appointment of the new board.  Thanks to all who voted and to the dedicated folks below who are giving their time and talent to support the important work of the chapter.

SDAOSA 2020-2021 elected board members:

  • President: Crystal Pridmore (Executive Board)
  • Past President: Margie Orem (Executive Board)
  • Vice President: Sasha Stone (Executive Board)
  • Secretary: Jonathan Seligman (Executive Board)
  • Treasurer: Ondrya Leavitt (Executive Board)
  • Membership: Amber Gustafson
  • Historian: Marc Keehmer
  • Member at Large: Sandra Cam​a​ren​a​

Here is the planned workshop schedule for 2020-2021:

  • 9/12/2020 Paul Cribari
  • 10/10/2020 Tim Wiegand
  • 2/20/2021 Aimee Curtis Pfitzner
  • 3/13/2021 Chapter Sharing​

So our amazing Margie Orem says, “Adieu.” And we joyfully welcome our new President, Crystal and the fabulous team that will support her. On a personal note, it has been an honor to serve SDAOSA in the roles of treasurer and membership coordinator and I am thankful for Ondrya and Amber’s willingness to step into these positions in the years ahead.

We wish you health and strength as you face these upcoming months. We look forward to coming together in the next school year and will keep you posted regarding any changes or developments.

All the Best,
Sharon Evans for the Executive Board