Press Room

Richard Gill, world-renowned Australian conductor and music educator, passed away on October 28, 2018 just two weeks shy of his 77th birthday. Born and raised in Sydney, Gill attended Marist College Eastwood becoming a music teacher at Marsden High School. In 1969, he was founding conductor of the Strathfield Symphony Orchestra, a position he held… Read more »

AOSA reports with great sadness that honorary member and 2001 Distinguished Service Award recipient, Betty Jane Lahman passed away October 26, 2018. A member of AOSA for its entire 50 years of existence, Lahman was instrumental in the spread of the Schulwerk across the United States. A co-founder of the Cleveland Area Chapter, she is… Read more »

The Orff Echo Editorial Board is soliciting articles for the Summer 2019 issue, “Orff Schulwerk and Inclusivity.” Submission deadline is November 15, 2018. As opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds and developmental levels to interact with each other increase, flexibility within approaches to general music is key to facilitating the development of lifelong music learners…. Read more »

The following Distinguished Service Awards will be presented at the Cincinnati Professional Development Conference, November 8, 2018. Congratulations to our 3 recipients: Peggy McCreary Read about Peggy McCreary     Steven Calantropio Read about Steven Calantropio     Doug Goodkin Read about Doug Goodkin    

The American Orff-Schulwerk Association is a professional organization of educators dedicated to the creative music and movement approach developed by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. Our Mission is: To demonstrate the value of Orff Schulwerk and promote its widespread use To support the professional development of our members To inspire and advocate for the creative… Read more »

The 2019 AOSA Profesional Development Conference will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah from November 20-23, 2019. Applications for children and adult performing groups are due January 15, 2019. Please use the Performance Group Application for either children’s or adult groups.

AOSA is saddened to report that Richard Gill is not able to present at the 2018 AOSA  Professional Development Conference. Gill has recently been diagnosed with a recurrence of colorectal and peritoneal cancer. He is unable to travel, but is still making music from his hospital bed in Australia. He sends his congratulations for a… Read more »

The objective of the Digital Mentor Program is to pair experienced Orff Schulwerk teachers (mentors) with newly trained Orff Schulwerk teachers (mentees) for the purpose of improving the practice of those who request mentorship. You must be an AOSA member to participate in this program. Visit our Digital Mentor Program page  for details on how… Read more »

AOSA is pleased to announce the addition of Karen Benson as Professional Development Director. Karen, a long time AOSA member, brings an extensive background in Orff Schulwerk and experience with AOSA to the position. She served the organization in local chapter leadership roles as well as in the national leadership positions of Regional Representative, Vice… Read more »

Long-time AOSA industry supporter, former NAfME (MENC) president, and prolific author, composer, and presenter, Will Schmid passed away Sunday, July 1st after an illness. Will held a B.A. from Luther College and a Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music. His public school teaching included general music, choral music and band, and he taught at… Read more »