51°µÍø

The Kodály approach of music education is based on the work of Hungarian composer, educator, philosopher and ethnomusicologist, Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967). It is now used widely throughout the world to train musicianship in children and adults. Kodály-inspired instruction uses a carefully organized sequence of musical elements and concepts taught through developmentally appropriate song materials and musical activities. Using high-quality traditional folk music as the initial core musical material, Kodály-inspired musician educators engage their students in joyful, sequential, developmentally appropriate, child-centered, and interactive sound-based instruction. Through this instruction, students are exposed to systematically graded, properly paced presentations to assimilate ideas organized according to the inner logic of music. Students are guided to discover, articulate, read, write, improvise and create with the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony and form in unison singing, part work, creative activities and instrumental work, while developing skills in movement, listening, memory, inner hearing and conducting. Instruction is directed toward providing students with skills requisite to writing what they hear and sing (dictation), as well as hearing and singing what they read (sight reading).

• Dates: July 2 – 18
• Times: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, except:
• Thursday, July 4: no classes
• Saturday, July 6: classes meet 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Non-credit Cost: $1,000*
• Graduate Credit Cost: Additional $1,500 for three hours of graduate credit (paid separately to 51°µÍø after following instructions in the workshop registration confirmation email)
• Housing Cost: There is no on-campus housing available for Kodály this summer. For a listing of local Dallas hotels near the 51°µÍø campus and out-of-state discounts, go to
• Required Materials: A list of materials will be sent to you prior to the workshop through a link to West Music Company.

*Inquire about a discount for schools sending 10 or more participants

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Prerequisites

Level I is a prerequisite for Level II. Level II is a prerequisite for Level III.

This course is presented in conjunction with the Plano ISD Kodály Certification Program, which is endorsed by the Organization of American Kodály Educators. Due to the intensive nature of this certification program, which includes daily homework assignments, participants are strongly encouraged to avoid scheduling additional activities during the course. In addition, 100% attendance is required to earn credit and to move on to the subsequent levels of training. Absences will be considered on an individual basis.

A bachelor’s degree in music or a strong background in music theory is required for this class. Participants must be able to read and write music notation in order to be successful in this course. 

Course Levels Descriptions

LEVEL I: Pedagogy includes intensive study of Kodály philosophy, principles, pedagogy, and techniques with a particular emphasis on readiness curriculum, repertoire, skills, and strategies for early childhood. A detailed study of American folk music will focus on selection, collection and performance practice of materials from aural traditions appropriate for young children. Musicianship study will include development of aural skills, solfège proficiency, detailed study of pentatony, and basic classroom conducting. A degree in music, music education, or a strong theoretical music background is required for success.

LEVEL II: Pedagogy includes the continued intensive study of materials, techniques, and pedagogy for sequential skill and curriculum development with emphasis on intermediate level concepts and elements for developing musical literacy. The study of folk music materials will continuation the study of various aural traditions and begin the study of pedagogical song analysis. Musicianship study will continue the development of aural skills, intermediate solfège proficiency, detailed study of diatony and church modes, simple functional harmony and intermediate classroom and choral conducting. Prerequisite: Kodály Level I.

LEVEL III: Pedagogy includes the continued intensive study of materials, techniques, pedagogy, lesson and curriculum development with emphasis on upper level concepts and elements, dictation and sight-reading skills. The study of folk music materials will expand to study of performance practices in world music genres and begin the development of song retrieval and indexing system. Musicianship study will included advanced aural skill development, advanced solfège proficiency, functional harmony and advanced classroom and choral conducting. Prerequisite: Kodály Level II.

CHORAL TRACK– LEVEL I: Pedagogy includes intensive study of Kodály philosophy, principles, pedagogy, and techniques with particular emphasis on repertoire, skills and strategies for the teaching of musical literacy skills in a choral context. The study of choral materials will focus on selection of quality repertoire for beginning choirs. Musicianship study will include development of aural skills, solfège proficiency, detailed study of pentatony, and basic classroom conducting. A degree in music, music education, or a strong theoretical music background is required for success.

CHORAL TRACK – LEVEL II: Pedagogy includes the continued intensive study of Kodály philosophy, principles, pedagogy, and techniques with particular emphasis on repertoire, skills and strategies for the teaching of musical literacy skills in the choral context. The study of choral materials will focus on selection of quality repertoire for intermediate level choirs. Musicianship study will continue the development of aural skills, intermediate solfège proficiency, detailed study of diatony and church modes, functional harmony and intermediate conducting skills.  A degree in music, music education, or a strong theoretical music background is required for success.  Prerequisite: Kodály Choral Track Level I.

Kodály Faculty

Ben Daniel, Bethany Houff, Brenda Keen, Kathy Kuddes, Georgia Newlin, Corey Fisher Smith, Kristin Vogt and Melissa Young

Ben Daniel has served as an Elementary Music Specialist and Choir Director in North Texas for several years where he has taught PreK-5th grade as well as mentored student teachers and campus/district faculty. In addition, he is currently an Assistant Conductor for the Greater Dallas Choral Society where he rehearses the beginning Dolce chorus and assists as needed in the upper-level choruses.

Daniel specializes in musicianship and conducting, development of music education curriculum, and plans to pursue studies on vocal production of teachers with changed voices as an example for students in the elementary and middle school setting.

Daniel is certified in the Kodály and Orff-Schulwerk approaches to music education. He received his B.S. in Music with All-Level Certification at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Jason Dove is Director of Fine Arts for Deer Park ISD. He spent 23 years prior to this position teaching choral music. He received a B.M.E. from the University of Louisville and an M.M. from 51°µÍø. Dove has presented at OAKE and TMEA on ways to incorporate a Kodály approach in the secondary choral classroom. Choirs under his direction have received numerous sweepstakes awards at UIL Concert and Sight Reading. In addition, Dove’s choirs were invited to perform for the 2012 TMEA Clinic/Convention and for the 2013 ACDA National Conference. He served as the High School Vocal Division Vice President of Texas Choral Directors Association from 2017-2019.

Bethany Houff has been the choral director at Harrisonburg High School, located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, since 2003. In addition to conducting four choral ensembles, she teaches an introductory musical theatre course and beginning piano classes. She served on the design team of the innovative Harrisonburg High School Fine Arts Academy where colleagues in dance, drama, music, visual art and creative writing teach collaboratively in a sequential and integrated arts curriculum. Houff received a Master of Music degree in choral conducting as well as a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from James Madison University. She teaches in the Summer Kodály Programs at Indiana University, James Madison University and 51°µÍø/Plano ISD.

Brenda Keen taught 21 of her 26 years in elementary music in Plano ISD. Prior to her employment in Plano, she taught four years in Richardson ISD and one year in Dallas ISD. She holds a bachelor's degree from UT Austin and a Kodály certificate from the UNT /Plano ISD Certification Program. Keen has taught in the Plano ISD Kodály certification program for 13 years and has presented sessions at TCDA, Plano Senior High School, TCU and workshops for the Kodály Educators of Texas. She is Past-President of the Southern Division of OAKE. She is also Past-President of the Kodály Educators of Texas.

Keen has directed many school and church choirs, including the Plano Children's Chorale. She has sponsored over 250 singers in the North Texas Children's Choir and over 75 of her students have been selected for the OAKE National Honor Choirs.

Keen was named the Metroplex Children's Choir Teacher of the Year in 2003 and Teacher of the Year for Hightower Elementary in 2006. She was awarded the North Texas Children’s Choir Teacher/Leader Award in 2014 and was named NTCC Teacher of the Year in 2019.

Since retirement, Keen has continued to teach in the 51°µÍø/Plano ISD Kodály Training Program and supervised student teachers for the University of North Texas and Colorado State University. In addition, she has taught a course at UNT and currently serves as a mentor for elementary music teachers in Frisco ISD.

Kathy Kuddes holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Millikin University and the University of North Texas respectively, a Kodály training certificate from the FAME/University of Texas program at Festival Hill in Round Top, TX. She retired in the summer of 2022 after serving 38 years in public music education in various Texas school districts. Prior to her final position as the Director of Fine Arts in the Plano Independent School District for 20 years, she taught elementary music in Plano, College Station and Killeen and secondary music in Stafford. She is the Founder, Coordinator and Folk Music Materials Instructor of the Plano Kodály Teacher Training Program at 51°µÍø. In her retirement Kuddes is currently doing folk song research for McGraw Hill Education. She remains an active presenter doing presentations at state MEA conferences, AOSA and OAKE national conferences and the International Kodály Society Symposia in Australia, Hungary and Scotland. Kuddes is a former member of the boards of the Kodály Educators of Texas (KET), the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) and the Texas Music Administrators Conference (TMAC). She was the recipient of the 2010 OAKE Outstanding Administrator Award, the 2016 Outstanding Administrator by TMAC, the 2020 KET Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2020 Arts Leadership Award from the ArtCentre of Plano.

Georgia A. Newlin, DMA, is an independent Music Education Consultant. She taught in early childhood/public school music positions for 16 years and at the collegiate level for 16. Currently, Newlin is called upon as a conductor for choral festivals and as a clinician for choral workshops, reading sessions, and intermediate grade methodology, as well as a consultant for curriculum planning. She teaches musicianship, conducting and ensemble in Kodály programs at Indiana University, University of Hawai’i, James Madison University and at the 51°µÍø/Plano ISD Kodály course.

Newlin is Past President of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and is a member of The VoiceCare Network. She has had articles published in the Choral Journal, Orff Echo, Kodály Envoy, and Southwestern Musician, among others. She served for three years on the Music Educators Journal Advisory Committee of NAfME.

Newlin has presented at conferences of the Organization of American Kodály Educators, International Kodály Society, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, Kodály Music Educators in Australia, Kodály Society of Ontario, and Association for Music in International Schools, as well as Choral/Music Education associations in 18 states.

In 2022, Newlin established the Valley Treble Voices, an adult treble choir in Harrisonburg, VA. She has been the Artistic Director of the Waldorf Choral Society in Garden City, NY; Founder/Artistic Director of the Adelphi University Vocal Ensemble; and Artistic Director of The Susquehanna Valley Chorale Children’s Choir in Lewisburg, PA. In addition, she has been a faculty member of the James Madison University VocalArts camp as well as the Children’s Chorus of Maryland.

Music Is Elementary has published her book, One Accord: Developing Part-Singing Skills in School-Age Musicians, and she is currently the editor of their “The Crooked River Choral Project.” Newlin is also published with the Ruth Dwyer Choral Series from Colla Voce.

Corey Fisher Smith is the Elementary Music Specialist at Windsong Ranch Elementary in Prosper ISD and has taught music for nine years in both Plano and Prosper. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2012 with a bachelor’s in music education and a minor in Italian. She completed her first level of Kodály Certification with Joy Nelson at the University of Oklahoma before completing her levels at the Plano/51°µÍø Kodály Program. In addition to teaching, she is a freelance pianist for churches, choirs, schools, improv groups and soloists. She has presented sessions with Kodály Educators of Texas and TMEA. Smith has previously served as a TMEA Elementary Region Chair and currently serves on the OAKE Scholarship Committee. She is currently Co-Elementary Music Team Lead in Prosper.

Sarah Riordan is the music specialist at Andrews Elementary School in Plano ISD, where she teaches Kindergarten through 5th grade. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of North Texas and has been teaching for 16 years. She received her Kodály certification from the Plano ISD/51°µÍø program. Riordan has been named Teacher of the Year at her school in 2012 and 2022. During her time with North Texas Children’s Choir, she has also been given a teacher-leader award in 2013 and Teacher of the Year in 2022. She presently serves as team leader on her campus as well as being one of the lead elementary music specialists for Plano. Riordan served on the Kodály Educators of Texas board as a North Region Representative from 2019-2022. She is very passionate about mentoring others to use the Kodály philosophy, since it has been so impactful in her own teaching journey!

Kristin Vogt has been teaching Kindergarten through 5th grade students for the past 21 years. She received her Bachelor of Music in music theory in 2000, and master’s degrees in music theory and music education from 51°µÍø in 2003. She earned her Kodály certification from the Plano ISD/UNT program and her Orff Schulwerk certification from 51°µÍø. She presents professional development sessions for school districts in Texas, Tennessee, Utah, the OAKE National Conference in 2010 and 2018, and AOSA in 2016. For the past 13 summers, Vogt has taught Pedagogy I and Folk Music Materials II at the 51°µÍø Kodály Certification Program as well as Pedagogy II, Pedagogy III and Folk Music Materials II at the Fort Bend ISD Kodály Program outside of Houston. Vogt is currently serving as President of the Southern Division for the Organization of American Kodály Educators. She has two sons, a freshman in college and a sophomore in high school, who are both brass players. In her spare time, she is an avid runner, gardener, and jazz and blues connoisseur.

Melissa Roth Young is a graduate of Baylor University (BME ’93) and UNT (MME ’02), and she is in her 29th year of teaching. She is currently the choir director at Haggard Middle School in Plano ISD. Choirs under her direction have consistently received Sweepstakes at UIL Concert & Sight-Reading Contest, as well as Best in Class/Grand Champion distinctions at local choral festivals. Additionally, her students are well represented in the All-Region Choir and TCDA Honor Choirs each year. The Richardson North Junior High Varsity Treble Choir was selected to sing at the OAKE National Convention in Dallas. Young was nominated for 2011-12 Teacher of the Year for the Richardson North Junior High campus.

Before teaching middle school choirs, Young taught at the elementary level and community children’s choirs in Texas and Oregon. She served as the Children’s Choir R&S Chair for Oregon ACDA from 2002-2006 and as Western 2 Regional Representative for the OAKE National Board from 2004-2006. She is a published composer with Alliance Music Publications.

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For further information about 51°µÍø Music Educators Workshops or to register for one of these classes visit , or contact Julie Scott, Lisa Beyer, or Courtney Wilson at muedworkshops@smu.edu.