Elizabethtown College’s School for Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) is providing music educators with hands-on learning to elevate their teaching methods and classroom engagement through the new Orff-Schulwerk program.
Launching in the summer of 2025, students can complete Orff-Schulwerk levels in the nine-credit graduate certificate, through electives in the Master of Music Education (MME) program, or as individual courses that count for graduate credit or a certificate of completion.
“Incorporating Orff-Schulwerk into a program focused on peacebuilding was a natural fit,” Elizabethtown College Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities & Professor of Music, Kevin Shorner-Johnson said. “The Orff-Schulwerk approach takes our fundamental peace values of mutuality, agency, and imagination and enlivens them through a time-tested approach to music teaching.”
The program can be completed in three Orff-Schulwerk levels and features two consecutive weeks of intensive, in-person instruction. Classes will be offered at Lancaster Mennonite High School from July 7 through 18, 2025.
The globally recognized Orff-Schulwerk approach is endorsed by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA). Courses in the certificate program will be led by renowned AOSA-certified instructors, including faculty from the Philadelphia University of the Arts which closed in 2024.
“Orff-Schulwerk’s playful and collaborative approach is a beautiful way to engage students of all ages in music making,” Lisa Sempsey, Program Director of the Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Education program said. “With a focus on inclusivity, creativity, and agency, Orff-inspired teaching fits hand-in-hand with a music program rooted in peacebuilding.”
Participants will develop creativity, musicianship, and effective teaching strategies to meet the growing demand for innovative and inclusive music education.
“My MME degree and my experience in Orff have allowed me to build spaces where my students experience belonging through singing, moving, playing, and creating,” alumna Sara Alipanah M’23 said. “My teaching would not be the same without the community I have found as an alum of the Master of Music Education program. I am so glad Etown now offers Orff levels, as they are the perfect complement to this degree.”
Etown SGPS will hold several upcoming virtual information sessions on Dec. 19, Jan. 6, Jan. 16, and Feb. 11. Discover more about this new program at Elizabethtown College School for Graduate and Professional Studies.