At West Music, we’re passionate about supporting music educators at every stage of their journey. Today, we’re excited to bring you a conversation with Tiffany English, an experienced Orff teacher and Executive Director of AOSA.
AH: Let’s start at the very beginning. Give us a little bit of insight into your personal teaching background and your first experiences with Orff Schulwerk.
TE: As a new elementary music teacher, I felt lost until my friend Pat introduced me to Orff Schulwerk at an Atlanta workshop. It was eye-opening! For 29 years, I’ve been immersed in this dynamic, engaging approach. It revolutionized my teaching and connected me with a supportive network of colleagues. Orff makes teaching fun – something I believe every educator should experience. If you’re curious, come to our conference and see for yourself!
AH: What brought you into the leadership role with AOSA and how have you progressed through this organization?
TE: I have always been the type of person who looks around and tries to see where I can help and make things better. So, after three years or so of being in the Atlanta chapter someone said that they needed help with the newsletter and that was my first job. Then I moved into the Vice President’s role where I oversaw booking the clinicians, programming, and so on. I enjoyed that role because I was able to meet so many amazing teachers and presenters-which the amount of intelligence, creativity, and master teaching in this organization is unparalleled. After I became president, I was very quickly asked to run for AOSA’s governing body, the National Board of Trustees, where I represented Region 4. .After doing that role I was hired as a National Conference Chair in Nashville with Alice Pratt and then the conference with Laura Petersen in North Charleston. I was next hired as Executive Director for AOSA and worked with our National Chairs for the Iowa conference, Lisa Hewitt and Rosemary Pilonero-big shout out to them. I truly love this organization, and it has given me so much in my life. It has been an amazing journey of “What else can I do?”
AH: What do you think that the organization/conference provides for music educators in general?
TE: I do want to point out first that neither your local AOSA chapter nor the conference requires any prerequisite Orff Schulwerk levels training. It is open to anyone whether you are a retired teacher, a college student, or a new music educator. We love it when we get to introduce you to this work, and we just want you to come and enjoy it. But about the organization, we have over 100 chapters across the country and an awesome one in Iowa. No matter where you are there is a chapter for you. I think that for me that chapter organization was the network of people and relationships that I needed while teaching because teaching is such a relationship-driven profession. Nationally we do all kinds of things. We do a mentorship program, we have a giant resource library, we do grants and scholarships, there are virtual learning possibilities, weekly teaching resources, and a strong social media presence. The conference is like a Krispy Kreme donut and once you have a bite you will want to come to every conference.
AH: Are there things that we can expect to see at this year’s conference that are different from any other year’s?
TE: Yes, we are doing a couple of new things! We are doing a viewing of the film, The Secret Song, which features Doug Goodkin, presenter Sophia Lopez-Ibor, and James Harding. The Campbell Foundation which produced this film is a huge supporter of AOSA, and the film is beautiful. We have an incredible group of evening events that you’ll have to check the AOSA website to see that will get everyone together to create music. You’ll get to see our featured presenters Sophia Lopez-Ibor and Judy Thompson-Barthwell who are very well known. Also, if you’re a research-minded person we have a poster event where you can see all the current research in Orff Schulwerk. Then we also have several DEIA (diverse, equity, inclusion, and access) events that will be happening. You will not be bored if you come.
AH: Being on the AOSA board, what could teachers do to advocate for their attendance at the conference?
TE: If you go to the AOSA conference page and scroll to the bottom you will see sample letters that you can use. There are also some nice talking points given because sometimes a conversation is better than a letter. Something that I think is important to bring up to an administrator if you are having that conversation, is creativity. We are living in the time of AI, and I think administrators are starting to understand that the creative component is sometimes missing. In my district, we had a cluster of schools that were the AI schools, and they quickly figured out that the kids were going ABCDE and following the correct steps but couldn’t figure out how to get from A to F if B and C were removed. We also need to energize our teaching, and we need to form other connections with other music professionals.
AH: Lastly, what has AOSA meant to you, not just as an educator, but as a person?
TE: That is a big question, but to start, if I hadn’t found AOSA and Orff Schulwerk I wouldn’t had finished my teaching career. AOSA taught me how to teach. You go to this conference, and you have these quality master teachers who had been trained through AOSA, willingly and generously giving their knowledge to me. The sheer generosity is something I love about this organization. Everything that we do is because we love children, and we love teaching them music. I may not be teaching them every day, but everything that I do in my job is for children to be able to have the music education that they deserve, and through the years AOSA has provided me with that opportunity. In terms of a person, I have a wall of happiness from AOSA with images of people I know who are good humans, are dedicated to the craft, and have brought joy to my life. You need to have a wall of happiness that is filled with things that bring you joy and that is what the people at AOSA do. AOSA is filled with people that have a common goal and a common understanding and I just think that is special.
AH: It’s very special. The people want you to succeed and the organization is all about that. We also bring new people in and it’s nice to see a new wave of younger people now presenting.
TE: I’m glad you brought up the next generation because one thing I want people to know about AOSA is that it is so welcoming to new people. So young teachers, pre-service teachers, and college students please come, because we want you to develop your leadership and teaching skills. It is so important to keep this journey going for our future.
As the leading authority on the Orff Schulwerk approach, West Music is dedicated to supporting music educators with expert guidance and premium instruments. West Music’s team of certified Orff specialists brings a wealth of knowledge to schools and music programs, ensuring educators can effectively implement the Orff method in their classrooms. Partnering with prestigious manufacturers such as Sonor and Studio 49, West Music provides an extensive selection of top-quality Orff instruments, making it the trusted choice for educators seeking the best resources for their students’ musical development.
Check out our unbeatable selection of Orff products from the top brands here!
Aaron Hansen is an experienced K-6 General Music educator, passionate about bringing music to life through the Orff Approach. He holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Northern Iowa. Aaron has completed comprehensive Orff Teacher Training, including three levels at the University of St. Thomas and an Orff Master Class. His dedication to the Orff method took him to the Summer International Course at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria. Aaron also shares his expertise by teaching movement at various Orff Teacher Training Courses and conducting workshops for local Orff Chapters.
