Calendar of Events 2009-2010

Saturday, February 6 9:30 am - 3:00 pm (registration at 9:00am)
NCAKE Workshop – Sanna Longden
San Francisco Day School
350 Masonic Ave.
San Francisco, CA
No Child Left on His or Her Behind: World Singing Games and Folk Dances for the Music Classroom
Sanna Longden is an internationally renowned world dance teacher and multicultural movement educator from Evanston, Illinois. Her specialty is to focus on the "folk," emphasizing ethnic movement, music, styling, and cultural background. Sanna's lessons illustrate how dance and movement activities can encourage community, civility, and cooperative teamwork, as well as creativity, concentration, and cultural and curriculum connections. Sanna’s NCAKE workshop will focus on singing games in many languages and on dances performed with recorded music from her CDs.
Admission: Students free with OAKE student membership ($20); non-OAKE members: $70; OAKE members (3 workshop series - $70)
Use a credit card to register now online at http://ncake.oake.org/
or call 510-524-7392 for more information.

Sunday, February 21 3:00pm
Celebrating Robert Schumann’s 200^th Birthday
HNU Music Faculty/Graduate Recital
Regents Theatre, Valley Center for Performing Arts
Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA
Works include piano solos and 4 hands, lieder and other ensemble music.
Pre-concert lecture by Dr. Steven Hofer at 2:00pm.
Admission: $10 General, $5 Seniors/Students, Free for HNU faculty, staff, students and alumni. For more information call: 510-436-1330.

Sunday, February 28 3:00pm
An Afternoon of Chamber Music
HNU Music Faculty Recital
Regents Theatre, Valley Center for Performing Arts
Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA
Jenni Cook, soprano, joins Amy Likar, flute and Miles Graber, piano in chamber music featuring a world premiere by Dr. Steven Hofer.
Admission: $10 General, $5 Seniors/Students, Free for HNU faculty, staff, students and alumni. For more information call: 510-436-1330.

March 18-20
Organization of American Kodály Educators National Conference
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
Dallas, TX
The Arts are Key: Deep in the Heart of Kodály
Early registration deadline: Jan. 23, 2010
To register, or for more information, visit: http://oake.org

Saturday, April 10 7:30pm
HNU Opera Scenes Concert
Regents Theatre, Valley Center for Performing Arts
Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA
An evening of scenes and arias from opera, fully staged and costumed, under the direction of Monroe Kanouse.
Admission: $10 General, $5 Seniors/Students, Free for HNU faculty, staff, students and alumni. For more information call: 510-436-1330.

Sunday, April 18 3:00pm
HNU Orchestra Concert
Regents Theatre, Valley Center for Performing Arts
Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA
Pas de Duo-Stephen Varney and Naomi Sanchez- join the HNU Orchestra in a concert of French music.
Admission: $10 General, $5 Seniors/Students, Free for HNU faculty, staff, students and alumni. For more information call: 510-436-1330.

Saturday, April 24 9:30 am – 1:00 pm (registration at 9:00am)
NCAKE Workshop – Fernando Malvar-Ruiz with The American Boychoir
Cathedral of Christ the Light
2121 Harrison St.
Oakland, CA
Music Literacy in Rehearsal & Warming Up: A Demonstration with the American Boychoir
Mr. Malvar-Ruiz, appointed Music Director of The American Boychoir in July 2004, has toured with the Choir to 39 states and Canada. He attended the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, and received the Sarolta Kodály scholarship by unanimous decision of the faculty. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in music arts from the University of Illinois. This March 18-20, Mr. Malvar-Ruiz will direct the OAKE National Youth Choir in Dallas, TX as well as present a featured concert with The American Boychoir. NCAKE is very excited to present this workshop, co-sponsored by the San Francisco Boys Chorus.
Admission: Students free with OAKE student membership ($20); non-OAKE members: $55; OAKE members (3 workshop series - $70)
Use a credit card to register online at http://ncake.oake.org/
or call 510-524-7392 for more information.

Saturday, May 8 11:45 am & 4:45 pm performances
Children’s Choral Festival
Ragnar Bohlin, Guest Conductor
Regents’ Theatre, Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland
HNU’s Kodály Center and the Northern California Association of Kodály Educators will sponsor the 14th annual Children’s Choral Festival. Community and school choirs from throughout the Bay Area will perform individually and rehearse together under the direction of Mr. Bohlin in two sessions (9:30-12:30; 2:30-5:30).
Admission: Free

2010 Summer Institute – Save the date!

42nd Kodály Summer Institute - July 12-30
Kodály Certification Levels I, II, III
Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd.
Oakland, CA 94619

The Kodály Summer Institute offers an introduction to Kodály philosophy, including musicianship training, conducting, curriculum development, pedagogical techniques, and materials for teaching. Course work within the institute can be applied towards Kodály Summer Certification, the Master’s Degree in Music Education, or the Kodály Specialist Certificate. Classes meet daily, Monday-Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Faculty: Gemma Arguelles, Judit Hartyányi, Anne Laskey, Hélène Matters, Ildikó Salgado, Fran Smith.

Choral Singing in Middle and High School– July 6-9, 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, Judit Hartyányi, Instructor

Kodály and the Instrumental Classroom - July 6-9, 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm, Stephanie Terpening, Instructor

For more information, visit http://www.hnu.edu/academics/graduatePrograms/musicKodalyMA.html.
You may also email laskey@hnu.edu or call 510-436-1234.

The Music Library at HNU

Alumni and the public are welcome to visit the music library in the Kennedy Arts Center, room 404. Stop by to view our folk music, choral music, mini-score, and LP collections. Please click here for a more complete list of collections, check-out procedures, contact information, and hours.

NCAKE Workshop: “Bringing Spanish Music into Your Classroom!” Arwen de Castellanos and Lydia Mills

October 3, 2009, 9:30 am - 1 pm
Cal State East Bay, Hayward, Arts and Education Building, Rm 142
Use Parkling lots H and K

Arwen de Castellanos and Lydia Mills, who are both performers of traditional Latin American music and classroom music teachers, bring a lively workshop with lovely melodies and fun-filled Spanish language games for your classroom. New repertoire for use with the early elements so-mi, la, ta, titi, and rest will be presented, as well as more advanced traditional singing games from regions of Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Peru for older students. Lydia will also report on her experiences in giving introductory Kodály workshops in Puerto Rico, Peru, and Colombia and on the rapidly growing interest from music teachers from all over Latin America in Kodály’s wonderful approach to teaching music to children.

2009 Summer Institute - Register now!

41st HNU Kodály Summer Institute - July 6-24
Kodály Certification Levels I, II, III
Holy Names University
3500 Mountain Blvd. Oakland, CA 94619

The Kodály Summer Institute offers an introduction to Kodály philosophy, including musicianship training, conducting, curriculum development, pedagogical techniques, and materials for teaching. Course work within the institute can be applied towards Kodály Summer Certification, the Master’s Degree in Music Education, or the Kodály Specialist Certificate. Classes meet daily, Monday-Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Faculty: Gemma Arguelles, Helga Dietrich, Judit Hartyányi, Anne Laskey, Hélène Matters, Ildikó Salgado, Fran Smith.

For more information or to download a registration form, click here and select the link "2009 Summer Institute Brochure".

You may also email laskey@hnu.edu or call 510-436-1234.

Early Childhood Music Workshops Summer 2009

The Role of Singing Games in Early Childhood Education (MUSCX 208)
Helga Dietrich, Instructor
Saturdays, July 11 & 18 9:30 am – 5:00 pm 1 unit

Nurturing Musical Creativity in Young Children (MUSCX206)
Helga Dietrich, Instructor
Monday-Friday, July 6-10 6:00-8:30 pm 1 unit


Holy Names is delighted to announce the return of Helga Dietrich, internationally recognized as one of the most creative and dynamic figures in the field of early childhood music education. In these sessions, she will present materials for teaching, techniques for developing musical responsiveness and creativity, and goals for music education in early childhood inspired by Zoltán Kodály’s philosophy. Videotapes of work with children will allow participants to observe these techniques in practice.

The workshops will explore the use of age-appropriate and playful musical activities for the development of social, emotion, cognitive and musical skills. Guidelines will be presented for selecting, analyzing and organizing song and game collections, as well as identifying songs for listening. Participants will be challenged to develop their own musical creativity by developing activities based on the ideas presented in the workshop.

For those who are new to the Kodály Center, we also recommend enrolling in a musicianship class offered during the HNU Kodály Summer Institute (July 6-24, M-F, 9:30-10:40am).

2008 Kodály Summer Institute Review by Student Kerry Rehn (Australia)

Photo: Kerry Rhen (second from left) with Level 3 classmates

The first day of the Summer Institute starts with the dreaded written music placement test, and a sight singing assessment with one of the lecturers. While scary, these tests have a very good reason - to ensure that students are placed in appropriate musicianship/solfege groups for the next three weeks. After that comes morning tea, a very welcome coffee and a chance to meet your classmates - people from around the world and across the USA who gather to study during their summer break. There were musicians and teachers from Poland, Thailand, Phillipines, Australia, Scotland, Canada. Mexico and the USA both near and far. There was a wide range of music pursuits represented, including classroom music specialists, choir singers, choir directors, professional violinists, instrumental teachers. Everyone is there with the purpose of learning as much as possible. Many of the students are doing the course to gain the Holy Names University Kodály Certificate. Several of them are in the process of achieving their Masters in Music Education Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names, and some were "auditing" the course - ie attending but not for accreditation.

Holy Names University has a very strong connection with Hungarian music educators, and features them in the Faculty each year. Mrs. Erzsebet Hegyi is a Hungarian teacher who was actually a student of Zoltán Kodály, and speaks with great warmth of him as a wonderful human being as well as a great icon of music philosophy. This is her 17th residency at the Summer Institute and she holds a special place in the hearts of her students. Ms Judit Hartyanyi taught solfege, conducting and also conducted the Institute choirs throughout the course and at the final concert. Helene Matters, originally from Brisbane and now residing in the US was on staff to teach pedagogy to the second year students. Also on staff were Gemma Arguelles (music specialist from San Francisco) and Anne Laskey (director of the Kodály Centre at Holy Names) Ildiko Salgado and Fran Smith.
Each day of the course includes an intensive programme of conduction, solfege, choir, pedagogy, practicum and folk music. Then the student toils up the hill and starts the homework.

As in all well run and rigorous courses, at the time it seems all too much. It is in retrospect that one can see and feel the benefits of the intensive burst of effort - the ears are sharper, the eye is quicker and the voice - well, more tired, but also hopefully more accurate. Probably the best benefit for me has been a new way of looking at my own teaching practice - am I respecting each song?, am I helping the students think in pattern? Am I presenting the "whole music" to the student, rather than isolating an element and simply using it for (sometimes slightly irrelevant) practice activities.

In summary, the course was very worthwhile. While similar in structure and standard to the UQ Summer Institute, the cultural differences with the American and international students and faculty made the experience even more interesting. I would like to put on record, also, my appreciation to the Townsville Chapter of KMEIA for the financial assistance I received.