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- September 20, 2025 – Diane Lange: Combining Orff Schulwerk with Music Learning Theory
- October 25, 2025 – Jim Santi Owen: Rhythms and Melodies of India for the Orff Classroom
- January 31, 2026 – Matthew Otto: Choral Classroom Refresher
- April 24-26, 2026 – Orff Afrique Mini-Conference
September 20, 2025
9:00am-1:00pm
Cal State East Bay
Diane Lange
Combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory through Tonal, Rhythmic and Movement Applications
This session will present a comparison of how Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory address the tonal, rhythmic, and movement aspects of music teaching and offer practical suggestions for integration.
About Diane:
Diane Lange is Professor and Music Program Director of Field Experience at The University of Texas at Arlington where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Early Childhood and Elementary Music Education.
Dr. Lange has taught elementary music for ten years in both Michigan and Nevada. She received her Orff Levels and Master Class at Memphis State University and GIML Level I and II at Michigan State University. She is a certified faculty member where she teaches GIML Level I around the country.
Dr. Lange received her Bachelor of Music in Education and Master of Music from Central Michigan University and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. She has presented clinics and workshops at multiple state, national, and international conferences. She has published Recycle your Literature: Combing Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory, Together in Harmony: Combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory, Together Again in Harmony: Combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory, a chapter on combining Music Learning Theory and Orff Schulwerk that appeared in Music Learning Theory: Theory in Practice and several articles on combining Orff Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory. Also, she is a co-author for Jump Right In: The Elementary Music Curriculum, Kindergarten. Dr. Lange has held executive board positions with the Gordon Institute for Music Learning, North Texas chapter of AOSA and Early Childhood Music and Movement Association.
October 25, 2025
Oak Knoll Elementary
1895 Oak Knoll Ln, Menlo Park, CA 94025
9:00am-1:00pm
Jim Santi Owen
Rhythms and Melodies of India for the Orff Classroom
Join educator and percussionist Jim Santi Owen in exploring the rich intersections between the classical music traditions of North and South India and the elemental approach of Orff-Schulwerk. Though they may seem worlds apart, these traditions share key pedagogical foundations such as oral/aural learning, language-based rhythmic training, and the use of modal scales. In this hands-on workshop, participants will engage with traditional and original compositions for vocal percussion, body percussion, and the Orff Instrumentarium—each one kid-tested and classroom-ready. Participants will leave with teachable pieces and adaptable strategies to inspire student creativity and composition, grounded in the vibrant rhythmic and melodic language of Indian classical music.
About Jim:
Jim Santi Owen is an American percussionist and educator with over 30 years of experience teaching music to students of all ages, from preschool through postgraduate levels. A specialist in the classical percussion traditions of India, he has studied tabla with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri for over 35 years, South Indian percussion with Vidwan T.H. Subash Chandran, and was privileged to also learn from the late Ustad Zakir Hussain. Jim holds a Master’s degree in World Music from the California Institute of the Arts and is an Orff Levels graduate. His teaching career spans a wide range of settings, including public, private, and international schools such as the San Francisco School, Park Day School, Marin Country Day School, Creative Arts Charter School, and Shu Ren International School, a Mandarin-immersion IB program in Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of the California Institute of the Arts, Dominican University, the California Jazz Conservatory, the Ali Akbar College of Music, and REACH University, where he mentors future music educators. A frequent presenter at Orff-Schulwerk conferences and workshops, Jim has also taught internationally in India, China, Hong Kong, and Spain. His work bridges traditional and contemporary music education practices, integrating the rich rhythmic and melodic systems of Indian music into engaging, inclusive, and culturally responsive classrooms.
January 31, 2026
San Francisco School
300 Gaven St, San Francisco, CA 94134
9:00am-1:00pm
Matthew Otto
Choral Classroom Refresher
Do you lead your school choir? Are you looking to learn innovative and successful repertoire, improve your conducting, and learn more about vocal pedagogy in the choral setting? Join Dr. Matthew Otto from the Young Women’s Choral Projects in this refresher to add valuable skills to your conductor’s toolbox.
About Matthew:
Dr. Matthew Otto is an award-winning Canadian conductor, educator, and collaborator. Now residing on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, Matthew is the artistic director of the Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco.
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition, Master of Music in Conducting and Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Toronto. His doctoral dissertation is entitled “Let the Music Win!” Towards a Re-imagined Choral Pedagogy: A Phenomenological Case Study of Chorister Experience at the Toronto Children’s Chorus and traces the impact of high-level choral singing on youth. As a lecturer at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Matthew taught conducting and choral music education courses. As a strong advocate for the choral arts in Canada, Matthew was President of Choirs Ontario, board member of Choral Canada, and a founding member of the Bridge Choral Collective.