Orff & Kodály Faculty

Joyce Stephansky teaches music and movement in the Fairfax County Virginia Public Schools and Undergraduate Music Methods at George Mason University. She has experience as a choral, music, and movement teacher in kindergarten through sixth grade in the Prince George’s County, Maryland public schools, and the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia. She completed her Master of Arts Degree and Orff Certification at George Mason University, with additional work in Orff studies and a Master Class at St. Thomas University. Ms. Stephansky has presented at AOSA National Conferences, and for Orff chapters in the areas of integration and Orff process.

Betsy Sebring has taught general music classes and directed children’s choirs since 1998. She has taught early childhood, elementary, and middle school students in public and private schools in Maryland and Virginia. Ms. Sebring has served on the board of the MAC-AOSA chapter in many capacities. She serves on AOSA’s National Board of Trustees as one of the Region IV Representatives. She presents workshops for local chapters, national conferences, and teaches Orff Levels I and II. Ms. Sebring spent the 2010-2011 school year at the Carl Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria studying Advanced Topics in Music and Movement Education. She currently teaches in Washington D.C.

Shoshanah Drake teaches general/vocal music Head Start – 5th grade and writes general music curriculum for Montgomery County Public Schools where she has taught for more than 25 years. She is a past president of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of AOSA and an active member of MMEA. Ms. Drake presents workshops at local, state, and national conferences and teaches Level I Orff Schulwerk certification classes at George Mason University.

John Barnes currently teaches general music to students in grades two through eight at Georgetown Day School after spending nine years teaching in Loudoun County Public Schools. He has served in several capacities on the board of MAC-AOSA and is currently a member of the AOSA Advocacy Subcommittee. Mr. Barnes enjoys working with fellow teachers, presenting workshops for various local chapters of AOSA, and teaching recorder pedagogy in summer Orff-Schulwerk Certification Programs. He completed his Orff-Schulwerk certification and Level IV coursework at George Mason University and apprenticed at The University of St. Thomas. Mr. Barnes earned a bachelor of science degree in music education at Duquesne University and a master’s degree in saxophone performance at the University of Florida.

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Beth Anne Young, is a Choral and Classroom Music Specialist.  Recently retired from the public  schools, she was  a middle school choral and classroom music specialist for the majority of her teaching career.  Beth Anne is currently the Choral Director at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island  Beth Anne worked at the Longy School of Music as a Choral Methods Instructor and as a  Supervisor of Student Teachers in the Master of Music Education Program. Beth Anne  is the Director and Choral Studies Instructor for the Kodály Levels Program at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA .  She has a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA and a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Connecticut with an emphasis in Choral Conducting. She completed both her Orff and Kodály Certification at George Mason University. Beth Anne has presented workshops about the Kodály- Inspired Choral Setting at MMEA, and at Regional and National OAKE Conferences.  She currently serves on the OAKE Teacher Education Committee and is on the Executive Board of BAKE (Boston Area Kodály Educators) serving as the Treasurer. 

Ginger Albertson teaches a Kodály inspired program at Eagle View Elementary, part of the Fairfax County Public School system.  She teaches Kindergarten through 6th grade General Music, and directs a 5th and 6th grade Chorus.  Ginger holds a BS in Music Education from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, where she as a voice major.  She earned her MA in Music Education from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.  Ginger earned her Kodály Certificate at George Mason University.  She currently serves on the faculty of the George Mason Summer Program teaching Methodology.  Outside of her teaching Ginger is an active member of Sweet Adelines International, and sings tih the Vienna-Falls Chorus in Fairfax,  She is the Associate Director for her barbershop chorus and sings in a competing quartet.  Ginger is married and the mother of three grown children.  She enjoys spending time at the family beach house in the Outer Banks. 

Robbin Marcus resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is the Director Emeritus of Kodály at George MasonUniversity.  Additionally, she teaches piano lessons to students of all ages, is an ATI certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, and is serving on the CDSS board as a Member At Large. Robbin spent twenty-five years as the lower school music specialist at St. Paul’s School in Baltimore, Maryland and has served four terms in various offices on the OAKE board. She is a well-known traditional dance leader and an advocate for accurate performance styles in the music classroom. She has conducted numerous workshops for OAKE national conferences and local chapters.   Robbin served on the Kodaly faculties of Webster University, the American Kodaly Institute and the Children’s Chorus of Maryland.

Susie Fergus is a retired choral director and elementary specialist who now lives in Tyler, Texas.  She taught preschool through high school at various stages of her 22-year teaching career in Fort Worth and East Texas. She enjoys leading workshops for music teachers in Houston, Tyler, and surrounding areas, as well as conducting area children’s honor choirs and her own church children’s choir.

Since 2015, she has been a faculty instructor for the Southeast Texas Kodaly Levels Training in the greater Houston area, where she teaches Level I Pedagogy & Materials, Musicianship III, and directs the Ensemble. She earned her Kodaly certification through the Plano ISD/UNT program;  her Master of Arts in Music Education with a Choral emphasis from University of Saint Thomas (St. Paul, MN);  and her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Auburn University (Auburn, AL).  She was inspired to become a Kodaly specialist at Auburn under the tutelage of Dr. Barbara Kaplan, in the inaugural decade of OAKE.

Matt McCoy teaches elementary music and choirs at the Emerson School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to his time at Emerson, Mr. McCoy worked in various educational contexts including public and independent schools, children’s choir organizations, and universities in both the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States. As a clinician specializing in process-based teaching, Mr. McCoy is a frequent presenter at AOSA National Conferences and at local chapters around the United States.

Ginger Albertson teaches a Kodály inspired program at Eagle View Elementary, part of the Fairfax County Public School system.  She teaches Kindergarten through 6th grade General Music, and directs a 5th and 6th grade Chorus.  Ginger holds a BS in Music Education from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, where she as a voice major.  She earned her MA in Music Education from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.  Ginger earned her Kodály Certificate at George Mason University.  She currently serves on the faculty of the George Mason Summer Program teaching Methodology.  Outside of her teaching Ginger is an active member of Sweet Adelines International, and sings tih the Vienna-Falls Chorus in Fairfax,  She is the Associate Director for her barbershop chorus and sings in a competing quartet.  Ginger is married and the mother of three grown children.  She enjoys spending time at the family beach house in the Outer Banks. 

Nicole Anderson-Morgan teaches music in Fairfax County Public Schools. Over her 17-year teaching career, she has taught at every grade level from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade in New York City, District of Columbia Public Schools, and now Fairfax County Public Schools. She has served in the role of District Course Chair for the DCPS Arts Department, leading professional development for other music teachers in the district. She has also written and developed curriculum for the Cornerstone Projects, the DC Youth Orchestra, and the Smithsonian Institution. Ms. Anderson-Morgan Nicole attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for both undergrad and graduate school, and received her Orff Schulwerk and Kodály certifications from George Mason University.

Kris Olson has taught music and movement for over 30 years.  She teaches workshops across the country and has offered classes in movement at various universities.  Kris has her master’s degree in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas.  She studied dance at Zenon Dance Company while living in Minneapolis and now lives in Lubbock, TX where she teaches early childhood music and movement classes as a private contractor, is a member of Flatlands Dance Theatre, leads children’s Border Morris dance groups, and teaches dance as an adjunct professor at Texas Tech University.  Kris also leads an interactive children’s show called “Ms. Kris and Friends” through Lubbock’s Center for the Arts.

Beth Anne Young, is a Choral and Classroom Music Specialist.  Recently retired from the public  schools, she was  a middle school choral and classroom music specialist for the majority of her teaching career.  Beth Anne is currently the Choral Director at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island  Beth Anne worked at the Longy School of Music as a Choral Methods Instructor and as a  Supervisor of Student Teachers in the Master of Music Education Program. Beth Anne  is the Director and Choral Studies Instructor for the Kodály Levels Program at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA .  She has a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA and a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Connecticut with an emphasis in Choral Conducting. She completed both her Orff and Kodály Certification at George Mason University. Beth Anne has presented workshops about the Kodály- Inspired Choral Setting at MMEA, and at Regional and National OAKE Conferences.  She currently serves on the OAKE Teacher Education Committee and is on the Executive Board of BAKE (Boston Area Kodály Educators) serving as the Treasurer. 

Robbin Marcus resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is the Director Emeritus of Kodály at George MasonUniversity.  Additionally, she teaches piano lessons to students of all ages, is an ATI certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, and is serving on the CDSS board as a Member At Large. Robbin spent twenty-five years as the lower school music specialist at St. Paul’s School in Baltimore, Maryland and has served four terms in various offices on the OAKE board. She is a well-known traditional dance leader and an advocate for accurate performance styles in the music classroom. She has conducted numerous workshops for OAKE national conferences and local chapters.   Robbin served on the Kodaly faculties of Webster University, the American Kodaly Institute and the Children’s Chorus of Maryland.

Leah Kmetz is a music teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern VA.  She has a duel degree in Music Education and Music Therapy from Slippery Rock University and a Masters Degree in Music Therapy from Shenandoah Conservatory.  Currently she sits on the board for the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of AOSA.  She is a recipient of the Schott Orff Outstanding Educator Award which afforded her a full scholarship to complete her Level III Orff Certification and the use of a limited edition instrument. Leah completed Masterclass with Matt McCoy, and additional Orff coursework at Nazareth College in New York She has presented workshops locally, and will be presenting at the AOSA conference in November 2023.