Orff and 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.

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.

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.

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.

Victoria Redfearn Cave, M.Ed., Artistic Director, graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with a piano concentration and received her Masters in Education Leadership from Mary Baldwin College. In 2014, she received the award for the top student in the Graduate Teacher Education Program where she focused her thesis on assessment processes with adolescents. For over 28 years, Victoria has been teaching music, movement and choral studies to children. Victoria has taught primarily in independent schools in Washington, DC and Charlottesville, VA but has also been a choral director at the Levine School of Music and the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera. Victoria apprenticed in children’s choir conducting with Dr. Mary Goetze while at Indiana University.  She has also received conducting training from Doreen Rao’s Choral Music Experience and Dr. Harlan Parker. Victoria received her Orff training at George Mason University and received a scholarship from the Orff Foundation to study at the Special Course in Salzburg, Austria. In addition to being a faculty member at the Mason Orff training program, she has also trained teachers through the Orff Program at the University of Northern Colorado. Victoria is a national and international presenter and has written articles for the Orff Echo on creative movement topics for children. She lives in Charlottesville, VA where she is the Artistic Director of Mosaic, offering choir, group classes, and piano lessons. Her special topics of interest include: integrated arts work, mindfulness, and teacher sustainability.

Diana Hawley has worked in education as a music teacher, curriculum coordinator, and instructional design strategist in public, international, and charter schools for over twenty years. Additionally, as a nationally recognized teacher educator of the Orff Schulwerk approach, Diana has guided the professional learning of hundreds of U.S. and international music educators to better serve the needs of their students and communities.

Diana’s work in music education has taken her around the world and back again. Her first steps as a music teacher took place in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she founded the music program at Achieve Language Academy, a Hmong and Spanish language-focused charter school on St. Paul’s East Side. Eager to broaden her worldview and grow in her practice, after four years Diana shifted into international school teaching and landed at highly regarded International School Bangkok (ISB). Her two sons—now nearly 16 and 18—were born in Thailand.

Since returning to the U.S. and settling in the vibrant arts community of Iowa City, Diana has flourished as a music teacher and teacher leader. Currently, Diana leads cross-team collaboration between teachers, curriculum coordinators, school counselors, and district administrators to ensure that all students access meaningful curricular and co-curricular experiences in Music, Art, Physical Education, World Languages, and Career and Technical Education in the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). Prior to her current role, Diana served as the ICCSD K-12 Music Coordinator and an Instructional Design Strategist of Innovation.

In addition to her full-time work in Iowa City, Diana is an accomplished music teacher educator of the Orff Schulwerk approach. Diana teaches graduate-level courses at several universities, including the University of St. Thomas, University of Kentucky, and George Mason University. Course participants teach in a variety of settings, including public and independent schools, community music centers, and private studios.

To further support music teachers, Diana co-edited/authored Artful-Playful-Mindful in Action: Orff-Schulwerk Classroom Projects for a New Generation of Learners (2015), a resource that provides “authentic stories of real teachers in real classrooms who have undertaken the adventure of introducing a new Orff Schulwerk curriculum to their students.”

Diana serves on the Editorial Board of The Orff Echo, the Associate Editorial Board of The International Journal of Education & the Arts, and Music Educators Journal’s Advisory Committee.

Diana earned a BA in Music and Sociology/Anthropology from St. Olaf College, an MA in Education from the University of St. Thomas, and is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Music Education at Boston University.

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. 

Nicole Anderson-Morgan teaches music at Mason Crest Elementary School in Annandale, VA. Nicole attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for both undergrad and graduate school. She holds a Bachelors of Music and a Masters of Arts in Teaching. Over her twenty 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 Fairfax County Public Schools. Nicole received her Orff Schulwerk and Kodály certifications from George Mason University.

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. 

Kelly Burcher is a middle school choral director in Virginia, where she directs a program including mixed, tenor/bass and treble choirs.

In 2018, Kelly earned her MM in Music Education from George Mason University and is a 2014 graduate of James Madison University with a BM in Music Education and piano.

Her work stems from teaching middle school singers in a participatory choral program while working towards completing her certification in Kodály teaching.

Kelly’s arrangements and compositions are designed to integrate a sequential plan of Kodaly activities leading to music literacy for beginning-level choral students and music readers.  

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. 

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. 

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. 

Kris Olson has taught music and movement for over 35 years. She holds an MA with a Master Certificate in Orff-Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Kris began her teaching career in Minnesota teaching in rural, urban, public, and private elementary schools. Fifteen years ago, she moved to Lubbock, TX where she currently develops and teaches early childhood music and dance programs and after school music classes that focus on bucket drumming, singing, dancing, and body percussion.  Kris offers workshops across the country and has taught summer courses at various universities.  While living in Minneapolis, Kris studied dance at Zenon Dance Company and was a founding member of Schulfunk, an Orff based performance group.  She currently dances and choreographs for Flatlands Dance Theatre and adjuncts in the dance at Texas Tech University.

Kate Kelley is an early childhood and elementary school music educator. She lives and teaches in Alexandria, Virginia, where she also serves as the general music team lead, chairs the All-City 5th Grade Chorus, and mentors new music teachers in the district. She completed her Orff-Schulwerk coursework and masterclass at George Mason University. Outside of teaching, Kate enjoys performing with Voce Chamber Singers and in community theatre productions.