Professional Development and Summer Graduate Study

Dalcroze Eurhythmics is an approach to music education created by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. The Dalcroze approach has three branches: Eurhythmics trains the body to respond kinesthetically to rhythmic and dynamic concepts.  Solfège trains the ear, eye, and voice in pitch, melody, and harmony.  Improvisation/Plastique animée enables students to respond to and analyze concepts according to their own invention, through movement, voice, and at an instrument. The Dalcroze Institute at the University of Kentucky emphasizes music-teaching strategies to develop imagination, coordination, and expression.

The UK Dalcroze Institute is especially designed for music teachers who wish to acquire knowledge and skills in Dalcroze pedagogy and musicianship, but eurhythmics training benefits all musicians and many others such as dancers, music therapists, and actors.  Summer workshops are open to all musicians and dancers, even those with little to no piano training. Participants will be immersed in the principal subjects of the Dalcroze approach. Very few institutions in the United States offer Dalcroze Eurhythmics training.  The offering of Eurhythmics at the University of Kentucky answers a demand for professional development opportunities for artists in this region and has attracted participants from overseas, especially from Asia where Eurhythmics is very well received.

2025 Classes

Beginner and Intermediate Dalcroze

5 Days
Monday – Friday, June 9–13, 2025
9am–4pm

Available for university credit

In Person
Dance Studio Room 117, Fine Arts Building, Lexington, KY
$475
Cap: 20

Please note: All summer programs now have an additional non-refundable $25 operating fee applied at time of registration.

This in-person workshop will immerse participants in the three branches of Dalcroze: eurhythmics, solfège, and improvisation. This training helps participants prepare for the exam to be certified in Dalcroze, should one choose to pursue that through the American Eurhythmics Society. If you are interested in taking this course for university credit, please contact martina.vasil@uky.edu. There are additional costs per university credit.

Materials

• Meaningful Movement: A Music Teacher's Guide to Dalcroze Eurhythmics
• Outside shoes are not allowed in the dance studio. Please be prepared to go barefoot, purchase “lyrical shoes”, or bring a new pair of sneakers that you don’t wear outside.

Please note that hard copies of notes will not be available for purchase this year. All notes will be digital.

We have partnered with West Music for the required book for this course. Use the promo code UKY24 for free shipping (with a $49.95 purchase). Please place your order by May 24 so it arrives to you before the course starts. Order Now

Registration Deadline: May 15, 2025

Dalcroze Faculty

Marla Butke

Marla Butke, Ph.D. , retired Professor of Music, is a Master Teaching Artist and Vice-President of the American Eurhythmics Society. Dr. Butke is one of the co-founders of AES, formed in 2014. AES provides training for music educators throughout the world, offering summer training courses and workshops. Dr. Butke has presented Dalcroze Eurhythmics workshops throughout the United States, as well as in China, Croatia, England, the Netherlands, Spain and Vietnam. Professional national/international conference presentations include AES, AMIS, ACDA, AOSA, NAfME, and OAKE. Her degrees are from Miami University (BME), Wright State University (MME), and The Ohio State University (PHD). Former academic positions include Professor of Music at Ashland University, and adjunct professor at Otterbein, Capital, and Xavier Universities where she has taught general music methods, conducting, choral methods, and directed various choral ensembles. Dr. Butke has written numerous journal articles and book chapters on the topics of eurhythmics, assessment, and teacher reflection. Dr. Butke has co-authored two books with Dr. David Frego, “Meaningful Movement: A Music Teacher’s Guide to Dalcroze Eurhythmics” published by Music is Elementary (2016) and “Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the Choral Classroom” published by Hal Leonard (2021).

David Frego

David Frego is a past president of the American Eurhythmics Society and the Dalcroze Society of America, and regularly presents workshops on Dalcroze Eurhythmics throughout the globe. Frego has published book chapters, DVDs, books, and articles in both music education journals and medical journals for arts medicine. Meaningful Movement: A Music Teacher’s Guide to Dalcroze Eurhythmics was co-authored with Dr. Marla Butke.

Orff Schulwerk is “Music for Children”, a way to teach and learn music using poems, rhymes, games, songs, and dances as basic materials. The Schulwerk was created by composers Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman in Europe. The emphasis is on students as improvisers and performers. It is the most exciting way to teach and learn music. The University of Kentucky has offered Schulwerk certification for teachers for over twenty years, taught by a most prestigious team of master teachers.  These training courses, if taken for credits, can be used to count towards a Graduate Certificate in Orff Schulwerk and a MM degree concentrating in Orff Schulwerk.

2025 Classes

Level I

Two weeks
Monday – Saturday (Thursday off for Juneteenth), June 16–21, 2025
Monday – Friday, June 23–27, 2025
8:15am–4:15pm

Available for university credit

In Person
Room 107, Fine Arts Building, Lexington, KY
$675
Cap for Level 1: 24

Level III

Two weeks
Monday – Saturday (Thursday off for Juneteenth), June 16–21, 2025
Monday – Friday, June 23–27, 2025
8:15am–4:15pm

Available for university credit

In Person
Room 107, Fine Arts Building, Lexington, KY
$675
Cap for Level 3: 16

Please Note: All summer programs now have an additional non-refundable $25 operating fee applied at time of registration.

Seats are limited! Not all courses may be available during registration if seats have filled. The price listed is for PD hours. If you are interested in taking any of these courses for university credit, please contact martina.vasil@uky.edu; there are additional costs per university credit. Campus housing options are available for double suites and private rooms. Course content follows the curriculum approved by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. There is a lunch break between morning and afternoon sessions and small breaks between sessions.

Materials

Some study materials are required to complete all three levels of the program. While these materials are specific, students may feel free to source them wherever is most convenient and cost effective. If students already have these materials from completing previous levels, there is no need to purchase it a second or third time.

Orff Level 1 Materials

Required

• Music for Children, Vol. I 
• Rhythmische Ubung 
• Creative Dance for All Ages, 2nd ed.
• Sweet Pipes Recorder Book, Soprano Book 1
• Descants in Consort 
• Duet Time, Book 2
• Choose One Soprano Recorder
  • Yamaha YRS-302B Soprano Recorder
  • Yamaha YRS-402B Soprano Recorder

Recommended

• Elementaria
• Play, Sing, & Dance: An Introduction to Orff Schulwerk by Doug Goodkin 
• The Elemental Style, 2nd edition Cribari & Layton 
• Staff notation paper/software

Orff Level 3 Materials

Required

• Music for Children, Vol. I
• Music for Children, Vol. II 
• Music for Children, Vol. IV
• Rhythmische Ubung (Rhythmic Exercises)
• Creative Dance for All Ages, 2nd ed.
• The Recorder Consort 1
• Choose One Soprano Recorder
  • Yamaha YRS-302B Soprano Recorder
  • Yamaha YRS-402B Soprano Recorder
• Choose One Alto Recorder
  • Yamaha YRA-302B Alto Recorder
  • Yamaha YRA-402B Alto Recorder

Recommended

• Spielbuch fur Xylophon II
• Spielbuch fur Xylophon III
• Elementaria
• Staff notation paper/software

We have partnered with West Music for books and other materials for these courses. Use the promo code UKY24 for free shipping (with a $49.95 purchase). Please place your order by May 31 so it arrives to you before the course starts. Order Now

Please note that hard copies of notes will not be available for purchase this year. All notes will be digital.

Registration Deadline: May 15, 2025

Orff Faculty

Betsy (Kipperman) Sebring

Betsy (Kipperman) Sebring teaches PreK–5 music at St. Patrick’s Episcopal School in Washington, DC. She has taught Orff-Schulwerk certification courses around the country, including George Mason University and the University of Kentucky. Ms. Kipperman completed terms as past president of her local Orff Chapter as well as Region Representative of AOSA’s National Board of Trustees. She completed the year-long Special Course at the Orff Institute in 2011.

Diana Hawley

Diana Hawley has worked alongside students and teachers as a music educator, instructional coach, and curriculum coordinator in public, international, and charter schools for over twenty years. Currently, as an Instructional Design Strategist: Access & Inclusion in the Iowa City Community School District, Diana supports teachers, curriculum coordinators, school counselors, and district leaders as they aim to foster spaces of inclusion in all junior high and high school electives. Diana finds Orff Schulwerk to be a resonant and resilient approach to music and movement education. Outside of the school year, Diana teaches levels (I & II) and curriculum courses in Orff Schulwerk at the University of Kentucky, University of St. Thomas (MN), and George Mason University (VA). Diana co-edited and authored Artful-Playful-Mindful in Action: Orff-Schulwerk Classroom Projects for a New Generation of Learners (2015) and serves on the editorial board of The Orff Echo, the national, peer-reviewed journal and philosophical voice of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. Diana is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Music Education at Boston University.

Laura Bercaw Petersen

Laura Bercaw Petersen teaches general and choral music in Washington, D.C. Laura earned her BS MUED from Gettysburg College and completed her MM MUED at George Mason University. She holds Level III and Master Class certifications in Orff Schulwerk from George Mason University and has studied at the Orff Institut in Salzburg, Austria. Laura teaches movement in AOSA-approved summer teacher education courses and is an invited presenter both locally and nationally. In addition to serving on her local MAC-AOSA board, she served as Region IV Representative on the National Board of Trustees of AOSA. She currently serves as the National Conference Chair for the 2025 AOSA Conference.

Mona Mann

Mona Mann currently teaches general music in River Forest, Illinois. She holds an undergraduate degree at Indiana University in Flute and French, as well as a performance certificate from the Conservatoire National in Strasbourg, France and a Master’s in Music Education from Northern Illinois University. Mrs. Mann has presented workshops in the Midwest, and at the AOSA National Conference, as well as for the Junior Music Educators conference in northern Illinois. Additionally, she teaches recorder at the Early Music Festival in Whitewater, Wisconsin. She is certified in Suzuki Recorder Units 1 through 4.

Modern Band is a new school based music program that utilizes popular music as its central canon. Modern band teaches students to perform the music they know and love and to compose and improvise. Styles that are studied include rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, rhythm & blues, electronic dance music, and other contemporary styles as they emerge. Modern Band also utilizes (but is not limited to) the musical instruments that are common to these genres: guitar, bass, drums, piano, voice and technology. Millions of school-age children currently attend schools in districts that offer Modern Band classes as a part of their standard in-school music programming. In addition, one million children attend schools in districts that have piloted large-scale popular music programming, but have yet to codify those classes into distinct, official courses. Programs like these have been rapidly unifying behind the Modern Band moniker as a means of making popular music programs more systemic, scalable and sustainable.

2025 Workshop

Modern Band

4 Days
Monday – Thursday, June 23–26, 2025
9am–4pm

In Person
Room 212 of the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library, Lexington, KY
$400
Cap: 25

Registration Deadline: March 15, 2025

Modern Band Faculty

Martina Vasil

Martina Vasil is Associate Professor of Music Education and Director of Summer Music Education Programs at the University of Kentucky. She teaches undergraduate courses in elementary music methods and modern band and graduate courses in music education research and Orff. Martina has 20 years of teaching experience, 14 with K–6 general music. She is an Orff certified teacher and has World Music Drumming Level 1 and Dalcroze and modern band training. Martina is passionate about creating relevant, active, engaging, and creative musical experiences for children which has driven her work in popular music education throughout her career.

David Dockan

David Dockan graduated from West Virginia University Manga Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education in May 2016. From 2016–2018 he taught elementary music and choir at North Elementary in Prince George County, VA. From 2018–2021, he was the Choir Director/Music Teacher at JEJ Moore Middle School in Prince George, VA. He is Orff-Schulwerk certified through Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and has a Masters of Music in Music Education at Kent State University. In August of 2021, he started the PhD in Music Education at the University of Kentucky. At the university, he teaches MUS 266, supervises student teachers, and helps run the community music group, New Horizons.

Workshop Fees

These fees cover the instructor, space, and material costs for the Music Education department to run our summer programs. All summer programs now have an additional non-refundable $25 operating fee applied at time of registration as a separate charge for easier records keeping. Prices do not include housing or optional graduate credit tuition; keep reading for more information on housing and tuition.

• Orff Schulwerk Levels 1 or 3: $675
• Dalcroze, Beginner or Intermediate: $475
• Modern Band: $400

Please note that hard copies of notes will not be available for purchase. All notes will be digital.

Tuition for Graduate Credit:

University graduate credit is an additional tuition cost paid to the UK Graduate School. University credit is ONLY available for Orff and Dalcroze training, and optional for those not currently pursuing a graduate degree or certificate. Attendees opting to receive graduate credit pay in-state tuition. For questions contact martina.vasil@uky.edu.

Housing

Option 1: North Campus Dormitories. Suites are two rooms with doors that lock and a shared common area and bathroom. Rooms come with a closet, desk, and chair. Common area has a mini-fridge, microwave, and sinks. Attendees are paired with a same-gendered participant unless a specific roommate is requested. Those who do not wish to share a room may pay a private rate to have a suite to themselves. UK Housing cannot be booked for only M-F for each week of the course.  The weekend must be included.  For reservations and questions contact martina.vasil@uky.edu.

2024 Dorm Prices

• 2-Bedroom Suite (Shared) Nightly Rate = $37 
• 2-Bedroom Suite (Private) Nightly Rate = $74

Linens (i.e., bedsheets, towels) add $10 per night

• 12 nights shared suite, no linens= $444
• 12 nights shared suite, with linens= $564
• 12 nights private suite, no linens = $888
• 12 nights private suite, with linens = $1,008
• 6 nights shared suite, no linens = $222
• 6 nights shared suite, with linens = $282
• 6 nights private suite, no linens = $444
• 6 nights private suite, with linens = $504
• 4 nights shared suite, no linens = $148
• 4 nights shared suite, with linens = $188
• 4 nights private suite, no linens = $296
• 4 nights private suite, with linens = $336

Option 2: Hotels
Lexington has a multitude of hotels of all price levels, including extended stay hotels with kitchenette suites to allow you to prepare your own meals. A hotel inside New Circle Road will allow quickest access to campus, but during the summer traffic in Lexington is pleasant even at rush hour so any location within Fayette County would be fine.

Option 3: Vacation Rentals
If you do not want to use the dorms, please consider using any of the popular vacation rental services. Many locations in and around Lexington are listed on these apps. Past participants have found success staying at people’s homes through these services. You can often rent entire homes and split the cost among several people.

Deadlines

All registrations close after May 15, 2025. Registration for 2025 opens December 15th!

If you have any questions about these programs, please contact Dr. Martina Vasil: martina.vasil@uky.edu, 859-257-8203.