Submitted by Darcy Morrissey, Youth R&R Coordinator “Off the Risers,” the first workshop collaboration between the Evergreen Orff Chapter and Washington ACDA, was a success, connecting forty-five music educators with the resourceful Saxon Inabnit, an expert in applying the Orff philosophy to the choral setting. Saxon’s fresh take on the traditional choir rehearsal was innovative and engaging. A few highlights included: speaking and moving to the lyrics of a choral piece in order to gain understanding and bring text expression to the forefront; choosing formations, movement, and dances to highlight the musical form resulting in terrific group collaboration opportunities and providing a unique visual performance that could be performed alongside choral presentation; and combining drumming, movement, and singing to push musicianship and teamwork to another level. Special thank you to Patty Bourne and Western Washington University for hosting the event as well as to Katie Brizuela and the efficient and organized Orff board for their administrative and logistic work. Finally, thank you to Brad Mastrangelo from J.W.Pepper for providing the choral reading session packets.
Washington ACDA 