NC Music Educator Journal - Conference 2023

and internationally, has focused on cross-cultural competence and
culturally responsive pedagogy in music, and has been published in
top-tier music research journals. In 2017 and 2019, she participated
in the Yale Symposium on Music in Schools and contributed to the
2017 symposium document, Declaration on Equity in Music for City
Students.
Cultural Relevancy: Incorporating Popular Music
into the Curriculum
Increase engagement in the classroom, build relationships with
students, and make the learning experience more vigorous and fun for
both the teacher and the student. The students we serve have heard
every rhythm we need to teach them, and this session will explore how
to use this knowledge to put a name and a symbol to the music that is
already in students’ heads. During this session, participants will learn
methods to teacher quarter notes in 4/4, syncopated rhythms, and
everything in between using music students are familiar with. We will
also create compositions in the hip hop/pop genre that can be used
with students to help teach rhythmic notation and pitch recognition.
This session is geared toward elementary and early middle school
music teachers, but can also be used for K – 12.
Preston Kendall
Preston Kendall’s musical journey began at eight when his father
began teaching him to play the trumpet; he hasn’t put his horn down
since. Before becoming an educator, he toured internationally with the
off-Broadway production of DrumLine Live as a trumpeter, but he gets
his real fulfillment from educating the future musicians of the world.
He holds a Bachelor of Music from UNC Greensboro, and a Master
of School Administration from UNC Charlotte. He taught for seven
years in Guilford County as an elementary general music teacher and
a middle school choral director. He also served as the lead elementary
music specialist for the district, an equity coach with the office of
equity diversity and inclusion, and a professional development
facilitator for arts integration within the district. He has been teaching
in Charlotte since 2019 at River Oaks Academy, where he is the
elementary music specialist.
Boomwhacker Fun
Do you need some refreshing, fun activities for your classroom?
Interested in using Boomwhackers but don’t know where to start?
This session features classroom games to teach musical concepts
such as rhythm, harmony, form, and ensemble with Boomwhackers.
Boomwhacker literature for concert programs, and how to make
ancillary Boomwhackers will also be presented.
Ran Whitley
Ran Whitley is a professor of music education at Campbell
University, where he holds the Alma Dark Howard Endowed
Chair of Music. His course offerings at Campbell include music
theory, elementary music methods, and children’s music ministry.
He earned the D.M. in music ministry from Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary, as well as a Ph.D. in music education from
UNC Greensboro. He holds current teacher licensure in N.C. in both
music education and ESL. His Orff training includes Orff Levels I-III
and the Orff Master Class from the University of Memphis. He has
over 40 years of experience in elementary music, including public
school teaching, children’s music ministry, theory/counterpoint
instruction, and teacher education. Some of his publications include
Orff orchestrations, hand-held instrument accompaniments and
Boomwhacker arrangements with Macie Publishing Company. Several
of his recent articles have been featured in The Orff Echo.
Let’s Get Moving: Transitions in the Music Room
Whether changing from one activity to the next, or shifting from
instruments to movement, transitions are an opportunity to create
harmony with students and build community. In our time together,
we will move, dance, and reflect on ways to embed meaningful
transitions. Come to this session to learn how to make each moment
in your lessons purposeful and impactful.
Kelly Poquette
Dr. Kelly Poquette is a veteran educator with certifications from
the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and the Feierabend
Association of Music Education. She has received accolades at the
district, regional, and state level, including being named the 2021
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Piedmont-Triad Region Teacher of the
Year. Over her career, she has taught all grades PreK – 12 and currently
serves as the K – 5 music educator at the Alamance Virtual School in
the Alamance-Burlington School System in Burlington. In each class,
her students sing, say, dance, play, and create in a tuneful, beautiful,
and artful way.
Accessible and Inclusive Music Education for
Neurodivergent Students
All students deserve access to high-quality arts instruction. This
includes the participation of our Exceptional Children (those in
special education) in visual art, dance, theatre, and music programs.
Ensuring all students are included in arts education requires that we
prepare our arts educators and equip them with the tools necessary
to support the needs of their students. Using North Carolina’s
Comprehensive Arts Education Framework, we are excited to share
the ways we provide wrap-around services for students in arts
education, arts integration, and arts exposure. Our session will help
music educators understand why meeting the needs of neurodivergent
students is important, as well as how teachers in the field are
supporting these students. The session includes hands-on interaction
and group music-making with adaptive materials.
Evelyn Snyder
Evelyn Snyder is the music educator at the Bonnie Springer School
on the campus of the Murdoch Development Center in Butner. She
teaches K – 8 general music, as well as 9 – 12 music appreciation,
instrumental ensembles, and private lessons to students with
intellectual and developmental disabilities paired with behavioral
challenges and/or mental illness. She is a member of NCMEA,
NAfME, and ASTA. She holds a Master of Education in instructional
technology from East Carolina University, and a Bachelor of Music in
violin performance from UNC Greensboro.
Literacy INHERENT in Music Education
Literacy is on the mind of every administrator, but we know that
literacy processes, like listening, viewing, speaking, reading, and
writing are embedded in our classrooms in English language, music
notation, and response. Processes like phonemic awareness (moving
a consonant cluster in the lyrics to the beginning of the next note or
inventing new rhymes to a song lyric), orthography (representing
sound with written symbols), teaching music terminology, and gaining
Music at Charlotte
UPTOWN PERFORMANCES EXCITING GUEST ARTISTS
Charlie Parker at The Jazz Room Composer/Performer Pamela Z
Backstage at the Eagles concert
@clt_coaa
BOLD IDEAS.
BIG CITY.
COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS
Carlisle Floyd’s opera, Susannah
Holocaust Remembrance Day Concert
At UNC Charlotte, studies go beyond the
university and into Charlotte's creative community.
With bold ideas and broad connections, our talented
faculty, students, and alumni are shaping the civic
imagination of this fast-growing city.
Renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis
music.charlotte.edu
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