Music's Role In Special Needs Kids' Lives To Be Discussed

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A workshop is scheduled early next month focusing on ways teachers and parents can best provide inclusive music classes for students with special needs.

Free and open to the public, the workshop is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. April 7 at Orpheus Academy of Music, 3918-C Far West Blvd. Dr. Judith Jellison, Distinguished Teaching Professor in Music and Human Learning at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, will present ideas and facilitate conversations between parents and teachers about how to meet the diverse needs of students in private and group music lesson settings — to develop effective practices for flexible, inclusive music programs that foster self-determination and beneficial peer interactions that allow children with special needs to participate happily and successfully in meaningful music experiences in their homes, schools, and communities, organizers said.

"When Orpheus Academy of Music hosted this workshop for the first time six years ago, parents and teachers reported it was extremely effective at bringing teachers and parents together in advocating for the needs of students with special needs in our community," officials said.

In terms of its format, the workshop will feature a presentation at the beginning of the event in which Jellison will outline ideas and include interactive activities — a portion of the workshop that will take roughly 45 minutes. After that, conversation will follow between families and teachers.

ABOUT ORPHEUS ACADEMY OF MUSIC

• Orpheus Academy of Music has been providing exceptional music lessons and group classes to adults and children of all ages for 15 years.
• Orpheus Academy of Music’s programs help children learn the value of music in a creative, positive and nurturing atmosphere that inspires students to reach their fullest potential.
• In October 2018, over 500 students and 25 faculty performed at the One World Theatre to celebrate Orpheus Academy of Music’s 15th anniversary.
• Orpheus Academy of Music was founded by Klondike Steadman and his wife Wendy Kuo.
• Orpheus is a leader in music curricula and our Adventures Through Sound methods are presented regularly at National Conferences and used around the country.
• 40 Austin Orpheus Academy of Music students traveled to NYC in June 2018 to perform at Carnegie Hall.

About Dr. Judith Jellison

Jellison is the Mary D. Bold Regents Professor of Music and University Distinguished Teaching Professor in Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin. A devoted advocate for children’s quality music experiences, her career began as a choral and instrumental public school music teacher in classrooms with widely diverse populations of children and as a music therapist in hospital settings. These early experiences shaped her philosophy of inclusive education, guiding her later work in higher education, first as founder and Director of Music Therapy at The University of Minnesota and now as a Distinguished Teacher of Music and Human Learning at UT. An active clinician and contributor to professional organizations in music education and music therapy, she is the recipient of the Senior Researcher Award from The National Association for Music Education and the Publication Award from the American Music Therapy Association. Her publications appear in premiere journals, and her recent book Including Everyone: Creating Music Classrooms Where All Children Learn is published by Oxford University Press.