Katharine Finlayson is the president of Kodály ACT. She has been a primary music specialist teacher for 38 years and her programs are based on the Kodály philosophy, reflecting her passion for singing. In 2011 Katharine received a National Award for Excellence in School Music Education. In 2016 Katharine was awarded the AKC in Primary Music and she also achieved Certification as a Lead Teacher with AITSL, renewed in 2021. In 2022 Katharine was honoured to receive an Award for Excellence in Mentoring by the Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia.
Katharine held the role of Executive Teacher, Professional Practice for Music and the Arts for the Education Directorate, ACT from 2014 – 2022. Katharine worked with a large number of classroom and specialist music teachers, increasing their capacity to deliver Kodály based music education programs to their classes. Katharine established the ACT Primary Concert Choir in 2014 and the ACT Senior Concert Choir in 2017. In 2023 she was the Artistic Director and Vocal Director of Step Into the Limelight, the ACT Education Directorate’s Gala performing arts showcase.
Day 3: Wednesday
| Time | Title |
|---|---|
| Session 5: 15.00 | The Essence of Kodály: How Singing Inspires and Unites Us. |
| Zoltan Kodály stated: ‘If one were to attempt to express the essence of this education in one word, it could only be singing’.
Kodály inspired teaching has singing at its core whether we are moving, thinking, learning, playing or performing. How can we best inspire our students to sing with beauty in their voices and joy in their hearts? In this interactive workshop we will discover and experience the power of singing together. We will explore a range of repertoire including works by First Nations, female and gender diverse composers as we think deeply about what singing is and what singing does. The workshop will include information about supporting young singers of all ages and examples of repertoire for use in the preschool and primary music classroom as well as choral repertoire for young people in high school choirs. The workshop will include repertoire from the Dhungala Choral Connection Songbook by Deborah Cheetham and Jessica Hitchcock and ways in which this repertoire can be included in a Kodály inspired program. I look forward to singing with you and sharing the essence of what makes the Kodály concept powerful and meaningful to our students. |
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