I have extensive experience writing and designing curricula for learners ranging from kindergarteners to graduate students and beyond. If you have questions about curriculum-writing or are interested in hiring me to consult on a project, please contact me.
Most of the downloadable resources on this page legally belong to the organizations that commissioned me to write them. Thanks to their gracious permission, I can let you peruse them. Please understand that I am posting these resources for educational purposes. Any requests to reprint, license, or use these resources for any means other than “fair use” as defined by U. S. and international copyright law must be directed to me and the organizations that published these documents.
Okay, now that we got that legal disclaimer out of the way, let’s get to the goods!
New York Philharmonic Resources:
Pathways to the Orchestra, Second Edition:
Pathways to the Orchestra is the curriculum of the New York Philharmonic’s Philharmonic Schools. This resource was written and refined by Teaching Artists and classroom teachers from 1994-2009, and is still in practice. These are tried-and-true units. As a project manager, editor, and lead writer, I’m hardly objective, but in my opinion, this curriculum is as good as orchestra education gets, folks.
Pathways to the Orchestra Level 1 Discovering Orchestral Music
Pathways to the Orchestra Level 2 The Composer’s Process
Pathways to the Orchestra Level 3 Exploring Orchestral Masterworks
Very Young Composers Handbook:
From 2004-2014 I helped children compose and orchestrate their own original works for chamber ensembles and for full orchestras as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers and Composers Bridge programs. The linked Very Young Composers Handbook contains some of the best practices of our team of Teaching Artists, including Paola Prestini, Richard Carrick, Daniel Felsenfeld, James Blachly, Justin Hines, Avery Griffin, and Very Young Composers Founder and Advocate, Jon Deak.
Carnegie Hall Resources:
For two years, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute hosted the Fisk Jubilee Singers. I enjoyed the privilege of designing curricula for extended, collaborative Teaching Artist residencies for the middle-school and high-school audiences. The first year’s theme of “Spirituals and Anthems of Freedom” also includes lessons on Michael Tippett’s secular oratorio, A Child of Our Time. The second year, “Uniting Voices,” explores themes of unity and ways we can apply the idea of spirituals to contemporary realities.
Spirituals and Anthems of Freedom: The Fisk Jubilee Singers (Teachers’ Guide)
Spirituals and Anthems of Freedom: The Fisk Jubilee Singers (Choral Directors’ Guide)