Why Complete Your Orff-Schulwerk Levels at Etown?
The Orff-Schulwerk levels offered at Elizabethtown College are designed for music educators — including elementary and middle school teachers as well as choral and general music instructors who are eager to elevate their teaching methods and classroom engagement. Endorsed by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), these levels provide hands-on learning in the core components of the globally recognized Orff approach. Participants will develop creativity, musicianship, and effective teaching strategies to meet the growing demand for innovative and inclusive music education.
These Orff-Schulwerk levels are also offered as three-credit electives within the Master of Music Education (MME) program.
How to Apply to Orff-Schulwerk Courses
Getting started with Etown’s Orff-Schulwerk coursework is simple. Etown offers several pathways into Orff-Schulwerk study, so you can choose the option that best fits your goals and experience.
Explore the core principles of the Orff-Schulwerk approach — an energetic, hands-on way of teaching music and movement. This introductory course gives educators practical ideas and ready-to-use classroom strategies grounded in rhythmic speech, vocal exploration, improvisation, composition, folk dance, and creative movement. Participants will also engage directly with recorders, Orff barred instruments, and unpitched percussion to experience the approach the way students do.
Format: Hybrid. One-week, in-person mornings June 22–July 3, 2026, from 8 a.m.– Noon, plus a 5-hour asynchronous follow-up module to reinforce key concepts, offered through Etown Edge — Elizabethtown College’s flexible, online continuing-education platform offering customized training to help working professionals build real, career-ready skills on their own schedule.
Cost: $150
Apply Now
Explore the fundamentals of the Orff-Schulwerk approach, a dynamic and hands-on approach to teaching music and movement. This course offers practical lesson ideas and resources that participants can immediately apply in their own classrooms with current students. Throughout the course, participants will actively engage with key components of the Orff approach, including rhythmic speech, vocal exploration, composition, improvisation, folk dancing, and creative movement. Additionally, there will be opportunities to play the recorder, Orff (barred) instruments, and various unpitched percussion instruments.
Format: Hybrid. One-week, in-person mornings June 22–July 3, 2026, from 8 a.m.– Noon, plus a 5-hour asynchronous follow-up module to reinforce key concepts, offered through Etown Edge — Elizabethtown College’s flexible, online continuing-education platform offering customized training to help working professionals build real, career-ready skills on their own schedule.
Cost: $40
Apply NowOrff-Schulwerk Coursework
Orff levels I-III each include two weeks of professionally and personally enriching in-person instruction with certified AOSA instructors during the summer. Candidates can complete one level per summer. This year, Etown will be offering Intro to Orff from June 22-June 26, 2026.
Study Topics:
- Utilize the media of singing, saying, dancing, and playing to facilitate active music classes and ensembles.
- Articulate the concept of elemental music and movement and how this concept supports student learning.
- Facilitate music classes that are curricularly sound.
- Connect the Orff-Schulwerk practices with peacebuilding concepts and implement them to create a classroom community of support, hard work, and high expectations.
- Differentiate lesson planning and instruction to meet the needs of different abilities within an active music classroom.
Advance in Your Music Education Career
The Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Education levels empower educators with practical, hands-on skills to transform classroom instruction. Grounded in the Orff approach, levels focus on the application of pedagogy, recorder, and movement to foster creativity, engagement, and a deeper understanding of music. Educators will gain the tools to introduce innovative, curricularly sound practices into their classrooms.
Understand Tuition Costs and Explore Scholarship Opportunities
Completing the Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Education levels for graduate credits or as electives within the Master of Music Education (MME) program are priced at $525 per credit. Completing an Orff-Schulwerk level without graduate credit has a cost of $625 per level. Scholarships and financial aid are available to make your Etown SGPS education even more affordable. Below are just a few of the scholarships and programs available to students:
- Alumni Scholarship: 15% tuition discount, available to Elizabethtown College alumni.
- Affinity Partner Scholarship: 15% discount, offered to employees of organizations partnered with Etown SGPS.
- Jay Fellowship Referral Program: This is a referral program that benefits both current students/alumni and prospective students. When a student or alum refers a new student, both the referrer and the referred student receive a complimentary credit for their program of interest.
Tuition and fees are reviewed and subject to change annually.
Tuition & AidMy MME degree and experience in Orff have moved my vision of ‘mattering in the music room’ forward, creating a space where my students experience belonging through singing, moving, playing, and creating. My teaching would not be the same without my master’s degree and Orff experience.
Meet the Program Director
Lisa Sempsey
Director of Orff Programming
Lisa Sempsey is a veteran educator of 19 years and has taught kindergarten through sixth grade general music, elementary choruses, as well as elementary and middle school strings in Lower Dauphin and Conestoga Valley School Districts, as well as been the Artistic Director and Prelude Choir Director for the Children’s Choir of Lancaster from 2005-2012. Currently, she teaches kindergarten through sixth grade general music, chorus, and Orff, Drum & Strum Ensemble in Columbia Borough School District. She also serves as the K-12 Art & Music Curriculum Coordinator for the district.
Mrs. Sempsey is a clinician, workshop presenter, and public school educator who loves to share and collaborate with her colleagues. She has presented workshops at the local, regional, and national levels across Pennsylvania and in Texas with sessions covering topics including classroom management, choral reading sessions, technology in the music classroom, movement and music curricular connections, Kodály Pedagogy in the modern elementary music class, curriculum development, lesson planning, and Orff-Schulwerk inspired elements in K-6 music classes. She is also a freelance violist who enjoys playing in contemporary orchestral settings.
