Holy Family College graduate music program finds new home at Lakeland
Lakeland University is the new home to the internationally known Master of Music in Music Education with a Kodály Emphasis that was started and offered for many years by Holy Family College (formerly Silver Lake College of the Holy Family).
Holy Family/Silver Lake, which closed at the end of the summer, was one of the first institutions to offer a master’s degree in Kodály education, and the program has enjoyed a reputation of excellence.
Lakeland recently received approval from the Higher Learning Commission to offer the Master of Music in Music Education – Kodaly Emphasis program as part of its graduate offerings. Lakeland’s program will also offer the Kodaly Certificate Program, which will continue to be endorsed by The Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE).
Lakeland is working with students currently enrolled in the program so they can finish their degree, as well as welcoming new students who can begin their coursework in June of 2021.
The 34-credit master’s program offers an attractive format, especially for music educators, who can earn a Master of Music in Music Education with a Kodály emphasis in just four summers. Students who earn the master’s degree also will earn the OAKE endorsed Kodaly Certificate.
Graduate students have the option of earning a Kodály certification in just three summers without completing the master’s. Students who complete the methods coursework, built into both the master’s and certificate programs, will earn FAME certificates which are awarded by the Feierabend Association for Music Education.
The Kodály method is an approach to music education developed in Hungary during the mid-twentieth century by composer Zoltán Kodály.
This master’s program was created at Silver Lake College by Sister Lorna Zemke, music professor emeritus at Holy Family College. She is internationally regarded as a top scholar/practitioner and Kodály music educator.
“We are truly honored to receive this special program and we look forward to honoring the vision of Sister Lorna,” said Lakeland President David Black. “Music is an important part of Lakeland’s long history, from the summer music camp we’ve hosted for more than 60 years to the legacies of influential music faculty members like Henry Ellerbusch, Edgar Thiessen, Lew Schmidt and Janet Herrick.”
One of the Master of Music program’s strengths is its faculty. The program will retain the same faculty, including John Feierabend, a past president of the Organization of American Kodály Educators who is considered one of the leading authorities on music and movement development in childhood.
“Following in Sister Lorna's footsteps, our faculty challenge students in the classroom while preparing them for their classroom,” said Rachel Ware Carlton, who managed this program at Holy Family and is now serving as Lakeland’s director of graduate music. “Our students will tell you that this program is intense, but it truly changes the way they teach. We take a joyful approach to learning that inspires and rewards our students that is unique.
“With the various platforms we have at Lakeland for students to access courses online, as well as Lakeland’s facilities on its main campus, we are already discussing new opportunities that will help this program continue to grow.”
Lakeland’s program will also offer the Orff Schulwerk Certification Program. This two-week program offers educators the opportunity to develop an understanding of the teaching and learning process using the Orff Schulwerk approach to music and movement. Conducted in a joyful and upbeat atmosphere, students will study technique and improvisation, analysis and arranging, pedagogy, movement and recorder as required by the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA).
Orff Schulwerk Certification students can choose to earn three graduate credits or register for a non-credit bearing workshop. Credits earned in the Orff Schulwerk Certification program may be applied to the Master of Music in Music Education - Kodaly Emphasis degree.
Financial aid opportunities are available for students enrolled in the master’s program, and Lakeland will offer scholarships to students in the Master of Music in Music Education – Kodaly Emphasis, Kodaly Certificate and Orff Schulwerk Certification programs.
For more information or to learn more about applying for the program, contact Rachel Ware Carlton at CarltonRJ@lakeland.edu.
