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Florida State / College of Music / Areas of Study / Music Education / Orff-Schulwerk / Instructors
Instructors
• Dr. Suzanne Byrnes, Director
Dr. Suzanne Rita Byrnes is a member of the Music Education faculty at FSU. Dr. Byrnes directs the FSU Capital Children's Choir, directs the Summer Orff Schulwerk workshop, and teaches a variety of courses including the children's choir internship and music in early childhood. Dr. Byrnes received her PhD from FSU in 1994.
Previously, Dr. Byrnes directed the Kansas City Children's Chorus for 12 years, taught Choral Arranging, and was a guest lecturer in many classes at the Conservatory at UMKC. She also managed and taught in her Kindermusik® studio at UMKC for 8 years.
She is French-Canadian and hails from Ottawa, Canada where she taught at École Secondaire De-La-Salle in the Arts Concentration program. There, she headed up the choral, band, and orchestra programs and also participated in the drama program productions.
Dr. Byrnes has studied choral conducting with Dr. Fred Stoltzfus (University of Illinois, formerly at McGill University), Dr. André Thomas (FSU), Dr. Judy Bowers (FSU), Rodney Eichenberger (FSU), Jon Washburn (Vancouver Chamber Choir), James Jordan (Westminster Choir College), and Frauke Haasemann (Westminster Choir College, now deceased). She also studied instrumental and choral arranging with Canadian composer, Donald Patriquin.
• Dr. Carla Cose-Giallella, Level I Instructor
Our instructor for Level I, Carla Cose-Giallella, currently is the Performing Arts and Music Chair and Lower School music specialist at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, Arizona. She is an active clinician presenting workshops at the local, regional, and national level and also teaches the Orff Schulwerk level courses at Arizona State University and Florida State University. Dr. Giallella holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Iowa State University, a Masters of Music degree from University of Arizona, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in music education with an emphasis in early childhood music from Arizona State University. Dr. Giallella is past Region II Representative to the AOSA National Board, and is past president of the Arizona Orff-Schulwerk Association.
• Karen Blooding, Recorder Instructor
Named as Tennessee's 2005 Teacher of the Year, Karen Blooding has taught elementary general music in Tennessee for 23 years, and currently serves as a vocal general music specialist and choral director at Bradley Arts Academy in Murfreesboro's City School System. Bradley is a K-6 school. She has also taught, and continues to teach music education methods courses part-time as an adjunct faculty member of the Middle Tennessee State University School of Music for the past 17 years. Prior to working at Bradley Academy, Ms. Blooding served as music instructor for the K-6 university campus laboratory school for 14 years, including mentoring pre-service teachers in music education.
Ms. Blooding has conducted children's choir festivals around the Southeast region such as the Tennessee All-State Treble Honor Choir and Elementary Mass Choir Festivals. Her choral conducting background includes 11 years as the director of the children's choirs at First United Methodist Church, Murfreesboro, and 20 years directing school children's choirs. She has served as the Tennessee ACDA Chair for Children's Choir Repertoire and Standards as well as the General Music Chair for Tennessee Music Educators Association, coordinating and adjudicating auditions for honor choirs and presenting children's choir workshops. Ms. Blooding has also prepared children's choral ensembles to perform in musical theatre and opera theatre productions including Hansel and Gretel, The Sound of Music, and most recently, Captain Louie Jr.
Ms. Blooding is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Music, and holds certificates in Orff-Schulwerk Levels I, II, and III. In addition to presenting numerous music education workshops for teachers, she has served as the recorder instructor for Florida State University's Orff Levels I and II summer courses for the past six years.
Majoring in vocal performance, she completed three years of her undergraduate work at Colorado State University as well as several hours taken at Southern Methodist University. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in voice and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Middle Tennessee State University.
• Linda O'Donnell, Level II Instructor
Linda O'Donnell teaches K-5 general music at the South School in Andover, MA. In addition she conducts the South Side Singers and the South School Chorus. She is the director of the Children's Choir at Old South Church in Boston, and the former Director of Youth Choirs at South Church in Andover. Ms. O'Donnell has conducted choral performances at the MMEA All State Conference, the Massachusetts State House, Fanuile Hall, the Methuen Memorial Organ Hall, the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Vernon, and many other venues throughout greater Boston.
Ms. O'Donnell earned a MM from the New England Conservatory and a BM from the University of Lowell, where she also earned her Level III Orff certification. She has completed advanced study in Orff Schulwerk at the University of St. Thomas and at George Mason University.
Ms. O'Donnell is a frequent presenter of choral and Orff-Schulwerk workshops at the local, state, and national levels. She is past president of the New England Chapter of AOSA and is currently serving on the New England Conservatory Alumni Council. Linda is a 2009 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Finalist.
