INSTRUCTORS
PEDAGOGY - RECORDER - MOVEMENT
Juliana Cantarelli Vita, Ph.D. - LEVEL 1 PEDAGOGY
Juliana Cantarelli Vita is a musician, music educator, and ethnomusicologist from Recife, Brazil, where she obtained her B.M. in Music Education at the Federal University of Pernambuco and a Violin Performance Artist Diploma at the Pernambucano Conservatory. She obtained a M.M. in Music Education at West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology/Music Education at the University of Washington. After a decade preparing the new generation of music educators in higher education, she has returned full-time to the K-5 world and currently teaches at The Bush School in Seattle, WA.
Blending her diverse interests and focus on cultural awareness, children’s community of music practice, and Brazilian traditions, she has presented at several AOSA National Conferences and served as a reviewer on the Editorial Board of The Orff Echo journal. She took her levels at the Eastman School of Music and at the San Francisco International Orff Course.
Beyond the Schulwerk world, she served as director and faculty of the Smithsonian Folkways Course in World Music Pedagogy, as co-chair of the Education Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology, on the advisory board of the Alliance for Active Music Making, and of the Smithsonian Folkways Education Committee. Locally, Juliana has been involved with the Seattle-based organizations Rain City Rock Camp and Honk!Fest West as performer, volunteer coordinator, organizer, and board member.
DRUE BULLINGTON - LEVEL 2 PEDAGOGY
Drue Bullington teaches elemental music and movement at Brownstown Elementary School in Conestoga Valley School District in Lancaster, PA. Bullington is twice a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania where he received a B.S. in Music Education and a M.M. in Music Education with a certification in Orff Schulwerk. Drue holds a second master’s degree from Wilkes University in Online Teaching and Learning with an Online Educator’s Certificate of Endorsement from the State of Pennsylvania. He has also participated in several advanced Orff Schulwerk courses and an apprenticeship program in Orff Schulwerk at George Mason University.
Drue has taught in several Orff Schulwerk Levels Certification programs around the U.S. and offers numerous professional development and workshop sessions on elemental music and movement through the Orff Schulwerk Approach, elemental music and movement applications in the classroom, incorporating technology, and integrating the soprano ukulele into the K-12 music classroom. Drue serves as President of the Board of Directors of the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement.
David Thaxton - LEVEL 3 PEDAGOGY
David Thaxton is from Sparks, Nevada where he is currently in his 28th year teaching Elementary music to pre-K through 6 th grade. He holds a B.M.E. Degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and an M.M. from Eastern Washington University and is an AOSA certified teacher trainer for Orff Level I, II, and III pedagogy and Level I and II recorder. David teaches Summer Courses and presents workshops and clinics throughout the country.
David is Past President of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of AOSA and is co-founder of the Sierra Nevada Orff Festival. At the national level, he has served on the Editorial Board of The Echo Journal of the American Orff Schulwerk Association and the monthly online publication, Reverberations. He is currently the Treasurer for the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement and is the Creative Director and Lead Clinician for the Four Corners Young Musicians Summer Camp in Durango, Colorado.
David’s book “Making Tracks: Recorder Explorations, Creations and Improvisations” published through Sweet Pipes is used in elementary music classrooms across the country as an improvisatory approach to recorder instruction.
FAUNA WOOLFE - RECORDER
Fauna Woolfe has taught elementary music for 27 years and currently teaches K-5 music at Woodburn Elementary in the Camas School District. She teaches recorder for levels courses and presents workshops nationally. She has presented for the AOSA National Conference and International Orff-Schulwerk Forum Salzburg conference, and has multiple articles published in the AOSA Reverberations. She was elected to the AOSA National Board of Trustees and will serve as a Region I Representative from July 2023 - 2026. She served on the International Sunday Sharing USA team, and is Past - President of Portland Orff. Fauna achieved National Board certification in 2003, 2013, and 2023 and facilitated National Board cohorts to support teachers through the certification process from 2005-2013. Fauna received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Oregon, where she also studied saxophone performance. She received her Masters in Education from Lesley University with an emphasis in Arts Integration, and took her Orff Levels at Seattle Pacific University, The San Francisco Orff Course, and the UNLV Orff course.
Fauna Woolfe founded the Portland Orff Course in 2018 and is the Course Director.
MATTHEW STENSRUD - MOVEMENT
Matthew Stensrud (MM, George Mason University; BM, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) teaches pre-kindergarten through fourth grade general music and movement at Sidwell Friends Lower School in Washington, DC. He completed his Orff Schulwerk certification at the San Francisco International Orff Course in 2013 and is an Orff Schulwerk Certified Teacher Educator of Movement, currently teaching at the Northern New Jersey Orff Course in Wayne, NJ and here with Portland Orff. Matthew serves as President of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of AOSA and serves on the Editorial Board of The Orff Echo, the quarterly publication of AOSA. He was also a Key Content Contributor to the book, Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, PE, and Other Special Areas. He was Teacher of the Year in 2017 and recognized with the Spotlight Award by the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement in Summer 2017. He lives with his husband in Washington. DC. You can find Matthew on social media @MisterSOrff on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on his YouTube page, or at www.mistersorff.com.
Stephanie Holtman - Levels Logistical Director
Stephanie Holtman has taught elementary music in Wisconsin, Washington, and Internationally. She earned her B.M. in Music Education from the University of Dayton, and a M.Ed. from Oregon State University. She is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Music, and currently teaches K-5 Music in the Evergreen School District in Vancouver, Washington. Stephanie studied her Orff levels at The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Baker University in Kansas, and with the Portland Orff Course. Stephanie is the Logistical Director for the Portland Orff Course.
Portland Orff thanks all of our wonderful staff for their contributions to our course. We wish them well on their journey!
In memorium - Roger Sams Level III Pedagogy 2021-2022
Paul Weller - Level I Pedagogy 2019-2026
Kate Bright - Recorder Plus! 2022-2026
Dan Gullick - Level I Pedagogy 2023-2024
Vivian Murray Caputo - Level II Pedagogy 2019
Dena Byers - Level I Pedagogy 2018
Jennifer Donovan - Movement - 2018