Annette McKerrow
PEAK Presenter
Based in:
Perth, WA, AustraliaCurrently the Director of Music at Iona Presentation College in Perth, Annette has been a passionate advocate for Music Education for over 30 years. Her teaching experience is diverse, having taught Music in Independent, Catholic, Government and International Schools in Australia and Asia. Across her career she has worked with students from Pre-School to Senior Secondary years. Annette’s formal Orff-Schulwerk journey began in 2002 and she has enthusiastically embedded Orff principles into her classroom practice since.
While Head of Music – Performance at the Australian International School Singapore, Annette had the great fortune to work collaboratively with a team led by Richard Gill on developing an Orff-Schulwerk based vertical Music curriculum from Pre-School to Year 12. This project spanned several years and it’s results were described by Richard himself as an example of “a school that is getting Music Education right”.
Annette believes strongly that quality Music Education is the basic right of every child and advocates that this begins in the classroom, ideally from the very beginning of formal education. She enjoys leading a team of educators and collaborating with others to continue the good fight for raising the profile and level of understanding of the place and value of Music in schools.
PEAK Elective Session | Tuesday, 7th January 2025 | 4:15pm - 5:15pm
Exploring 'Old Joe Clark': Orff-Schulwerk Strategies for Creativity and Musical Concepts Across Ages
This session demonstrates how a simple folk song, "Old Joe Clark" can be adapted for various ages and skill levels using the Orff-Schulwerk approach. From movement, rhythm and simple class ensemble work in a primary classroom setting to using improvisation and investigating mixolydian harmonies in upper primary and early secondary, this folk song serves as an engaging foundation for teaching core musical concepts and enhancing creativity. It can also be a useful tool for teaching basic concepts of blues and rock and roll composition. This session is most appropriate for teachers of Upper-Primary and Middle School ages.