The Orff Schulwerk philosophy of music education builds on a child’s basic instincts to play, sing, chant and move. Students sing, play Orff instruments, improvise, compose, perform and listen. Students are instructed in the basics of music literacy. Each child finds a place making music with others in the classroom, chapel and concerts.
The music education curriculum is complemented with exploration of creative movement, often with groups of students taking turns providing the music or the movement in the classroom and/or for a performance. The movement curriculum addresses students’ ability to move in personal and general space with safety and confidence. Simple forms of locomotion, rhythmic concepts, following verbal directions and the use of imagination to create something new from something familiar, are goals of movement classes.
