Maine Motif Maine Motif May 2017 Issue 3 Volume I | Page 15

D R . J OHN F EIERABEND is considered one of the leading authorities on music and movement development in
childhood. He is a Professor of Music Education at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford and is a
past President of the Organization of American Kodály Educators. He has given presentations in all 50 states
and many other countries. He is the author of over 70 books, recordings, and DVDs, several of which served
as the inspiration for the award-winning PBS children’s television series “Lomax: The Hound of Music.”
Dr. Feierabend has been honored as a Lowell Mason Fellow by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME);
named University Educator of the Year by the Connecticut Music Educators Association; received the outstanding alumni
award from Wayne State University; received the Outstanding Educator Award from the Organization of American
Kodály Educators, the James Bent Award for outstanding achievement in scholarship and creativity from the University
of Hartford, and was the first U.S. recipient of the LEGO Prize, an international award given annually to “an individual
who has made a distinctive contribution to the betterment of children.”
Dr. Feierabend continues to be committed to collecting, preserving and teaching the diverse folk music of our country and
using that folk music as a bridge to help children understand and enjoy classical music. Dr. Feierabend’s creativity and
research has resulted in two music methods; First Steps in Music, a music and movement program for infants through
elementary-aged children and Conversational Solfege, a music literacy method suitable for elementary through college-
aged student.
Dr. Feierabend’s teaching has provided thousands of teachers and their students with the materials and techniques to help
build community through music by evoking enthusiastic participation of all people. To that end his approach strives for all
people to become tuneful, beatful and artful through research based and developmentally appropriate pedagogies while
promoting the use of quality literature. In the summer of 2012 a group of dedicated and like-minded educators honored
Dr. Feierabend’s 40 plus years of teaching and research with the formation of the Feierabend Association for Music
Education. For more information go to: www.feierabendmusic.org and www.giamusic.com/feierabend.
L ILLIE F EIERABEND is known for her work with young children and instilling a love of music within them.
She has been an early childhood and general music educator for over thirty years and a conductor for the
Connecticut Children’s Chorus for seventeen. She has twice been honored with her district’s Teacher of the
Year Award and in 2008 also received the Outstanding Elementary Music Educator Award from the
Connecticut Music Educators Association. Lillie is a frequent clinician at local, state and national conferences, where she
presents sessions on music and movement development. She also teaches weeklong workshops, conducts regional honors
choirs and is adjunct faculty at the University of Hartford. Lillie Feierabend is a member of CMEA, NAfME, OAKE and
ACDA.
Her lively, welcoming, and thought provoking workshops include:
Around the World in Song and Dance
Books That Sing, Books That Move
Classroom Management: The Key to Successful