Dr. Chet-Yeng Loong, professor and chair of the music education program at UH-Mānoa, was invited as the first Asian featured presenter at the 2023 American Orff-Schulwerk Association Professional Development Conference (AOSA) in Albuquerque, NM, Nov 1-4, 2023.
Loong presented a series of sessions that highlighted approaching music education through multiculturalist lens based on her extensive work on the music of Hawaiʻi, Pacific, and various parts of Asia. Her work garnered positice acclaim from colleagues and participants citing them as inspirational and enriching to the music educator’s experience.
“Her ability to demonstrate strong pedagogy while also modeling respect for the musical material and the community from which is originated was truly inspirational,” comments Dr. Brent M. Gault, professor of music education at Indiana University.
Loong was also the speaker for the the annual pre-conference symposium sponsored by the Alliance for Active Music Making (AAMM), an organization supporting collaboration between teachers involved in preparing the next generation of music teachers.
The American Orff-Schulwerk Association was founded in 1968 as an organization for American music educators dedicated to utilizing, advancing and preserving Orff-Schulwerk, a developmental approach in music education formulated by composer Carl Orff.