We are a non-profit resourse for teachers, their classrooms, and the elemental music community.
Our Partnerships.
ACEMM is actively seeking partnerships with organizations, foundations, and individuals to support scholarships, community music and movement activities, professional development for educators, our mobile ensemble programs or any other positive impacts that we can make together in the world of elemental music and movement at the local, regional, national or international levels.
The Work We do
From scholarships, to classroom plans, to interactive collaboration, to grants, to recognition, we provide many resources to help elemental music educators realize their potential. Check out blog, podcast, and success stories to get inspired and brainstorm how ACEMM can help grow your practice!
Apply for Funds
Through our Beacon Scholarship, Spark Grants, and Spotlight Awards, we’re all about bridging the gap between your initiative and the funding needed to achieve your goals. Read more about these resources and apply today!
Donate for Mutual Benefit
ACEMM’s 501 (c) (3) status allows donors to take the amount of a cash contribution or the value of donated good or services as a deduction from the donor’s earned income when filing his/her federal tax return. Consider a donation to elevate the work of elemental educators while lowering your yearly taxes!
Ask us anything!
Let us know what we can help you with. We’ll brainstorm ideas regarding anything that effects the day-to-day life in a music and movement classroom. Want to know about classroom management ideas in a really active space? Just ask. Need ideas on how to process a lesson? We’re here. New to the elemental approach to music and movement and not sure where to start? Let us know!
Get in touch.
Do you have more questions about ACEMM’s mission, or how we can help you? Have an idea for new initiatives, a proposal for partnership, or any other inquiries? Reach out today.
Meet the Team
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Kate Bright is a music teacher at Lincoln Charter School in York, PA, where she teaches approximately 500 students from kindergarten thru fourth grade. She received her Orff Schulwerk certification at the Philadelphia University of the Arts in 2010 and, in August of 2021, completed her Master’s of Kodaly Music Education at the American Kodaly Institute. She has presented at Orff chapters around the country and at the American Orff Schulwerk Association’s National Conference. In 2015, she received the Spotlight Award from the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement and in 2017 she received her school’s first-ever Staff Member of the Year award. In her community, Kate also directs the Hummelstown Community Singers. She currently serves as president of the Greater Baltimore Area Orff and secretary of ACEMM. In her spare time, Kate runs the Elemental Musical Adventures website and Facebook group, where each day she posts a new challenge for members to complete or ponder.
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Jeaneau Julian is in her 23rd year of teaching music, with the last 11 years being the Music Specialist at Terry Elementary School in Little Rock, Arkansas. She completed her undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music Education and all of her Kodaly levels from the University of Oklahoma and earned a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Arkansas Tech University. She has completed her Orff Schulwerk Teacher Education levels and has previously served as Treasurer for the Central Arkansas Orff chapter. In addition to teaching music, she is the ESOL coordinator and records the daily morning announcements for her school. Outside of school, she provides professional development at the district level for elementary music teachers, was the Winter 2022 American Center for Elemental Music and Movement Spotlight Award Winner, and serves as a Trustee for the National Board of Trustees of the American Orff Schulwerk Association.
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Drue Bullington teaches elemental music and movement at Brownstown and J.E. Fritz Elementary Schools at Conestoga Valley School District in Lancaster, PA. Drue has a rich and varied background in choral music as a conductor of children’s choral music, private studio instructor and professional choral singer. He is twice a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania having received a B.S. in Music Education and a M.M. in Music Education with a certification in Orff Schulwerk. He has done extensive post graduate study as well through masterclasses and an apprenticeship program at George Mason University. Drue has taught in several Orff Schulwerk Certification programs around the U.S. and offers numerous professional development and workshop sessions on elemental music and movement through the Orff Schulwerk approach, incorporating technology, and integrating the soprano ukulele into the K-12 music classroom.
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David Thaxton is from Sparks, Nevada where is currently in his 24th year teaching Elementary music to pre-K through 6th grade. He studied under Elizabeth Gilpatrick, and Judith Cole at Colorado State University, UNC Greeley and the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he received all three levels of Orff Certification, as well as studying under Kay Lehto at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to receive certification as an AOSA approved Levels Course Educator. David teaches Level I pedagogy for the University of Nevada, Reno Summer Orff Course as well as the Orff Level I pedagogy and Level II Recorder for the San Diego Summer Orff Course. David has presented workshops and clinics at local, state and national levels and presents to Orff chapters throughout the country. He has also served as President of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of AOSA where he was 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 has been the Creative Director and Lead Clinician for the Four Corners Young Musicians Summer Camp in Durango, Colorado since 2015. David was also recently awarded the “Spotlight Educator Award” for the Winter of 2017 from the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement (ACEMM).
Board of
Directors
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Crystal Pridmore teaches elemental music and movement, choir, and strings for PreK-6th grade students at Finney Elementary School in the Chula Vista Elementary School District in San Diego, CA. She holds a BA in Music Education and MA in Teaching from Point Loma Nazarene University, and 3 levels of certification in Orff-Schulwerk. She is the creator and co-host of the Chaotic Harmony Podcast. In addition, Crystal serves as the San Diego American Orff Schulwerk Association Chapter Past President, and is a board member of the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement.
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LeslieAnne Bird is a music and movement educator at University School in Shaker, Ohio. She teaches general music and choir to fifth through eighth grade young men and is an adjunct Professor at the University of Akron and Cleveland State University. She has previously taught in North Olmsted & Cleveland Ohio as well as in Prince George’s County, Maryland. LeslieAnne is an international presenter. She is the social media chair and has served as vice president and membership chair for the Greater Cleveland Orff Chapter and is currently serving as the content curator for the Teaching With Orff community. In addition, she is the owner and CEO of Three Little Birds Music Education Services LLC where she offers teacher training, coaching and musical experiences for children and adults. She earned Orff Certification from Baldwin Wallace University in 2014, and has completed Music Learning Theory General Music Level One, Level One World Music Drumming training, Level One Google Certification and has earned the Ohio Master Teacher designation.
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Lisa Sempsey graduated with honors from Millersville University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors of Science in Music Education in May 2001. She completed her Kodály Levels through West Chester University of Pennsylvania and New England Conservatory. She has also completed her Orff-Schulwerk Levels through the University of the Arts in collaboration with Villanova University’s graduate summer music education programs and George Mason University. Lisa also holds a master’s degree in Leadership for Teaching and Learning from Millersville University. Lisa is a clinician and workshop presenter who loves to share and collaborate with her colleagues. She has presented workshops and sessions covering topics including classroom management, choral reading sessions, technology in the music classroom, movement and music curricular connections, Kodaly Pedagogy in the modern elementary music class, curriculum development and lesson planning, and Orff-Schulwerk elements in K-6 music classes. Lisa has taught kindergarten through sixth grade general music, elementary choruses, as well as elementary and middle school strings in Lower Dauphin and Conestoga Valley School Districts, as well as been the Artistic Director and Prelude Choir Director for the Children’s Choir of Lancaster from 2005-2012. Currently, Lisa teaches kindergarten through sixth grade general music, chorus, and Orff, Drum & Strum Ensemble in Columbia Borough School District. She also serves as the K-12 Art & Music Curriculum Coordinator for the district. Lisa lives in Lititz with her husband and son, enjoys cooking and baking, spending time with her family, and generally taxiing around her teenage son.
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Joani Somppi Brandon is a K-5 music educator at Leawood Elementary School and Red Rocks Elementary School where she has taught since 2021. Joani served for twelve years as a public school music teacher in Carmel-Clay Schools (Indiana) and Wilmington City Schools (Ohio). She is a Professor of Music, Emeritus at Anderson University where she served for 22 years preparing future music teachers. Joani completed her bachelor of arts degree in music education and piano performance from Anderson University (where she received the Outstanding Music Alumni Award in 2024); her master's of music education from Butler University; and her doctor of musical arts degree from Boston University. Joani has Kodaly Certification and Feierabend Certification from the Hartt School, Orff Schulwerk Certification and Dalcroze training from Anderson University, and a Certificate from the Orff Institut International Course in Salzburg, Austria. She is the immediate past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and is a past national president of the Feierabend Association for Music Education. Joani co-authored First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk (GIA Publications, 2017), has written a chapter for Scott Edgar's upcoming book on Social and Emotional Learning in the General Music Classroom (GIA Publications, 2026), and co-authored Conversational Solfege with Orff Schulwerk (GIA Publications, 2026).
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Judy Thompson-Barthwell grew up and still lives in Detroit. A music educator of 44 years, she is now retired, but stays involved by volunteering in music classrooms in the Detroit area. She also mentors working educators as invited. A Movement and Levels teacher in Orff Certification courses, she is the director of Michigan Orff Collage Levels Courses. She received the Michigan MEA, Music Educator of the Year Award in 2012, and she is the recipient of the 2021 Distinguished Service Award from AOSA.
ACEMM Collaborative
Board Members
Andrea Dinkle
Matt Carlson
Stephanie Gist
Aimee C. Pfitzner
Christina Reardon
Scott Roether
Jamey Vavra
Elizabeth Tummons
Warkenda
Williams-Casey
Fauna Woolfe
Help Desk
Have a question that would benefit your classroom?
Ask us anything!
Donate to the cause.
Your charitable donation helps support the
work of ACEMM while providing donors with a useful tax reward.
Since 2012, following an extensive application process, the Internal Revenue Service has recognized ACEMM tax-exempt status under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. ACEMM is a legal public non-profit corporation organized under the statutes of the State of New Jersey. The Center is classified as a public charity by both the State of New Jersey and the Federal Government.
