Jon and Mary Kathryn Burbank Workshop, April 21, 2012

We had a great workshop today! Thank you Jon and Mary Kathryn!

Click on the pictures for the album!

Workshop April 21, 2012 Jon and Mary Kathryn Burbank

Rhythm, Song, and Dance! Applying African Musical Concepts
Presented by
Jon and Mary Kathryn Burbank

Sponsored by
The Northern West Virginia
“Mountain Laurel” Chapter
of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association

Saturday, April 21, 2012
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Mountainview
Elementary School
Morgantown, WV


Participants will explore the cultures of Africa through engaging and authentic songs and dances from across the continent. They will emerge with knowledge of traditional rhythmic, melodic and movement ideas and skills necessary to implement specific world music concepts in any K-12 general music setting.


Jonathan Burbank is a National Board Certified Teacher, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Percussion Studies and World Music at Blythewood High School in South Carolina. His percussion and world music ensembles have received numerous awards and recognitions, including the featured high school percussion ensemble for the 2011 South Carolina Music Educators Association In-service Conference and the 2011 South Carolina Day of Percussion. The Blythewood High School African Drum and Dance Ensemble was also featured as one of three groups chosen from over 150 across the nation to perform at the 2011 National School Boards Association Conference in San Francisco. The BHS percussion and world music ensembles enjoy a busy performance schedule throughout the year, appearing at several middle and elementary schools.
Before moving to South Carolina in 2008, Jon served as Director of Percussion at Hidalgo High School (Hidalgo, Texas, 2005-2008) and at Fairmont State University (Fairmont, West Virginia, 2003-2005). From 1996 through 2002, he served as a percussion instructor with The Cadets of Bergen County Drum and Bugle Corps, winning DCI World Championships in 1998 and 2000, and DCI High Percussion Awards in 2001 and 2002.

Jon holds a Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Masters of Music Education from West Virginia University through an assistantship in World Music with Dr. Paschal Yao Younge. While studying and teaching at WVU, Jon wrote for and directed the Japanese Taiko Ensemble and Indonesian Gamelan Ensemble. As a performer, he has traveled extensively throughout the United States as well as toured internationally in Mexico, Canada, England, France, Italy, Japan, Australia and South Korea.
Professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, South Carolina Band Directors Association, and the Vic Firth Education Team. He currently serves as Vice-President of the South Carolina Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.


Mary Kathryn Burbank is a National Board Certified Teacher currently enjoying her thirteenth year in elementary general music. Her career began in Monongalia County Schools, where she taught for nine years. Then, in South Texas, she served as adjunct fine arts instructor for the University of Texas-Brownsville and directed the Hidalgo Community Children’s Choir. She implemented a new Orff Schulwerk curriculum in the Hidalgo Independent School District elementary schools before relocating to South Carolina, where she currently teaches K-5 general music, 4th and 5th grade chorus and 4th and 5th grade steel band at Bridge Creek Elementary near Columbia.

Mary Kathryn received her bachelor and masters degrees in music education from West Virginia University. She completed Orff Level I at the Eastman School of Music, and levels II and III at George Mason University. She is a member of NAfME and AOSA and has received grants from the Appalachian Education Initiative and the AOSA Training and Projects fund. She presented research on a folksong collection project at Monongalia County Schools staff development sessions, WVMEA, and on the national level at the MENC conference in Minneapolis, MN and the AOSA conference in Long Beach, CA. The research was submitted as part of a study by Dr. Janet Robbins and was published in the Mountain Lake Reader and the Journal of Music Teacher Education.

Jon and Mary Kathryn have collaborated on many performances and presentations, including a sharing session for MLAOSA, world music concerts in WV, TX, and SC, the Rio Grande Valley chapter of AOSA, and Orff Level I at the University of Texas-Brownsville. The husband and wife duo resides in Elgin, South Carolina with their two boys Andrew (4) and Ethan (2) and two dogs Maddie (6) and Dora (6).


Purchase an annual membership for discounted admission to workshops.

Annual membership: Regular members $15/school year Students $5/school year

Workshop fees: Regular members $20 Students $5

Workshop without membership: $30

Directions to Mountainview Elementary School

From the North:
• Take I-79 South toward Morgantown
• Take the I-68 exit (last Morgantown Exit. It is well-marked)
• Once on I-68, take Exit 1 toward Morgantown; follow Route 119 North (a left off the exit ramp) to Greenbag Road (approximately 1 mile down the hill)
• Turn right on Greenbag Road. School is approximately 2 miles on the left.
From the South:
• Take I-79 North toward Morgantown
• Take the I-68 exit (It is well-marked)
• Once on I-68, take Exit 1 toward Morgantown; follow Route 119 North (a left off the exit ramp)to Greenbag Road (approximately 1 mile down the hill)
• Turn right on Greenbag Road. School is approximately 2 miles on the left.
From the East (I-68):
• Take Exit 1 toward Morgantown; follow Route 119 North (a left off the exit ramp) to Greenbag Road (approx. 1 mile)
• Turn right on Greenbag Road. School is approximately 2 miles on the left.





In the event of severe weather, please check our website the morning of the workshop in case of a cancellation.

www.mountainlaurelaosa.blogspot.com