Christopher Roberts holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Washington, and a B.A. in African History from Swarthmore College. He received his Kodály Certificate from Seattle Pacific University, further studied the Kodály approach at the University of Calgary, and has given presentations for music educators throughout the United States and Canada. Christopher currently serves as Lecturer and Coordinator of Music Teacher Preparation at the University of Washington, working with undergraduate and graduate students. His co-authored book, World Music Pedagogy II: Elementary Music Education, was recently published by Routledge Press, and research articles have appeared in journals including Journal of Research in Music Education, British Journal of Music Education, and The Bulletin of the Council of Research in Music Education. Christopher serves as the director of the Kodály Levels Program of Seattle, and is Past-President of the Western Division for the Organization of American Kodály Educators.
In her 19th year as a professional conductor and music educator, Darcy Morrissey is a highly sought after clinician, adjudicator, and conference presenter throughout the Pacific Northwest. After serving as a conductor for local private children's choirs, Darcy became the Founding Managing Artistic Director of Bellevue Youth Choirs, a multi-level choral program for youth ages 4-18, serving in this role from 2012-2018. Darcy also loves teaching in the public school setting -- finding joy teaching all grade levels and specializing in general music, orchestra, choir, and guitar. Darcy received her B.M. in Music Education from Central Washington University and M.A. in Music Education specializing in Choral Conducting from the University of St. Thomas, studying under Dr. Karyl Carlson and Dr. Angela Broeker respectively. While serving on the WA-ACDA Board, Darcy established and coordinated the January Elementary Choral Workshop. Currently in its eighth year of collaboration with NWKE, this workshop continues to provide repertoire and curricular resources for elementary choral conductors in an interactive setting. Along with conducting honor choirs, Darcy enjoys coaching choirs from around the United States through the STAR program at MoPOP. As a professional choral singer, Darcy is privileged to record for movie previews, movie, and video game soundtracks, including the latest installments of World of Warcraft, Halo, and Gears of War. She also performed with Choral Arts under the direction of Robert Bode, and was honored to sing for President Obama and the First Lady at the White House during the 2015 holiday season.
Sarah Bartolome holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Washington, a M.M. in Music Education from Northwestern University, and a B.M. in Music Education and Vocal Performance from Ithaca College. She received her Kodály Certification from the New England Conservatory’s Kodály Music Institute in Boston. Dr. Bartolome has taught general music in the Boston and Seattle metropolitan areas and has conducted for such prestigious children’s choirs as the Greater Boston Youth Chorus and the Seattle Girls’ Choir. A frequent presenter, she has given workshops, clinics, and research presentations throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Bartolome is presently an Assistant Professor in Music Education at the Northwestern University, where she teaches courses in general music education, world music pedagogy, and qualitative research.
Kelly Foster Griffin graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a B.A. in Music Education, holds a Kodály Certificate from the Kodály Musical Training Institute at Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford and a Master of Music in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names College in Oakland, California. Professionally, Kelly Foster Griffin is a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught K-6 music in the Northshore School District since 1988. She teaches musicianship classes for the Columbia Concert Choir of Metropolitan Seattle, and is the co-founder and former executive director of the non-profit arts camp, Summer Fun! - A Music, Theatre and Visual Arts Day Camp for Children from 1993 to 2010. Currently she is serving as Past-President of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and has presented Kodály workshops and clinics for many musical organizations around the region and nation.
Melyssa Stone holds a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from the University of Washington and B.A. degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Seattle Pacific University. She completed her Kodály Levels at Seattle Pacific University and has worked with the program since 2014. She has worked at the elementary, middle and high school levels as a music educator and is a former director with Northwest Girlchoir, and Pacifica Choirs, focusing on a Kodaly-based approach to choral singing. Melyssa performs in the area as a jazz vocalist and has performed with artists such as Ben Folds, John Pizzarelli and the New York Voices. As a violist, she is a former member of the Thalia Symphony Orchestra and More Music @ the Moore performer. Melyssa has presented for the Seattle International Children's Festival, Seattle Theatre Group, Northwest Kodaly Educators, Washington Music Educator's Association, and schools on topics of musicianship, diversity in the arts, and children's choirs. Melyssa is the former President-elect of the Northwest Kodaly Educators and currently serves as a Choir Committee Chair for the national Organization of American Kodaly Educators.
Donna Gallo is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she teaches courses in elementary general music, curriculum, teaching students with exceptionalities, and assessment. Her research interests include analyses of secondary data to determine music teacher outcomes such as professional development quality and attrition/retention in the field, intersections of inservice and preservice teacher learning and culturally responsive teaching, and critical service learning in preservice teacher education. Dr. Gallo’s research has been published in Music Education Research, the Journal of Research in Music Education, and The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. Prior to her appointment at the University of Illinois, Dr. Gallo was on faculty at Westminster Choir College where she also coordinated the Kodály Certification program. As a public school educator, Dr. Gallo taught K-6 general/choral music in Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) and in Simsbury Public Schools (CT). She received her Ph.D. in music education from Northwestern University and is a graduate of Silver Lake College (MME), Indiana University (BME), and the Kodály Institute in Kesckemét, Hungary where she was awarded the International Kodály Society Scholarship. Dr. Gallo regularly presents at regional and national practitioner conferences for OAKE, AOSA, and NAfME, and provides professional development for music educators in school districts around the country. She also served as an editor for the AOSA Echo (2012-2016).