An Orchestra Teacher Inspired by the Middle Years Programme

Audience: Middle Years Programme
Session: Block 3: Friday 3:45 to 5:00, Room: Pacific H

Though she has been a successful public school orchestra teacher for ten years at a richly diverse middle school, it was not until Ridgeview Charter School began to seek authorization for the Middle Years Programme that Kristen Sorrells was motivated to think more deeply and to act more purposefully. The techniques set forth by the MYP provide a larger frame for teaching; one that transcends the classroom and even music itself. The session will focus on what has changed in her, in her classroom, in her students, and in the community.


Kristeen Sorrells, Orchestra Teacher, Ridgeview Charter School

Kristeen Sorrells received a B.A. in Music from the University of Georgia in 1978 and completed a M.M. in Viola Performance and Music Therapy in 1984. She continued post-graduate viola studies with Lynn Ramsey of the Cleveland Orchestra. Ms Sorrells worked as a music therapist for 8 years and has been a professional violist in the Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera Orchestras for 20 years. Hired provisionally to teach strings for Fulton County Schools in 1998, she completed her Teacher Certification at Georgia State University in 2001. During the past ten years she has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.


Organization website: http://www.ridgeviewcharterschool.org