WEBINAR RECORDING
Discover how you can bring calm, creativity, and connection to your music classroom in Melding Mind and Music. In this uplifting webinar, David Thaxton, Manny Boga, and Warkenda Williams-Casey share practical strategies to help you and your students cultivate mindfulness through movement, music, and playful exploration. You’ll walk away with adaptable lessons that blend calming songs, yoga-inspired activities, body percussion, creative movement games, and collaborative soundscapes. Whether your students need to settle, focus, or express themselves, you’ll find joyful, ready-to-use tools that make calm feel accessible and fun. You can easily tailor these ideas to suit your students’ ages, needs, and classroom setup.
Highlights:
- Calmness through elemental music: breathing songs, body percussion, and sound exploration
- Movement-based mindfulness activities to engage the whole body
- Playful guided imagery and student-led movement improvisation
- Strategies for using simple technology like launch pads and sound loops
- Yoga-inspired routines and student-created yoga stories
- Snowflake-inspired touch and music activities for group calming
- Creative ways to incorporate familiar themes (like Baby Yoda!) for student connection
- A beautiful round, “Snow, Snow, Snow,” to perform in class or as a calming ritual
After registering, you will be able to access the webinar recording and downloadable materials from your online library.
Upon completion, you may request a certificate of completion for 1.5 hours of professional development by emailing our team at [email protected]
David Thaxton is from Sparks, Nevada where he is currently in his 26th year teaching Elementary music to pre-K through 6th grade.
As an AOSA certified teacher trainer for Orff Level I, II, and III pedagogy and Level II recorder, David teaches Summer Courses for the University of Nevada, Reno, the San Diego Summer Orff Course, and VanderCook School of Music in Chicago. David has presented workshops and clinics at local, state and national level, frequently presenting for Orff chapters throughout the country.
He also serves as President of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of AOSA where he was co-founder of the Sierra Nevada Orff Festival. He has served on the Editorial Board of The Echo Journal of the American Orff Schulwerk Association and the monthly online publication, Reverberations. David is currently Treasurer for the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement. He has been the Creative Director and Lead Clinician for the Four Corners Young Musicians Summer Camp in Durango, Colorado since 2015.
Manny Boga teaches K-5 Music and Movement, Orff Ensemble, and Recorder in Sparks, Nevada at Alice Maxwell Elementary School. He is the current president of the Sierra Nevada chapter of AOSA. He holds level I and II certification in Orff Schulwerk and presents on a variety of music and movement topics. He is a mentor teacher for new music teachers in the Washoe County School District.
Warkenda G. Williams-Casey, the founder and Artistic Director of Black Swan Ballet Company, is an experienced Elemental Music and Movement teacher, ballet teacher and choreographer, and certified interpreter for the Deaf.
She started combining her love of music with her dance and music when she was introduced to the Orff Schulwerk way of teaching General Music and Movement. After attending several workshops and conferences she decided to pursue her Orff Schulwerk Music and Movement Certification at George Mason University. She has had the privilege of teaching other Elemental Music and Movement teachers at Peabody University in MD, California School System, Portland Orff Association, 2021’s AOSA conference, and West Chester University to name just a few.
"Thank you so much Dave, Warkenda, and Manny for a lovely, mindful evening. You rock!"
Christina R.
Music Educator
Finding Calm
Melding Music, Mindfulness, and Movement
$20
one time payment
The workshop recording and downloadable materials will be added to your online library.
Upon completion, you may request a certificate of completion for 1.5 hours of professional development by emailing our team at [email protected]Â
