2010 CCSME Faculty
Kendall Allen (Kodály) has worked as a music specialist in Plano ISD for seven years. During his career, Kendall has directed the Plano ISD choir, Plano Children’s Chorale (PCC), for five years. PCC was invited to perform as an exhibition choir at the Texas Music Educators Conference in 2007. PCC is for Plano ISD 5th graders that are identified as exceptional musicians through audition and music teacher recommendations. Kendall received his Bachelor of Music Education at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and has three levels of Kodály certification through the OAKE endorsed training program at the University of North Texas. Most recently, he was chosen as the Experienced Teacher of the Year at Schell Elementary School. He was also chosen as one of the top five elementary teachers in Plano ISD. . Kenny served as the guest conductor/clinician for the Texas Private Music Educators Association's Elementary Honor Choir in 2009. Kendall has also founded and directed two elementary school choruses and recorder ensembles. He received his Bachelor of Music Education at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and has three levels of Kodály certification through the OAKE endorsed training program at the University of North Texas.
Gay Baker deMontel (Kodály) is a music specialist in Port Aransas, Texas, where she is designing and implementing a Kodály-inspired curriculum. Previously, Gay held teaching positions in Kerrville and Plano, where she was a director of the Plano Children’s Chorale. She earned a Bachelors degree from Southwest Texas State University and completed her Kodály certification in the Round Top Program at Festival Hill. Gay is a member of OAKE and TMEA and is a past board member of Kodály Educators of Texas. Gay has taught Kodály training courses through Plano ISD and Westminster Choir College and has presented numerous workshops involving repertoire and pedagogy, beginning dulcimer, folk dancing and play parties.
David Gadberry (Kodály) is a doctoral student in Music Education at the University of Kansas and is scheduled to graduate summer of 2010. Previously, he was a music specialist in Plano ISD teaching grades K-5. He completed Orff certification at SMU and Kodály certification with the Plano ISD Kodály Training Program. David served as pedagogy teacher assistant and folk music materials intern with the UNT/Plano ISD Kodály Training Program. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. During his graduate studies, David was a folk music graduate assistant, collecting and transcribing folk songs and play parties. He has served as North Texas Representative for Kodály Educators of Texas (KET), as Southern Division Representative, and he is currently Secretary for the Organization of American Kodály Educators’ (OAKE) Board of Directors. David has presented workshops at the local, state, and national levels for Plano ISD, KET, TMEA, Mississippi MEA, Oklahoma Kodály Educators, and the Green Country Orff Association.
Dr. John Feierabend (Conversational Solfège) is considered one of the leading authorities on music and movement development in early childhood. He is a Professor of Music and the Director of Music Education at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford and is a past President of the Organization of American Kodály Educators. Author or over 60 books and recordings and DVDs his work was the basis of the PBS children’s television series Lomax: The Hound of Music. Dr. Feierabend has been honored by the National Association for Music Education (MENC) as a Lowell Mason Fellow, received the Outstanding Educator Award from the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) and was the first American recipient of the LEGO prize, an international award given annually to someone who has “helped to make the world a better place for children to live and grow.”
Karen Gentry (Kodály) has served on the faculty of Plano’s Kodály Training Program since its inception. She also teaches in Kodály training programs in San Antonio and Ft. Worth. Karen completed her Kodály certification at Round Top, Texas and completed two summers of Orff training in Memphis, TN. She earned BM and MM degrees from The University of Texas. Her experiences include teaching music to pre-school students in a Montessori setting and working as an elementary music specialist – most recently in a bi-lingual school. She has mentored students for UT, UNT, and SMU. She has been a guest speaker for college students and is now conducting workshops for professional music teachers. Karen helped to establish The Younger Generation, a community choir that continues to serve outstanding Plano youth and is a past recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award in Education from the city of Plano. She formerly served as Secretary and is currently president for the Southern Division of OAKE.
Lenke Igo (Kodály) is a graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary and a former director of the Hungarian Radio and Television Children's Chorus. Currently, she is Chair of the Theory and Solfege Department at the Bela Bartók Conservatory of Music and part-time Conducting Professor at Eötvös University in Budapest. Lenke is a master teacher of the Kodály method, having taught courses and conducted choirs throughout the United States, as well as in Great Britain, Greece, Japan, Canada, Korea, and Hungary.
Brenda Keen (Kodály) has taught 12 of her 16 years in elementary music in Plano ISD. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Kodály Certificate from the University of North Texas. Brenda has directed many school and church choirs and is now a director of the select Plano Children’s Chorale. Brenda has sponsored more than 130 students who have participated in the Metroplex Children’s Choir and over 50 of her students have been selected for the OAKE National Honors Choirs. She was named the 2003 Metroplex Children’s Choir Teacher of the Year and the 2006 Teacher of the Year for Hightower Elementary in Plano. She is currently serving as one of the national choir coordinators for the Organization of American Kodály Educators, and is President -Elect of the Kodály Educators of Texas.
Kathy Kuddes (Kodály Lead Teacher) is Director of Fine Arts for Plano ISD and the Founder/Coordinator of the Plano Kodály Teacher Training Program. She has Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music Education, a Kodály Teacher Training Certificate, and Texas Supervisor Certification. Kathy has taught students from Pre-K through the college graduate level, has presented numerous workshops for elementary music teachers, and supervised the latest revision of the Plano ISD Vertical Elementary Music Curriculum. In the summer of 2003, Kathy presented a workshop at the conference of the International Kodály Society in Australia. In addition, she is a past member of the board of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and of Kodály Educators of Texas.
Ann MacMillan (Instrument Repair) began her repair instruction at Foster’s Music, in Garden City, Kansas. She has a bachelor of music education from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, where she also served one year as a middle school band director. She received her Master’s degree in music education from the University of North Texas in 1995, and has served as the repair technician for the UNT College of Music since 1997. She teaches beginning and advanced repair courses, summer workshops, and presents workshops for DFW area school districts.
Mary Ellen Meath (Orff Schulwerk) teaches Pre-K through Class Eight music at West Dallas Community School in Dallas, TX. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Oklahoma and is currently working on her Masters in Music at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Mary Ellen is an accomplished recorder player, who also enjoys teaching children and adults how to play the recorder.
Darla Meek (Orff Schulwerk) serves as Lecturer in Music Education at Texas A & M University-Commerce after fifteen years’ experience teaching elementary children music, drama, and movement. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music Education from Dallas Baptist University, and a Master’s of Music at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As a certified Orff specialist, Darla now serves the American Orff-Schulwerk Association as a teacher trainer in both pedagogy and movement. She often presents staff development clinics for music educators in Texas and in Louisiana, and is Vice President of the North Texas Chapter of AOSA.