Welcome to the Great Plains Orff Chapter website!
We are coming off an incredible year of music making, connection, and growth! In particular, we want to celebrate:
A substantial increase in membership for 2025-2026 (from 56 to 72 members)
Partnering with 3 local college and university music education programs to provide Intro to Orff Schulwerk presentations for students
Expanding our reach across the state through the addition of a fourth workshop hosted in western Nebraska
Receiving the Wildflower and Crescendo awards at the AOSA conference
To honor where our chapter began and where it is headed, the board reflected on the impact GPOC has had since its inception in 1990. We then crafted a mission statement that will guide our organization as we step into the next 25 years of spreading the Schulwerk:
The Great Plains Orff Chapter is a community of music educators dedicated to providing experiences where all perspectives are welcome. GPOC strives to inspire personal growth in our members through joyful and collaborative music making and teaching throughout the state of Nebraska.
Whether this is your first or hundredth experience with GPOC, we hope that the wealth of resources available on our website are helpful. From free monthly lesson plans to scholarship applications for attending the AOSA national conference or Orff levels to finding ways to get more involved with the chapter, we strive to support teachers at all stages of their career.
As always, we have an incredible lineup of workshops including presentations from Judith Thompson-Barthwell (fall) and David Dockan (spring), as well as two sessions featuring local teachers sharing their expertise. This year, we are excited to host more social events designed for connection and fun which will be announced in our fall newsletter. We hope you will join us for any or all of these incredible experiences!
If you have questions, feedback, or need support, please do not hesitate to reach out at [email protected].
Musically yours,
Kaitlin Beck
