Kennedy Center Workshop

Workshop description:Students in the initial stages of learning their instrument can be stifled by the overwhelming number of steps on their stairway to technical mastery of their instrument. In this session, Deb Brzoska, leads an exploration of how at all times, rehearsals, concerts, and assessments can be infused with opportunities for students to be expressive and creative in their own music making. Participating ensemble directors return to their schools ready to maximize the opportunities for music-making to enrich the lives of their students (and community of listeners).

Deborah Brzoska is a nationally recognized leader in arts education who has worked with schools and arts organizations internationally and in nearly all fifty states. She is a former dancer and choreographer, a former district arts administrator and the founding principal of an award-winning arts-centered public school. A specialist in creative school reform, Deb worked for five years as a school designer for the Small Schools Project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  She also served as a co-chair for the National Assessment of Educational Progress in the Arts (1997 NAEP).  In 2008, Deb joined the Right Brain Initiative as leader of professional development in the large multi-district arts education program in Portland, Oregon. Deb has written about arts education for The Kennedy Center, the national Arts Education Partnership and The College Board.