Tell me, I forget, show me, I remember, involve me, I understand.
This quotation, attributed to various wise people including Carl Orff, Maria Montessori and Friedrich Froebel, sums up in a quintessential manner how Susanne Hughes views her role as a teacher.
Quality music education has to include age appropriate activities and carefully scaffolded tasks which empower students to perform, improvise, compose and appreciate music at their individual best level. This is what makes the Orff- Schulwerk approach so very powerful.
Susanne grew up in Germany, steeped in the Orff Schulwerk approach from a young age. She graduated from the University of London (Royal Holloway and Bedford New College) with a BMus and a PGCEi from the University of Nottingham. She has taken intensive courses in the Kodaly Concept of Teaching Music, Dalcroze Approach of Teaching Music through Movement as well as courses in Orff Schulwerk with renowned teachers such as Laszlo Nemes, Richard Gill OAM, Peta Harper, Robyn Stavely and Andrea Ostertag. She has been a music educator for 20 years, working in primary, secondary and instrumental settings.
Susanne moved to Armidale after living in Singapore for 16 years where she taught at various state schools and was most recently Head of Music (Secondary Curriculum) at the Australian International School Singapore. She continues working as an educator in Armidale.