About
Orff-Schulwerk is an approach to teaching music and movement that weaves together speech and poetry, movement and dance, drama and song, improvisation and playing musical instruments. Orff begins with what is natural to a child: Playground chants and clapping games, folk songs and dances and nursery rhymes. In this way, children learn music as they do language, by listening and imitating, directly experiencing, feeling and moving the music before conceptualizing it. The children will use all of the tools we explore to create their own compositions and musical fun!
Andrea (Andy) Fullington
Andrea Fullington, soprano, has been singing and making music since before she can remember. She studied voice at UC Santa Barbara and earned a Masters Degree in Early Music Vocal Performance from Indiana University’s Early Music Institute. Andrea settled in the Bay Area in 1993 and began performing, recording and touring with many different ensembles, specializing in music written before 1750. Since the birth of her first daughter, Laurel, in 1998, Andrea has sung primarily with local ensembles.
Andrea began teaching music to young children in 2002, when she became a Music Together® teacher. In 2005, Andrea completed the Orff Level I training and apprenticed with an experienced Orff teacher. She has taught an Orff class in the afterschool program at Montclair Elementary since 2008.
Andrea makes music with her husband Seth (a drummer in the Ghanaian Ewe tradition), her daughters Laurel and Sadie, and with her family and friends. She is very excited to spread the Orff experience to many more children in the East Bay!
Ryk A. Groetchen
Ryk Groetchen is a multi-instrumentalist (voice, flute, guitar, bass), composer and lifelong music lover. He has always had a strong desire to contribute in some way to musical culture. His performance experience includes rock bands, free improvisation ensembles, jazz big-band, vocal ensembles and multi-media/spoken word performance groups. He has participated in a variety of community art- and music-making activities with young children, middle- and high-school students and adults. He enjoys working with children, and has composed a number of children’s songs.
Ryk is a perpetual student, committed to continuing his own music and movement education while sharing his understanding and his learning process with the community. In January 2004, Ryk was awarded Certification Level I by the Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, NJ., having demonstrated outstanding achievement in teaching, musicianship, program philosophy and parent education. In August 2008 he completed Orff Schulwerk Certification Level I. Ryk has taught Music Together® classes for newborns to 5-year-olds and their families in Berkeley and Oakland since 2002.
Ryk also enjoys making music with his two sons, Henry and Harlan, his partner Lisa (also a professional musician and Music Together® teacher), and his many musical friends.