Sr. Lorna - I was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; one city named after a Native American Chief. My mother saw to it that I had piano lessons from four years old on and continuosly through freeshman in high school when I attended the academy operated by the Sisters whom I eventually joined. So I had an early impression of the beauty of music and somehow knew it must be important because it was important to my mother. However, my actually becoming a music teacher followed later, after I decided to join the convent.

As I mentioned, as a preliminary to entering the Convent,I was a student in the Convent Academy where I continued to take piano lessons. Also, I was the organist for all Chapel Liturgies since I was a sophomore in high school at the Academy and through my first year of college. Somewhere during that time I was asked what kind of teacher I wanted to be. First of all, I thought I would be a history teacher since I also love that subject. The question was asked "How about becoming a music teacher?" And, without a lot of enthusiasm at that time, I said, "Well, I guess that would be alright." I must admit I wasn't thoroughly excited about it! So, I seriously began studying music courses. At that time, you did not have to hold a degree before you could begin to teach. I had one year of college completed and was assigned to teach in a parochial elementary school. Actually, I had been teaching eight years before I learned of the Kodaly Music Education Concept/Philosophy.

The way I got interested in the Kodaly Concept is an interesting one. Am certain you know who Katinka Daniel is - one of the most influential Hungarian-Americans who directed and influenced the entire adaptation of the Kodaly Method and progress of the Kodaly Movement in the U.S. She is still actively involved in teaching about Kodaly and presents "the message" all over the country to this day. She is an extraordinarily gifted Master Teacher.

The story - I was assigned to teach at a school in Santa Barbara,CA. The first year I was there I learned that the Santa Barbara Symphony offered free tickets to school children to hear afternoon previews of their upcoming concerts. The Conductor of the Symphony was Dr. Erno Daniel, Katinka's husband. There were approximately four concerts a year and the Symphony would offer about fifty tickets to each school. Each time, I would take a different grade to the concert and after each one, would have the students in that particular grade write "thank you's" to the Symphony. At the end of the school year, Dr. Daniel, the Conductor, phoned me. I was quite surprised and couldn't imagine what he wanted! He said "My wife and I would like to meet you." He added "Could we stop over at the Convent after Mass on Sunday and have a little visit with you?" Naturally, I was thrilled and said "surely!" So they stopped by and Katinka siad "Erno, I have the strongest feeling I must teach this Syster everything I know about Kodaly." She asked me if I knew anything about the Kodaly way of teaching music to children and I told her I didn't. She asked me if I would like to learn and I, of course, said "yes." Katinka asked if she could begin a pilot program at San Roque School where I was presently teaching and after checking with the principal, a starting date was established. Then, Katinka came and taught my first grade music class twice a week for 30 minutes each and I would observe her.

At first I thought "This is great--she's going to teach a class for me! One less for me to teach! (Talk about youth and dedication?!) However, after about a month of watching her with the students, it "hit me like a ton of bricks" that this was the most fantastic teaching I had ever witnessed and I began to see the implications of where a program such as this, was headed. Eventually, she would do some teaching and then I would teach with her observing and offering suggestions, corrections, etc. Here I had the Master Teacher critiquing my teaching-unbelievable and priceless! I worked alongside of her for three years when I began a full-time master's program at the University of Southern California. However, the program continued at San Roque School and I would return to Santa Barbara on Fridays (and Thursdays when possible) to continue observing Katinka's teaching and learning from her in the school and in many private conversations and sessions. Katinka is an extremely generous person and shared her knowledge freely.

For three years, I was a fulltime graduate student at USC completing the Master's and working on the Doctorate. When it came time to write the master's thesis and under Katinka's direction, and as a section of the paper, I wrote up all the classes and lesson material we had used in Santa Barbara for first and second grade,including copies of the charts, transparencies, etc. The thesis was completed and I graduated with the M.M. degree in 1968. The thesis generated much interest at the time since there wasn't a lot of material available in English about the Kodaly Concept.

When it came time to prepare the dissertation for the doctorate, I went to Hungary to collect primary source material since nothing could be found here in English which I could use. Katinka assisted in some translations when I returned to the U.S. and, of course, her help was invaluable. In any case, I completed the doctoral paper in 1972 . I was told, though I have never verified it, that this dissertation was the first in English completed totally on Kodaly and his music system. Previously, others had been written but they combined other methologies such as Orff, Dalcroze, etc. with Kodaly.Again, I have never felt the need to check this out though I know I couldn't find any others listed while I was writing the paper.

A tremendous experience happened while I was studying at USC in Los Angeles, I was given permission to study piano with Dr. Erno Daniel,professor of piano at the UC-Santa Barbara. He was the foremost interpreter of Franz Liszt's keyboard music having achieved world-wide recognition as a concert pianist. When we started the lessons, he asked specifically, what I would like to study. I mentioned that because I was interested in teaching children, I also would like to study some quality piano pieces for children. With that he took out Bela Bartok's MICRCOSMOS and we began with those pieces. The startling thing was that the book Dr. Daniel allowed me to use had Bartok's notes in it, and I believe in Bartok's hand, though I'm unsure about this. In any case, Dr. Daniel interpreted the notes for me and it was quite an experience to know some things Bartok suggested about the interpretation of his own music. Dr. Daniel was a superb teacher and one of the most patient I have ever had and what an artist! When he performed the children's pieces they sounded like concert calibre--what a musician Dr. Daniel was!

In the middle of all of this and because Dr. Daniel knew I was approaching the collecting of research for my dissertation, he looked at me one day and said "Well, of course, Katinka and I feel you must go to Hungary to get some primary source material for your paper.

This, to my mind, was not possible since, at that time, Sisters didn't usually travel half-way around the world for any reason. My Religious Community gave me permission to go and Dr. Daniel suggested I fly first to Moscow where the ISME (International Society for Music Education) Conference was to be held. Remember, this was at the height of the Cold War with Communism strongly entrenched in all of Eastern Europe and I had never traveled outside the USA.

In July, 1970, I flew to Moscow alone and after many experiences too innumerable to relate here, I left Russia for Hungary. First, I studied in Esztergom at a Women's College where Erszebet Syonyi, one of the leading Hungarian musicians conducted a summer session on the Kodaly Concept, Solfege, etc.and then I went on to Kecskemet, Kodaly's Birthplace where a Kodaly Seminar was also taking place. I stayed in Hungary for approximately 5-and-a-half months collecting research and visiting the schools. I learned much while there and the musicians were very helpful in leading me to research and translating for me. Some of the people I encountered and learned from are Katalin Forrai, Laszlo Vikar, Peter Erdei, Miklos Szabo, Anna Hamvas, Helga Szabo, Katalin Komlos, Erszebet Szonyi, Laszlo Eosze, Emma Serenyi, Klara Kokas, and Marta Nemesszeghy (deceased). There were others but I can't remember them all, right now.

Before I went over to Europe, Kodaly died. However, I did meet Kodaly in 1966 at Stanford University when they held a symposium in his honor. Katinka made certain that I met Kodaly and his wife Sarolta. I have had occasion to speak with his wife several time since then. One night during the symposium there was a concert given of some of Kodaly's symphonic music. Katinka and Dr. Daniel were seated in the audience with Kodaly and his wife and Katinka asked me to sit with them; it was an honor.

After completing my doctorate, I was asked to chair the Music Department at Silver Lake College. This was the fall of 1971. Katinka continued to be my mentor. I am certain that what has been accomplished here at the college in Kodaly music education would never have been possible if it hadn't been for Katinka Daniel. I am extremely grateful to her; she continues to be an inspiration to me as she is for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of others.

In 1973 we established a Bacheolor of Music in Music Education with a Kodaly Emphasis. Silver Lake was the first institution to have an undergraduate degree in the Kodaly Concept in the United States. The graduate Kodaly Certificate was established in the same year, and continues to be a strong program today. The Master of Music with the Kodaly Emphasis was established in 1987 and we graduated our first class in 1989. There were other institutions, such as College of the Holy Names already offering an MM degree with a Kodaly focus.

As the years went on, interest grew in my master's thesis and doctorat dissertation. The University of Southern California contacted me to inform me that people were copying the papers for their own use and the suggestion was made to publish parts of the dissertation. Out of the doctoral paper came two books: "Kodaly Concept: Its Hitory, Philosophy, and Development" and "Kodaly 35 Lesson Plans and Folk Song Supplement". Both books are published by Mark Foster Music Company.

Sr. Lorna - There are two reasons why I founded the program. The first is bonding -- that of the parents with the child and the child with the parents before birth. Stimulation is the second reason for the program since, I believe, music stimulates the brain and all developmental processes of the unborn child. So there are qualitative reasons for the importance of the program. Since the parents are in touch with the child before birth, music helps build healthy families and sets up a harmonious link between parents and child. If anyone is seriously interested in prenatal development, I would suggest they read the landmark book, "The Secret Life of the Unborn Child" by Thomas Verny. I also have the publication entitled "Lovenotes: Music for the Unborn Child" in which I present lessons which can be used either by the parents themselves or by someone working with the parents during the prenatal period. It may be interesting to know and we also offer a certification program in prenatal music at Silver Lake College consisting of 21 credit hours.

Sr. Lorna - It might be a good idea to have the music teachers demonstrate the skills and musicality of a Kodaly trained class for principals, teachers, and parents to observe. A perfect time to do this is at the Partent-Teacher Organization (PTO) meetings. The program is presented as a representation of what actually takes place in the classroom. In other words, the music teachers can simulate a class for parents and teachers.

The other thing I feel is helpful is to have music teachers send home an occasional assignment for the children to do with their parents. This gets a bit of Kodaly information into the home.

Sr. Lorna - Independent singing can be created by demonstrating HOW to sing. You sing FOR the children and not WITH the children. One or two of the stronger singers can help take turns working with the others. Encourage some stable singers to start the singing in the class. We must remember that children's voices are not capable of volume -- that is not the property of a child voice. When giving directions to the children to sing, it might be better to ask them to "sing out" rather than saying "Sing louder".

Sr. Lorna - For the "grumbling and mumbling" boys, I present them with a special part to sing. I modify various parts of the song to allow them to stay in a more comfortable range. The important thing is to keep them singing.

One of the ways I find out whether their vocal problems are physical or psychological is through the use of a simple motivation technique. I have used library cards with little staves on them. Each boy has a card where his range is checked periodically. The teacher draws the pitches of the lowest and highest range of the boy. When the boys see that with practice their range may expand even though it is expanding downward, it makes them feel proud. Anyone really interested in the changing voice should contact Dr. Don Collins at the University of Central Arkansas. He has some fantastic ideas for getting boys to sing in the first rehearsal. He has a publication entitled, "The Adolescent Reader Singer". Dr. Collins also makes use of Kodaly techniques in his publication.

Sr. Lorna - KMTI stands for The Kodaly Musical Training Institute which used to be housed at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. The best way to stay current regarding new developments in the Kodaly field would be to join a state Kodaly chapter and certainly contact the national office, the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE) in Fargo, ND. Each year there is a national Kodaly Conference and this year it is in Seattle, Washington in April. The dates are April 27-30, 2000. The Administrative Director of the national Kodaly office is:

Sharon Summers,
PO Box 9804, Fargo, ND 58106-9804
Phone: 701-235-0366
Fax: 701-241-7051

Sharon will be able to provide information about any Kodaly activity in the country. The oldest Kodaly organization in the world is MKMEA (Midwest Kodaly Music Educators of America) and our regional conference is being held right here at Silver Lake College, October 8-10, 1999.

Sr. Lorna - Our Kodaly-Related Publications Catalog, obtained through Silver Lake College, contains much material from many authors who are actively engaged in researching and teaching the Kodaly Concept.

Sr. Lorna - Thank you so much for taking time to initiate this interview. The internet has become a new tool for sharing and I thank you for beginning the dialogue. I hope this sparks a dialogue among many teachers regarding Kodaly music education. Thank you, Deborah!

Out of Sister Lorna's Doctoral Paper came two books. One book is on the "History and the Philosophy of The Kodaly Concept" and the other one is called, Thirty Three Lesson Plans.

In the "Music for Tots" program, there is a waiting list. Sister Lorna started the program in 1986. It is the first of it's kind in offering organized pre-natal music classes.

The following book, "Secret Life of the Unborn Child", peaked Sister Lorna's interest in learning more about Pre-Natal interaction.

Other suggestions for good Music Education reading would be:

2 books by Katalin Forrai - Music Education in Hungary and Music in Preschool,

Plus, this book is good, "Music Expands the Brain", by Francis Rauscher.