2026 - 2027 Workshop Series

In-person workshops will be held at:

Renaissance Academy Charter School

400 Franklin Ave STE 245

Phoenixville, PA 19460

David Thaxton

Modal Musical Movement Explorations of Light and Dark

Saturday, August 29, 2026

9:00 am - 1:30 pm

Come explore the creative possibilities of elemental movement and the diatonic modes through themes of light and dark. Participants will work with various media: movement, voice, barred and non-pitched percussion, recorder, and ukulele to explore and create artful and engaging pieces that are ripe for the Orff music classroom while building understanding and familiarity with the diatonic modes. (Fear not! The day will be playful and mostly painless!) Also, there will be rounds and canons galore for the feasting! Come… Step into the light… or the darkness!!!

David Thaxton is from Sparks, Nevada where he is currently in his 32nd year teaching Elementary music to pre-K through 6th grade, and holds a B.M.E. Degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and an M.M. from Eastern Washington University.

As an AOSA certified teacher trainer for Orff Level I, II, and III pedagogy and Level I and II recorder, David teaches Summer Courses in Birmingham, Chicago, and Portland. He has presented workshops and clinics at local, state, and national levels and presents to Orff chapters throughout the country, Including the Moravian University Music Mosaic Course beginning in Summer of 2026.

David is also a Past President and current Treasurer for the Sierra Nevada Chapter of AOSA where he was co-founder of the Sierra Nevada Orff Festival. At the national level, he has served on the Editorial Board of The Echo Journal of the American Orff Schulwerk Association and the monthly online publication, Reverberations. He is currently the Treasurer for the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement and was also awarded the ACEMM Spotlight Educator Award. His book “Making Tracks: Recorder Explorations, Creations and Improvisations” published through Sweet Pipes is used in elementary music classrooms across the country as an improvisatory approach to recorder instruction, And has recently Published “Rounds All Around” – a collection of original rounds through F-Flat Books.