The Tennessee Arts Academy is the nation’s premier professional development institute for arts education. A program of the Tennessee Department of Education since 1986, TAA offers a wide variety of year-round services to K-12 arts educators including a summer institute, workshops, master classes, scholarships, award recognition programs and mentorships.
This page serves as the starting point whenever there is a need to conduct virtual TAA programming. Information will be provided on upcoming TAA events, including dates, times and how to access the virtual site.
Please feel free to contact the TAA office by email (taa@tnartsacademy.org) or by phone (615-988-6250) if you desire further information.
Silvia Scaife serves as director of career and technical education for Auburn City Schools, where she has reached across curriculum and discipline aisles to teach college and career readiness to secondary students. She has been named teacher of the year at every grade level from kindergarten to twelfth grade and was one of the top five 2006 finalists for Alabama’s Teacher of the Year. Scaife has degrees from Troy University and Auburn University, where she also received a PhD in curriculum and teaching. She serves as an elected governing board member for the Educational Theatre Association, is the mentoring coordinator for the Alabama Thespian Festival, and has adjudicated for Alabama, Georgia, and the International Thespians Festivals. With more than twenty-eight years of service to education, Scaife continues to explore and implement innovative ways that will foster a thirst for learning.
Ruth E. Dwyer is internationally recognized as a youth and children’s choir specialist and Kodály educator. She is a frequent guest conductor and clinician for national and international colleges, universities, honors choirs, and festivals. Dwyer has recently retired from the Indianapolis Children’s Choir after thirty-six years as a conductor and director of education and as artistic director of the Columbus Indiana Children’s Choir. Her ensembles have performed across North America, Spain, and central Europe. Her teaching experiences also include nineteen years as a public school music educator and as an adjunct professor with Butler University. Dwyer has authored several music education textbooks for Illinois Central College and is a frequent guest author for the Hal Leonard choral music text book series. She is an accomplished composer, arranger, and is the editor of the Ruth Dwyer Choral Series with Colla Voce Music, LLC.
In this session participants will learn activities, warm-ups, games, and repertoire that will help students improve singing in tune with others. The presenter will promote the use of active participation when developing sight-reading skills in a group setting.
William L. Lake, Jr. is the director of concert bands for the school of music at George Mason University where he conducts the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He also teaches conducting and wind literature classes. Previously, he served as associate director of bands and assistant professor of music education at the Crane School of Music for the State University of New York at Potsdam, where he was co-conductor of the Northern Symphonic Winds, principal conductor of the Crane Concert Band, and guest conductor of the Crane Wind Ensemble. Lake earned his doctorate in instrumental conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the mentorship of John R. Locke and Kevin Geraldi.
Lake maintains an active performance and clinic schedule as a guest conductor and lecturer nationwide. In March 2024, he was named the music and artistic director of the Capital Wind Symphony. Recently, Lake served as a collaborating author for two books, Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press) and Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change (Lexington Books). As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Lake has presented numerous seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance.
In this engaging ninety-minute virtual session, participants will explore the profound connection between conducting gestures and musical communication. Drawing on principles of kinesiology, expressive movement, and ensemble leadership, this session will equip participants with tools to refine their physical vocabulary, and ensure clarity and intentionality in every gesture.
William L. Lake, Jr. is the director of concert bands for the school of music at George Mason University where he conducts the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He also teaches conducting and wind literature classes. Previously, he served as associate director of bands and assistant professor of music education at the Crane School of Music for the State University of New York at Potsdam, where he was co-conductor of the Northern Symphonic Winds, principal conductor of the Crane Concert Band, and guest conductor of the Crane Wind Ensemble. Lake earned his doctorate in instrumental conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the mentorship of John R. Locke and Kevin Geraldi.
Lake maintains an active performance and clinic schedule as a guest conductor and lecturer nationwide. In March 2024, he was named the music and artistic director of the Capital Wind Symphony. Recently, Lake served as a collaborating author for two books, Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press) and Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change (Lexington Books). As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Lake has presented numerous seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance.
Just as a dish requires the right balance of flavors to come alive, a musical performance demands thoughtful preparation and attention to detail. In this workshop, participants will explore the "seasonings" of score study: the unique and essential questions conductors must ask to fully internalize a piece of music and bring it to life. Participants will engage with thought-provoking prompts and practical strategies for developing a deeper connection with their scores. By the end of the session, attendees will have a toolkit of "seasonings" to bring their interpretations to life, creating performances as flavorful and memorable as a well-crafted meal.
Felicia Barber is an adjunct associate professor of choral conducting, and conductor of the Yale Camerata at Yale University. In addition to teaching graduate-level and undergraduate choral conductors, Barber is developing a new initiative designed to prepare Yale students to work with young musicians on choral music in both school and church settings. Her research interests include effective teaching strategies, fostering classroom diversity, incorporating equity and justice initiatives in choral curricula, and the linguistic performance practice of African American spirituals. Barber is regularly engaged as a guest conductor at All-State festivals and will conduct at the American Choral Directors Association eastern division conference in 2024 and the Carnegie Hall Festival in 2025. She holds a degree in vocal performance from Oral Roberts University, a master’s degree from Mansfield University, and a doctorate from Florida State University.
This session will review essential elements of gesture, emphasizing use of Laban, and left-hand independence. Laban was developed by Rudolf Laban, a dancer and choreographer, as a method and language for describing, interpreting, and documenting human movement. This session will offer insight on how to apply the Laban method and language into conducting gestures, and will explore how those elements can be applied to specific musical examples.
Felicia Barber is an adjunct associate professor of choral conducting, and conductor of the Yale Camerata at Yale University. In addition to teaching graduate-level and undergraduate choral conductors, Barber is developing a new initiative designed to prepare Yale students to work with young musicians on choral music in both school and church settings. Her research interests include effective teaching strategies, fostering classroom diversity, incorporating equity and justice initiatives in choral curricula, and the linguistic performance practice of African American spirituals. Barber is regularly engaged as a guest conductor at All-State festivals and will conduct at the American Choral Directors Association eastern division conference in 2024 and the Carnegie Hall Festival in 2025. She holds a degree in vocal performance from Oral Roberts University, a master’s degree from Mansfield University, and a doctorate from Florida State University.
While it seems counterintuitive, the best teachers strive to make themselves unnecessary! This session focuses on developing independent musicians, and will include vocal independence, maintaining melody and harmony parts, and independent, expressive decision-making musicianship.
Jonathan Bernstein’s plays and musicals have been produced all over the country. Under the auspices of the Jerome Robbins Foundation, he is currently developing a new project with actress and choreographer Susan Misner entitled Here in the Bright Colorado Sun. His directing credits include work at the Atlantic Theater Company, Signature Theater, the Kennedy Center, Ensemble Studio Theater, and many others. He has worked at New York’s City Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, and the 52nd Street Project. Supervising director credits include the still-running revival of Chicago, overseeing both the Broadway production and the many national and international productions it has spawned. He is a professor of playwriting and script analysis at New York University and he serves as the artistic director of the Performing Arts Project, an international arts training nonprofit organization designed to serve people from ages fifteen to twenty-five.
In this storytelling gymnasium, participants will gently “bench-press” artistic impulses. The workshop will allow teachers to tell more compelling tales, teach more compassionately, watch more sensitively, and become more responsible stewards of the art of theatre.
Lynn Hoare is a facilitator, educator, and director working in the field of applied theatre and arts education with regional, national, and international partners. She was the senior director of school-based programs at Creative Action, the largest arts and education nonprofit in central Texas. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin, a co-founder of the Center for Imagining and Performing Justice, and the co-director of the Performing Justice Project which devises original theatre with young people about gender and racial justice. Her co-authored book, Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth: The Performing Justice Project, won the distinguished book award from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education in 2021. Hoare collaborates with others to use theatre as a tool for imagining justice, building connection and community, and fostering critical dialogue.
This workshop will use a variety of arts-based strategies to explore belonging in the classroom. Strategies include “Story of my Name”, “Alphabet Relay”, “Object as Metaphor”, and “Yes, Let’s!” This session will include discussion about using and adapting strategies to other areas of the curriculum.
Lynn Hoare is a facilitator, educator, and director working in the field of applied theatre and arts education with regional, national, and international partners. She was the senior director of school-based programs at Creative Action, the largest arts and education nonprofit in central Texas. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin, a co-founder of the Center for Imagining and Performing Justice, and the co-director of the Performing Justice Project which devises original theatre with young people about gender and racial justice. Her co-authored book, Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth: The Performing Justice Project, won the distinguished book award from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education in 2021. Hoare collaborates with others to use theatre as a tool for imagining justice, building connection and community, and fostering critical dialogue.
This session will use arts-based strategies to explore connections to the natural world. Participants will practice descriptive language, seeing and naming patterns, weather patterns as metaphor for self, visual description, and sociometrics. This session will include discussion about using and adapting strategies to other areas of the curriculum.
Don Masse is an artist and educator who has been based in San Diego since 2001. At the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, he teaches mulitmedia design to students in grades six through eight, and foundations of visual art and design to ninth grade students. Masse earned a degree in studio art from Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia and his master's degree in studio art from Louisiana State University. He works in a variety of materials and approaches as a professional artist, including charcoal drawing, digital illustration, large scale public chalk drawings, and public artworks on walls of buildings around San Diego. Masse presents at art education conferences locally, regionally, and nationally. He has served as the keynote speaker and guest artist at teacher conferences in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. He incorporates the work of a diverse range of contemporary artists in his curriculum because he wants all students to feel seen and loved in his curriculum. Masse regularly seeks out student exhibit opportunities beyond school spaces and into physical spaces and publications, as he believes these experiences in the real world lift students up in meaningful, lasting ways.
In this session, participants will experiment with Adobe Express and Pixlr to bring fresh digital perspectives to traditional subjects in art classes. The apps are free and user friendly for students and teachers alike.
Larissa Brown is a versatile artist with a tapestry of creative endeavors spanning diverse industries. Formerly an animation artist for Nickelodeon’s iconic show Rugrats, Brown has also illustrated nearly a dozen books within Nickelodeon’s licensed universe, including Avatar: The Last Airbender. Her debut graphic novel, Blake Laser, will be released in December 2024. As the founder of OC Art Studios, her educational initiatives have touched lives globally. During the pandemic she pioneered an online community for BIPOC art students, granting more than five hundred full scholarships to aspiring animation and illustration artists. Brown expertly juggles her role as a Disney fine artist with her commitment to teaching at colleges and universities in Orange County. Her artwork in the galleries of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts seamlessly blends her traditional and digital painting skills. She has a special affinity for celebrating characters of color within the Disney universe.
Participants in this session will learn from Nickelodeon character designer and Disney artist Larissa Brown. She will share the process of creating cute, fun, and frightening cartoon characters that will have students drawing up a storm.
Josh Drews is an artist and art educator who lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and has been teaching visual art at Spring Valley since 2001. He has assisted in the development of an arts curriculum for South Carolina, including co-authoring the state’s Media Arts standards, and he has written state curriculum guides for media arts and printmaking. Drews serves as the National Art Education Association (NAEA) southeast region vice president, the chair of the NAEA Advocacy Task Force, and is the former president of the South Carolina Art Education Association. He has been recognized as the 2020 NAEA National Secondary Art Educator of the Year, the 2021 Winthrop University Fine Arts Alumni of the Year, and he received the Mac Arthur Goodwin Award in 2022 for his work in visual arts education through the utilization of community arts resources. Drews is also an avid print maker and working artist.
Many educators have been seeking ways to advocate for art education. This session will provide ideas for sharing what is happening in arts classrooms with decision makers and provide ideas for applying classroom leadership practices in new ways.
Ollie Liddell is an active musician, arranger, adjudicator, writer, and clinician for music education, and serves as a mentor to young band directors in Memphis Shelby County Schools. Liddell took over the responsibilities of director of bands at Memphis Central High School and has transformed the band program into an award-winning organization. His bands have earned awards at jazz festivals and competitions throughout the country, including awards for concert band, wind ensemble, jazz band, and marching contests. Liddell has received many individual awards, including being named the 2023 Memphis Shelby County Schools High School Teacher of the Year and a finalist for 2023 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. He received a degree from Jackson State University, and then his master's and PhD from the University of Mississippi.
In this session, the presenter will outline how to start a school jazz band. There will also be suggestions offered on ways to grow an existing school’s jazz band program.
Vincent Oakes serves as artistic director of the Chattanooga Boys Choir, a music education and performance organization which includes more than one hundred and twenty choristers, ages eight through eighteen. He is also the director of choral music and chair of the Fine Arts Department at the Baylor School, an independent college preparatory school in Chattanooga. Oakes has conducted more than one hundred honor choirs, clinics, and choral festivals, including recent honor choirs throughout the United States. Additional recent conducting engagements include the Bangkok International Choral Festival, the VOCALIZZE Choral Festival in Lisbon, Portugal, and a residency with Cámara Exaudi in Havana, Cuba, as a participant in the American Choral Directors Association’s International Conductors Exchange Program. His research interests have led to professional presentations on working with the adolescent singing voice, effective rehearsal pedagogy, and teaching musicianship and music literacy in the choral setting.
In this session, participants explore the principles of healthy vocal production as they are employed in rehearsals with singers of all ages and experience levels. A variety of exercises that reinforce vocal musicianship, ensemble development, and aural skills will be presented. Selecting and preparing repertoire in the general music classroom and choral rehearsal will also be explored.
Julia Heath Reynolds currently serves as assistant professor of music education at Belmont University. Previously, Heath Reynolds taught elementary and secondary general music and music in special education at Indiana State University. She is active in the field of music education and has presented research and workshops at the state, national, and international level. Heath Reynolds has served as the president of the Indiana Music Education Association, and holds degrees, including her PhD in music education, from Florida State University. Her research focus includes music for special learners in primary and secondary schools, music educator training, and nonverbal communication in the music classroom.
Explore the vital connection between literacy and music in this interactive online session. Participants will dive into the impact of literacy on general music instruction and share practical tips, tricks, and strategies for integrating literacy in meaningful ways. The session will also feature an open conversation to exchange ideas and address challenges.
Elaine Bromka has had a long, rich career in film, television, and the theatre.
In film and television her credits include Cindy, the mom in themovie Uncle Buck, and roles in The Sopranos, Sex and the City,E.R., Dharma & Greg, and Law and Order. She has appeared on Broadway and off-Broadway. Bromka has played leads in many theatre productions, in roles ranging from Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing to Shirley
Valentine, which was cited as an outstanding solo performance in New Jersey in 1997 by the Star Ledger. After starring opposite Rich Little in The Presidents, where she portrayed eight first ladies, she went on to co-write the one-woman show Tea for Three: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty. She starred in the show off-Broadway and continues to tour with it nationwide. A member of the Actors Studio and a graduate of Smith College, she has also been on the faculty of Smith College and of the Steinhardt School at New York University. She continues to host, both virtually and live, a variety of one-day acting workshops to more than one hundred and seventy colleges and prep schools.
There are living stories all around us. In this jump-in class, participants will receive prompts from photos and human interest features from newspapers. They will learn to tell those stories on the spot and have a blast doing it!
Lynnette Young Overby is the former director of the Community Engagement Initiative and the founding director of the Partnership for Arts & Culture at the University of Delaware. She also serves as artistic director of the Sharing Our Legacy Dance Theatr and was president of the National Dance Association, the Michigan Dance Council, and the Delaware Dance Education Organization. Overby received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Dance Education Organization. She is a member of the National Council on the Humanities and was recently inducted into the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship.
In this session, participants will experience the ways that any curriculum can move! No dance experience is needed to creatively embody concepts in science, math, or literature.
Lauralee Chambers has taught kindergarten through fifth grade students for more than twenty-five years as an art educator in the Mt. Pleasant School District in Westchester, New York. Chambers believes that children are born to create, express, and find both comfort and challenge in the arts. She has a passion for collecting ideas and putting things together in unique ways, both in her own art as well as with her students. Chambers has been instrumental in integrating the arts across the curriculum and developing unique programs such as Avenues to Artists, Artists to Authors, Discovery Days, Summer Voyage, and Unified Arts. In 2011, she was the recipient of the Artsonia Leadership Award.
This hands-on interlude will walk participants through the steps of creating a simple zine with learners. Ideas on how these mini-booklets can grow into engaging, meaningful projects will also be provided, all without the need for devices! A zine (short for "magazine") is a mini, self-published booklet that starts with an idea and evolves into a unique medium! Zines encourage creativity, build fine motor skills, and promote exploration and sharing.
Materials needed: Participants will need a sheet of copy paper, a pencil, scissors, and a glue stick. Everything else is up to your imagination!
Lauren Cochran is an art educator with more than a decade of experience serving both kindergarten through twelfth grade public and non-profit arts organizations. Cochran studied printmaking at Auburn University, completed her master’s degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and then earned a doctorate from Carson-Newman University. Presently she is teaching visual arts in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools as well as running her own side business, Crafternoon with Dr. Cochran, which offers art experiences for all ages.
This engaging and interactive workshop integrates Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) with the creation of self-portraits, inviting students in grades kindergarten through five to explore their identities, foster a sense of belonging, and express themselves through various materials and mediums. Through the use of literature, creative art supplies, and diverse approaches, students will engage in a multi-faceted journey of self-discovery and expression, all while cultivating emotional awareness, empathy, and community building.
Materials needed: Participants will need crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint and brushes, paper, fabric scraps, beads, and other mixed-media materials.
Born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Garcia received a degree in art education with a concentration in printmaking from Fayetteville State University. She taught in public schools for six years and recently stepped out of the classroom to focus on her children and be a full time artist. Garcia plans to get her master’s degree and go back to teaching.
This session will present an easy and effective way for students to create a multipurpose sketchbook from paper bags or gift bags, reinforcing the teaching standards to recycle and reuse. The paper bags create pockets to store collage materials or reference images. They are also durable with almost any medium, and have a nice, toned background to enhance color and value. The presenter will share a few tutorials that can be used in the classroom, as well as the slideshow used for the interlude.
Materials needed: Large brown paper bag or gift bag with handles (at least 8 by 10 inches or larger). These materials should be something you can get for free at most grocery stores. You can also use a re-used gift bag from a previous holiday or event. Brown lunch paper bags work well too, and you can make about 8-10 sketchbooks from one purchased package. You will also need scissors, glue, and any writing or drawing instruments you wish to use.
Kevin Thomas, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Montreal, is a renowned dancer, choreographer, and educator. He’s been performing internationally for a decade, beginning his professional career as a dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and later becoming a principal dancer with Ballet San Jose and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Thomas has performed leading roles in numerous ballets, including The Prodigal Son, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Nutcracker. Among other credits, he has appeared with the Royal Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera. In 2006, Thomas co-founded the Memphis-based company Collage Dance Collective with Marcellus Harper to promote diversity in classical ballet. The organization has quickly grown to boast an international touring professional company and nationally recognized conservatory, training more students of color in a classical art form than any other nonprofit in the region. Collage was recently named a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts and the Ford Foundation.
Kevin Thomas, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Montreal, is a renowned dancer, choreographer, and educator. He’s been performing internationally for a decade, beginning his professional career as a dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and later becoming a principal dancer with Ballet San Jose and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Thomas has performed leading roles in numerous ballets, including The Prodigal Son, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Nutcracker. Among other credits, he has appeared with the Royal Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera. In 2006, Thomas co-founded the Memphis-based company Collage Dance Collective with Marcellus Harper to promote diversity in classical ballet. The organization has quickly grown to boast an international touring professional company and nationally recognized conservatory, training more students of color in a classical art form than any other nonprofit in the region. Collage was recently named a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts and the Ford Foundation.
About the Middle Tennessee State University Jazz Ensemble
MTSU Jazz Ensemble I is the top performing large ensemble in the jazz studies program at Middle Tennessee State University. It features the most experienced student players, and concentrates on cutting-edge literature, master works from the big band repertoire, and performance of student compositions and arrangements. Members of MTSU Jazz Ensemble I commit to the highest levels of professionalism as individual soloists, section-members, and as contributors to the group sound. This ensemble has toured extensively throughout the mid-Southeast. The ensemble’s annual headline appearance at the MTSU Illinois Jacquet Jazz Festival with an internationally acclaimed jazz artist is a highlight. Recent guests have included Dave Douglas, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jimmy Heath, Rich Perry, and Tamir Hendelman.
Arranger, composer, trumpeter, and educator Jamey Simmons grew up in Wisconsin and knew at an early age that music was his unique gift. He earned a degree at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and studied with Robert Baca. Simmons earned his master’s degree in jazz and contemporary media at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with jazz composer and arranger Fred Sturm. He is currently director of jazz studies at Middle Tennessee State University where he teaches courses in jazz and directs MTSU Jazz Ensemble I. Simmons toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He is active in the Nashville professional music scene, and has made appearances with artists as diversified as the Temptations, Buddy DeFranco, Lee Konitz, Vince Gill, Debby Boone, and the Nashville Jazz Orchestra. Simmons has written arrangements and compositions that have been performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Buffalo Symphony Pops, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra. His recording of hymns and spirituals called In the Garden: Hymns for Piano, was recorded by pianist Arunesh Nadgir, and his duo and trio project, featuring guitarist Rory Hoffman and pianist Matt Endahl, is archived on YouTube. Active as a commissioned composer and arranger, Simmons’s published compositions and arrangements are available through Heritage JazzWorks, the Lorenz Corporation, Sierra Music, and Kjos Music Publishing.
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