Coloring the Melody

In this episode with Jon Seligman, Nora and Darlene discuss grief, safety in classrooms, and vulnerability. 

Jonathan Seligman has been teaching choir, band, ukulele, and general music for TK-6th grade at Casillas Elementary for 6 years, creating a new music community from the ground up. Academically, Seligman has received his B.Mus in Music Composition and a MA in Teaching from Point Loma Nazarene University. He has furthered his learning, being trained in ways of Feierabend and being fully Orff-Schulwerk certified. Seligman is also the co-founder of the CVE Collaborative Concert, an annual event that brings students from around Chula Vista to play music together in celebration rather than competition. Seligman’s mission in all his groups is to teach beyond music literacy and discipline. While they are vital, his goal first and foremost is for students to be in tune with their musical expression.

You can find Jonathan on the following social media platforms:

Twitter and Instagram: @mrseligman

In this episode, Nora and Darlene interview Jonathan Seligman and talk about music programs, representation and buzzwords. This is part one of two of the conversation.

Jonathan Seligman has been teaching choir, band, ukulele, and general music for TK-6th grade at Casillas Elementary for 6 years, creating a new music community from the ground up. Academically, Seligman has received his B.Mus in Music Composition and a MA in Teaching from Point Loma Nazarene University. He has furthered his learning, being trained in ways of Feierabend and being fully Orff-Schulwerk certified. Seligman is also the co-founder of the CVE Collaborative Concert, an annual event that brings students from around Chula Vista to play music together in celebration rather than competition. Seligman’s mission in all his groups is to teach beyond music literacy and discipline. While they are vital, his goal first and foremost is for students to be in tune with their musical expression.

You can find Jonathan on the following social media platforms:

Twitter and Instagram: @mrseligman

In this episode, Darlene and Nora get to know Katie Norregaard and have a conversation on her work as a teaching artist for children’s music online.

Katie Norregaard, better known as @misskatiesings on Instagram and TikTok, is a songwriter, music teacher, and filmmaker based in Chicago, Illinois. Her work in creating songs and videos for children online have spread throughout the internet. Through her music, she promotes social-emotional learning, tenderness, and justice. In addition to content creation, Katie teaches virtual music classes to children across the United States.

You can find her on Instagram, Youtube, and Tiktok. 

Franklin Willis is an African American educator, leader, children's book author, mentor, songwriter, and scholar. He graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Music Education, emphasizing in Choral Music. He also earned the Master of Education Degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Belmont University. Most recently, Willis completed the Education Specialist Degree with an emphasis in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University.

As an Elementary Music Coach, he equips teachers with instructional support and necessary resources to strengthen their professional acumen and enhance their classrooms. ​He consistently collaborates with colleagues, community organizations, local businesses, colleges, and universities. He also is passionate to advocate for the importance of music education in schools and develop a curriculum that will lead to students' higher engagement. Through his work, Willis has received national recognition for his commitment to student learning, passion for the profession, and innovative teaching practices. He is a three-time recipient of the CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence Award.

To learn more about Franklin’s work as a music educator, check out the following platforms:

Instagram: @fwillismusic

Anabel Pauline is a Colombian, Mexican-American singer, high school choral director, and scholar. She graduated from Cal State University Fullerton with a Bachelor of Music in music Education with Choral Emphasis.

Anabel has been a choral director for 5 years. She is a first-generation graduate in her family. Anabel is passionate about inclusivity and advocacy. We are so excited to have her here today to share her passions in creating new ways of helping our communities. 

You can find her on Instagram and YouTube @shapinghumans.

Resources

Book: For White Folks who teach in the Hood & the rest of y’all too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Dr. Christopher Emdin)

Our first guest on the Coloring the Melody podcast is Alice Tsui! In this episode, Darlene and Alice discuss seeing ourselves in music education, doing better in featuring people of color throughout the school year, and authentically moving beyond the month of February when celebrating Lunar New Year and Black History Month. 

Alice Tsui is an Asian American/Chinese American pianist, music educator, scholar, activist and lifelong Brooklyn, New Yorker. She graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and a Master of Arts in Music Education, and is currently a doctoral candidate (ABD) in music education at Boston University.

Alice is the founding music teacher at P.S. 532 New Bridges Elementary, an arts-integrated public elementary school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and is on the piano faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Summer program. Alice is a contributor and moderator for Decolonizing the Music Room. As a product of the NYC public school system, Alice is passionate about decolonizing, anti-racist, abolitionist public music education and empowering the individual and collective voices of youth through music as expression.

To learn more about Alice’s work as a music educator, check out the following platforms:

Toxicity can be found everywhere - in friendships, in family, or in the workplace. Nora and Darlene discuss identifying healthy friendships, navigating through teacher lounge talk, and recognizing toxic positivity.

What is SEL? Darlene and Nora talk about an overview of Social and Emotional Learning, cultural responsiveness, and the importance of understanding that our students are human too. 

In this episode, we will discuss typical Filipino and Hispanic stereotypes that we have encountered ourselves. Darlene will address the myth of the model minority ("All Asians are good at math") and Filipino nurses. Nora will discuss contradictory labels ("Hispanics are either hard workers or uneducated/lazy people") and clarify Hispanics' assumptions of joining gangs.

Welcome to Coloring the Melody! We are kicking off this podcast discussing our encounters with colorism as Filipina and Hispanic music educators. In this episode, we talk about our childhood and college experiences with financial aid counselors,  light-skin obsessions, and a few call-to-action tips.