¡Canta Conmigo! Songs and Singing Games from Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Spain

Workshop Description

Come sing, play, move, create, and experience joy with Hispanic children’s music traditions. Participants will actively engage in repertoire that the presenter learned from teachers, families, and children while living in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Spain. These cherished activities allow for musical play, movement, improvisation, storytelling, and community building. Song research will be presented and field videos will be shared to demonstrate the songs in authentic contexts. Strategies for integrating the repertoire responsibly into school curriculums and culturally sustaining pedagogies will also be discussed. ¡Ven a cantar y jugar! Come sing and play!

About Dr. Rachel Gibson

Dr. Rachel Gibson is a Professor of Music and coordinator of music education at Westfield State University in Massachusetts and teaches PreK-6th grade music at Whately Elementary School. She earned her Ph.D. in music education at the University of Washington and is an active local, national, and international clinician. Her book ¡Canta Conmigo! Songs and Singing Games from Guatemala and Nicaragua (Oxford University Press, 2021) is a comprehensive teaching resource that includes songs and singing games she learned while living in Central America. As a Fulbright Global Scholar (2021), she taught and researched at Universidad de Málaga in Spain and traveled throughout the country learning children’s songs. Dr. Gibson is certified in Orff-Schulwerk and Kodály teaching philosophies and is member-at-large for Connecticut American Orff-Schulwerk Association (CTAOSA), past-president of Kodály Educators of Southern New England (KESNE) and served as member-at-large for Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) National Board of Directors. She is on summer faculty at the University of Montevallo Kodály Institute in Alabama (UMKI) and West Texas Kodály Initiative (WTKI).