Educational Consultants
Dr. Kay Edwards
Dr. Kay Edwards, Associate Professor and chair of the Music Education Area, teaches courses in general music (for music majors and early childhood education majors), supervises student teachers, and teaches graduate music education courses. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Ohio University, and both a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Arizona State University. She has taught at Oberlin Conservatory, UNC-Greensboro, and in public schools for over 25 years.
A specialist in early childhood and elementary general music, Kay has Orff Level III certification as well as special training in Kodály and Dalcroze. She has presented at conferences of Music Educators National Conference (MENC), AOSA, OAKE, ISME, and numerous state conferences. Recent presentations include The Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities (2010, 2007, 2005), MENC (2010, 2004) and the Ohio Music Education Association (2011, 2008, 2006, 2004).
Co-author of a textbook entitled Prelude to Music Education (Prentice-Hall, 2003), Kay is a contributing author to Silver Burdett Ginn/Scott Foresman's basal series textbooks Making Music (2008, 2005, 2002) and The Music Connection (1995/2000), used nationwide, and wrote listening lessons for Cincinnati-based public radio station WGUC's website "Classics for Kids." Most recently, she has written the Teacher Education Materials for the Maestro Classics website.
Kay has published articles in the Music Educators Journal, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Tempo, Southeastern Journal of Music Education, General Music Today, TRIAD, and The North Carolina Music Educator. Kay is also a contributing author to several MENC publications such as Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education (2011, 1996) and the Strategies for Teaching series.
Kay has received several grants for her work in multicultural music education. A specialist in Native American music for the classroom, Kay recently completed a group of biographical entries for The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Formerly a member of the national Advisory Board for Music Educators Journal, she currently serves on the editorial boards for General Music Today and for the Ohio-based research journal, Contributions to Music Education.
Christine Hiester
Ever since she was a little girl playing school with her sister, Christine Hiester has been acquainted with a deep desire to teach. Now, as she homeschools and disciples her own four children- three boys and a girl ranging in age from 10 down to 3 years old- that desire is fulfilled each day. Christine is a musician by trade and spent her childhood and teenage years learning many different instruments, including trumpet, percussion and violin, before settling on a career path toward a performance degree in classical voice. At the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, she received a double bachelor's degree in performance and music education. She taught elementary music at a private girl's school in Coconut Grove, Florida before moving to Cincinnati to study at the prestigious College-Conservatory of Music. While at the University of Cincinnati's conservatory, she earned a double master's degree in vocal performance, with a special fondness for 20th century music, and choral conducting. Christine now lives with her husband and their four children near Columbus, Ohio where she is a voice teacher and freelance performer, singing with local choirs and orchestras. She is the director of the Central Ohio Homeschool Choir which serves the musical needs of more than 100 families in the greater Columbus area. Christine can be found online as a regular contributor to the Christian homeschooling magazine The Heart of the Matter. Click here to view Christine's curriculum guides created to accompany each Maestro Classics recording.
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Olivia Allen
Olivia currently teaches and writes curriculum for music appreciation and piano classes at a homeschool cooperative in the Columbus, OH area. She grew up performing both vocally and on the piano, which led to her winning various awards, honors, and competitions in her home state of Kentucky. At Morehead State University in Kentucky, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a choral, voice, and piano emphasis, and she has trained and coached numerous musicians over the last 20+ years. Olivia is a music director and songwriter at her church, she homeschools her three sons, and she and her husband write and record music together. Click here to view Olivia's Bach and the Pipe Organ curriculum guide.
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