Teacher Professional Development Workshops 2023
ASPA Education is excited to announce three exciting Professional Development Workshops with all new content in 2023 delivered in both MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY!
Are you an experienced performing arts educator looking for some fresh ideas in 2023? Or maybe you love the idea of providing more performing arts offerings at your school, but lack confidence? Then come and learn from our experienced staff who will share simple and effective tricks of the trade so that you can deliver engaging and sustainable performing arts programs in your school.
Teachers will leave each session with practical strategies that can be directly applied in their schools, in addition to digital resources that extend on activities learned during the session.
Inspire Your School Choir
Want to inspire your students to sing with glee? Our experienced staff will share simple and effective tricks of the trade to enable you to reinvigorate or launch a vibrant school choir that students will want to join. Each participant will receive a booklet with warm ups, activities, music and digital resources.
Dates and details
- Melbourne and Sydney: Friday March 3
Presenter (Melbourne): Sally Gawley is an energetic and talented performer and educator with a background in jazz and improvisation. She has tutored with the Australian Girls Choir for 20 years, conducting international and national touring choirs and has led choral workshops around Australia and overseas. Receiving a Diploma of Performance (Jazz) from Elder Conservatorium in South Australia, Sally has worked extensively as a jazz and soul singer and performed with the internationally awarded a cappella ensemble Akasa. Sally delivers a range of workshops for ASPA Education and has conducted thousands of children in metropolitan and regional Victoria over the past 14 years.
Presenter (Melbourne): Mark Puddy has worked in music education for many years and is in demand as a writer and arranger of choral works. He is regularly commissioned to write works for schools and community choirs around Australia.
Mark is the resident arranger and composer for the Australian Girls Choir and regularly performs his works for children ranging from 5 to 18 years of age. He has published many choral pieces and his works are performed regularly in Australia and overseas, often appearing in eisteddfods and other choral competitions as set pieces or as recommended works.
Mark conducts, tutors and accompanies, with The Australian Girls Choir, and has been a regular conducting tutor at ACCET (Australian Choral Conductors’ Education and Training) teaching conducting to choral directors from around Australia.
Presenter (Sydney): Fiona Ulrick has been a tutor at the Australian Girls Choir since 2010 and is currently the Team Leader in NSW. After completing a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education at UNSW she worked for a number of arts administration organisations including Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Education Unit. Her passion for Music education has seen her work in early childhood, primary and secondary school settings teaching classroom Music and running band, choral and peripatetic Music programs. She has produced school musicals and toured internationally with school performance ensembles. As a performer she has worked and toured extensively as an accompanist and répétiteur across a number of genres. Fiona is passionate about the accessibility of Music education for all and knows that it all starts with you – a vibrant and inspiring teacher!
Spectacular School Concerts
Do you want to put on a show that will blow your school community away, but don’t know where to start? Or do you have all the ideas ready to go but need a helping hand to bring your production to life? Join our expert instructors as they give you simple and effective tools to create a show-stopping (and stress-free!) performance. Each participant will receive a booklet with warm ups, activities, music and digital resources.
Dates and details
- Melbourne and Sydney: Friday May 12
Presenter (Melbourne): Laura Knowling has tutored with the Australian Girls Choir for 14 years, conducting international and national touring choirs and has led choral workshops around Australia. Laura holds a Bachelor of Performance (Jazz) from Elder Conservatorium in South Australia and has worked extensively as a singer across many genres of music. Laura delivers a range of workshops for students with ASPA Education and has been involved in delivering performing arts programs to Indigenous girls in remote Australia through Girls from Oz since 2010.
Presenter (Melbourne): Grace Collins has been tutoring with the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) for the past 7 years and has been a choreographer with both AGC and ASPA Education since 2019. She has delivered a range of performing arts programs for students around Victoria with ASPA Education. In addition to her work with ASPA Ed, Grace has travelled to remote communities in WA and QLD with Girls from Oz to deliver music and dance workshops to Aboriginal children. Her choreography credits include Theatrical’s upcoming production of ‘American Idiot’, various routines for AGC and ASPA Education, and multiple school musicals; including Yarra Valley Grammar’s ‘Seussical’ in 2015 and ASPA Education’s ‘An Aussie Adventure’ in 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre) from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and is passionate about making the arts accessible and exciting for kids of all ages and abilities.
Presenter (Sydney): Tanya Romeo has worked in Music Education for over 20 years. She has a Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education and a Masters of Music from the University of New South Wales. Since graduating, Tanya has worked as the Head of Music, overseeing Kindergarten to Year 12 Music in a number of Sydney schools. She is currently the Music and Production Coordinator for NSW at the Australian School of Performing Arts, and a Senior Tutor at the Australian Girls Choir. With a background in Dance and Musical Theatre, Tanya loves working with children and inspiring them to reach their musical potential.
Performing Arts Bag of Tricks
Are you looking to boost or refresh your performing arts content for Semester 2? Let us re-stock your teacher tool-kit at this practical, hands on day where we will equip you with a wide range of brand new resources that will engage students of all ages and abilities. Each participant will receive a booklet with warm ups, activities, music and digital resources.
Dates and details
- Melbourne and Sydney: Friday July 28
Presenter (Melbourne): Jess Huggett has been a tutor with the Australian Girls Choir for 18 years and is currently the Music Education Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts, Bachelor of Music and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Monash University and has taught classroom music, dance and drama in both primary and secondary schools. Jess is passionate about performing arts education and has enjoyed the opportunity to share this with teachers around Australia through touring as the Music Director for AGC national tours, running workshops with school students and teachers with ASPA Education and delivering performing arts programs to Indigenous girls in remote Australia through Girls from Oz.
Presenter (Melbourne): Laura Aldous is an actor, theatre maker and performing arts educator who is passionate about fostering the skills of young performers in playful and inclusive environments. A graduate of Monash University (Bachelor of Theatre and Performance), NIDA Actor’s Studio and Advanced Residency Program, her recent works range from plays to devised performance art. Laura is an experienced performing arts tutor for the Australian Girls Choir, ASPA Education and Girls From Oz, and has worked throughout Australia in this capacity teaching varied programs to babies, through to young adults.
Since 2016 Laura has collaborated with Barking Spider Visual Theatre, devising and delivering creative workshops and performances; and is also a core creative of Green Room Award winning independent theatre company, The Bloomshed. Laura is thrilled to be a part of the ASPA Ed team for her eighth year, working with students and teachers to build skills, connections and joy through the performing arts.
Presenter (Sydney): Tanya Romeo – see biography above
Presenter (Sydney): Tiegan Denina is a versatile performer with a Diploma of Musical Theatre from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre) from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in Melbourne. Tiegan starred as Veronica in The Mitchell Old Company’s 2022 production of ‘Heathers – The Musical’ and was also in Sydney Theatre Company’s production of ‘Chimerica’ in 2017. Tiegan has been tutoring with the Australian Girls Choir for the past 5 years across both Sydney & Melbourne as well as delivering many singing, dance & drama workshops with ASAP Ed via online learning. Tiegan’s love of performing supports a playful and creative learning environment where imaginative exploration and self-expression are strongly encouraged.
