Teacher Professional Development Workshops 2024

ASPA Education is excited to announce three exciting Professional Development Workshops with all new content in 2024 delivered in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Are you an experienced performing arts educator looking for some fresh ideas in 2024? 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.

Start or Revive 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

• Adelaide: Friday March 1
• Brisbane: Friday March 8
• Melbourne: Friday March 1
• Sydney: Friday March 1

Presenter (Adelaide): Laura Knowling has tutored with the Australian Girls Choir for 17 years, conducting international and national touring choirs and has led choral workshops around Australia. Laura holds a Bachelor of Performance (Jazz) from the Elder Conservatorium in South Australia and has worked extensively as a singer across many genres of music including performing regularly at Adelaide Fringe as part of the Gospo Collective. 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 (Brisbane): Georgia Martin is a passionate music educator that has been tutoring with the Australian Girls Choir since 2011. She holds a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education from The Conservatorium of Music at Griffith University, as well as a Masters of Education completed through the Queensland University of Technology. Since graduating, Georgia has had extensive experience teaching music in high schools across Brisbane, and delivering music education programs across regional and remote Australia. Georgia’s experience includes coordinating vocal programs in schools, which sees her working with vocalists and high school choirs, and currently directs a high school choir that has over 120 students involved. She is also currently the Music and Production Coordinator for QLD at the Australian School of Performing Arts, working closely with the Senior Performance groups in Brisbane.

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 over 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 15 years.

Presenter (Melbourne): Grant Ward is a creative and seasoned musician, composer, arranger and educator with a Bachelor of Music and Diploma of Education from the University of Melbourne. He has tutored and conducted for the Australian Girls Choir for more than 20 years and is currently the Music and Production Coordinator in Melbourne. Grant has taught music and performing arts at numerous schools including Toorak College in Mt Eliza, Melbourne, and Kowloon Junior International School in Hong Kong, where at both he held the position of Head of Performing Arts. He regularly arranges repertoire for the Australian Girls Choir and is known in Australia and overseas for his Spin Round publications of original vocal rounds.

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. With a background in Dance and Musical Theatre, Tanya loves working with children, inspiring them to reach their musical potential.

Show-Stopping 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: Friday May 10
• Sydney: Friday May 17

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 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 (Melbourne): Rebecca Sabatino is an engaging educator and performer. Rebecca trained at Federation University, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Theatre; and has worked in children’s entertainment touring both nationally and internationally with Peppa Pig – Live Treasure Hunt. Rebecca is passionate about performing arts education and was previously the Music Associate for Choir for the Victorian State School Spectacular. She has also tutored with the Australian Girls Choir and delivered choral programs with ASPA Education across Victoria for the past 15 years.

Presenter (Sydney): Tanya Romeo – see bio 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). Tiegan grew up singing with the Australian Girls Choir and was awarded their June Bronhill Scholarship in 2016. Since then, she has taught for the AGC and ASPA Education in both Melbourne and Sydney for the past 7 and a half years. Tiegan’s love of performing supports a playful and creative learning environment where imaginative exploration and self-expression are strongly encouraged.

Performing Arts Content Booster

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

• Adelaide: Friday August 9
• Brisbane: Friday July 26
• Melbourne: Friday July 26
• Sydney: Friday August 9

Presenter (Adelaide): Rachel Burke is an engaging performer and holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama) from the Flinders Drama Centre. She has worked as an actor, director and puppeteer across stage and screen, touring nationally with The Dictionary of Lost Words and internationally with Bluey’s Big Play. With a background in drama and a passion for music education, Rachel has a lively, playful and inclusive approach to teaching. She has delivered music and drama workshops in schools in South Australia as well as in remote communities in Western Australia and Far North Queensland. Rachel has also been a tutor with the Australian Girls Choir for 14 years and has experience working with students from Reception to Year 12.

Presenter (Adelaide): Maddison Apacible is a passionate choreographer, performer and teacher having trained in ballet, theatre, jazz and tap. Her professional dance credits include ‘Le Cirque Bijou’ with Norwegian Cruise Lines, and ‘Mickey’s Christmas Big Band’ at Disneyland Paris. Maddison has travelled the country as a dancer for national sporting teams, and supporting Australian theatre names including Rhonda Burchmore, Rachel Beck and Rob Mills. Locally, she has choreographed for Adelaide Strikers, Ding Productions, Pelican Productions and Australian Girls Choir. Now based in SA, Maddison choreographs for The Adelaide Fringe, The Royal Adelaide Show and local schools, most recently Concordia college’s ‘Chicago’ musical. She is passionate about inspiring and nurturing the next generation of performers through her teaching and performing work.

Presenter (Brisbane): Lucy Flook brings a wealth of experience from the education sector, and is currently is a Head of Department. She has previously worked in External Assessment across learning areas at QCAA, and in the Senior Curriculum and Assessment branch across the General and Applied Arts syllabuses. Lucy has experience as a Head of Department, State Dance Panellist, Curriculum to Classroom (C2C) Arts Writer and Expert Writing Team member for the QCAA General Dance Syllabus. She has developed numerous education notes and packages for the QLD Music Festival, QLD Theatre, QPAC Out of The Box Festival and Brisbane Powerhouse’s World Theatre Festival. Lucy is currently the Queensland Choreographer for the Australian Girls Choir.

Presenter (Brisbane): Georgia Martin – See bio above.

Presenter (Melbourne): Jess Huggett has been a tutor with the Australian Girls Choir for 16 years and is currently the Music Education Manager. 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): Joanna Patocs is a passionate music educator and vocal specialist. She is dedicated to sharing the joy and the many wellbeing aspects that choral singing can bring. Joanna has been tutoring with the Australian Girls Choir for nearly 20 years and has also worked as a singing teacher, choral director, and classroom music teacher in primary and secondary schools. She is a classically trained singer with performance experience on the  operatic and concert stage. Joanna completed her undergraduate studies in Music, German and Diploma in Education at the University of Melbourne, and Masters in Opera Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. She currently works as a Music Education Consultant for ASPA and is a senior tutor with the Australian Girls Choir.