Seminar On The Kodály Method

“A Seminar On The Kodály Method”
Report

The 1st Malaysian Kodály Seminar was held in the Faculty of Music at the University of Technology MARA (UiTM) in Shah Alam from the 1st to the 6th of June 2009. It was a joint collaboration between the Faculty of Music Advocacy UiTM and Young Choral Academy. The seminar was under the auspices of the International Kodály Society too. Professor Gilbert De Greeve helped generously at the planning of the programme for the whole seminar. The seminar successfully brought together 220 music teachers from all over Malaysia; music lecturers and music students from Universities and Colleges in Malaysia; as well as participants from our neighbouring countries, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

The participants gained valuable pointers on the Kodály philosophy and were able to share knowledge on teaching with six highly experienced and very helpful tutors. Special thanks to Professor Gilbert De Greeve, Dr Jerry Jaccard, Professor Judit Hartyányi, Professor Judy Johnson, Dr James Cuskelly, and Professor Anne Laskey for their support, effort, and help.

This event also marked the first collaboration between the Faculty of Music Advocacy, UiTM, headed by Professor Madya Dr Ramona Tahir, and the Young Choral Academy, led by Susanna Saw. Kudos to all the committee members and helpers for making this event a success. The organizers strongly hope that this seminar will help to arouse the awareness of the Kodaly philosophy and to help in raising the level of music education in Malaysia.