Spotlight on Orff Club

Fourth graders Jacob Turnquist and Carly Drake prepare for rehearsal

What's an Orff, anyway?  Is it an acronym?  Is it an instrument?  Is it something you say when you stub your toe?  Music teacher Nathan Kelley explains that Orff Club, a group of Lucas students who play xylophones and similar instruments, was named after Carl Orff.  Orff was a German composer who believed that children should be their own composers.  This philosophy is the foundation of the teaching approach Mr. Kelley uses in Orff Club.  Carl Orff also inspired the development of children's xylophones like the ones used in school.

Mr. Kelley was the first general music teacher in the district to start a percussion ensemble.  He started Orff Club in 2007 at Lucas and has been leading it ever since.  Orff Club is open to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who earn their membership through hard work in class and teacher recommendations.  Mr. Kelley says the goal of Orff Club is to give students the opportunity to play and perform more challenging music than they do in general music class, as well as giving children who love music a chance to learn and work with other music lovers.

Fourth graders Liz Degner, Elizabeth Gugliuzza, and Lukas Schoen prepare for rehearsal.

Orff Club members will soon have some opportunities to demonstrate their skills.  The fourth grade Orff Club will give a demonstration at the music informance on May 9, as well as performing their full show on the last day of school, May 30, at 1:00 p.m.

The fifth and sixth grade Orff Club will perform at the Tiffin Elementary Music Festival, which features elementary music performance groups from the area.  It will take place at Clear Creek Amana High School Auditorium from 6:30-8:30 on May 17th.

Mr. Kelley is proud of the work Orff Club members do, and one of his favorite memories is of the time Orff Club performed at the Iowa Music Educators Conference in Ames.  It is a gathering of music educators from around the state to collaborate and learn.  "It was an honor to showcase Lucas work to so many music educators in Iowa," he says.

Students in fourth, fifth, or sixth grade who are interested in joining Orff Club should keep an eye out for announcements from Mr. Kelley in the upcoming school year.  We're lucky to have this exciting program for our students and Mr. Kelley's leadership!