Top 5 Online Courses For Solfa Musicianship This Summer
2021 has a seriously big silver lining. (We’re really good at identifying the positives at Doremi Connect!)
Sure, choirs and orchestras have had their rehearsals put on pause, singing in schools has ground to a halt and summer schools have been cancelled. But the top Kodály educators have really embraced the online world and solfa musicianship classes have thrived online. There have never been so many options to learn so we thought we’d help you out by showing you a few of the best!
1 Kodály Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Hungary
Oh my goodness!! We can study at THE institute! Every Kodály enthusiast’s dream! Of course the Kodály Institute was going to be a trail-blazer for online learning. Anyone who’s ever been in one of Institute Director Dr László Norbert Nemes’ classes knows he’s super confident with technology. It was no surprise to us that last summer the students transitioned to online learning. The studio setup they had in place was second to none!
The good news for us is that their 2021 Summer School is also online and we are able to attend from the comfort of our own homes. Ok, so not quite as fun as actually going to Kodály’s birthplace in Kecskemét but we can save that for a future year.
2 British Kodály Academy
Ok, so we’re biased. The Doremi Connect team also work as tutors for the British Kodály Academy. Helen Russell is the Musicianship Level 2 tutor and Rebecca Willson is one of the Foundation Certificate Course tutors. The speed in which the British Kodály Academy turned their frown upside-down by launching their successful online courses was incredible. Testament to Lucinda Geoghegan, the Education Planning Board and the Trustees.
3 National Youth Choir of Scotland
Now you no longer have to be IN Scotland to enjoy the excellent musicianship training provided by NYCoS. Again with Lucinda Geoghegan on their team there was no doubt they would have worked in partnership with the BKA to deliver musicianship and accredited certificate courses. NYCoS and BKA Summer Schools have always been a week apart, in person. Enabling international tutors to share their knowledge at one, and then the other.
However now we can take classes from these tutors at home! Funny to be finishing breakfast to rush off to musicianship with Dr. James Cuskelly OAM in Australia, chatting about cracking open a bottle of wine for the evening! Plus Dr. Cuskelly is President of the International Kodály Society! What a treat!
4 Kodály Society of Ireland
What? More choices! Yup, the KSI have also joined the online world. Students from all over the world, can access their classes. Of course not only students, but also tutors. With the work moving online, the KSI were able to get Cork School of Music‘s amazing Kodály practitioner Anne Ralph to run their advanced classes.
5 Doremi Connect
Last but not least… you can study with us! Doremi Connect has a whole host of online options from live weekly classes, to hybrid pre-records with live support and weekly solfa practise sessions to improve fluency. Check out our courses here.
Other honourable mentions….
There are so many other providers with online course offerings so don’t forget to check out these too!
Can you suggest any more for our list?
- Kodály with Esther – the incomparable Kodály expert Esther Hargittai has her own pre-recorded solfa courses
- First Thing Music – exciting developments led by Lindsay Ibbotson to equip classroom teachers to teach music confidently
- The Benedetti Foundation – working with Lucinda and Karen Geoghegan and Jimmy Rotheram
- The Phoenix Collective – Jolly Music author Cyrilla Rowsell leads this team with Kodály teacher training
