Leawood Elementary Music

Welcome to Leawood Elementary School Music Class

Welcome to Music at Leawood Elementary School.  We have a wide variety of musical instruments and opportunities to create and make music together. The school sponsors a 4th and 5th Choir Club for additional times for our students to develop as musicians and artists. We are excited to celebrate playing instruments, singing, saying, dancing, and creating together every day!

Joani Brandon, Elementary Music Specialist

Training:  Orff Schulwerk Certification, Kodaly Certification, Feierabend Certification (all levels), Dalcroze Training

"Where words fail, music speaks."  Hans Christian Anderson

joani.brandon@jeffco.k12.co.us

383-982-2385 (School Voice Mail)

4th and 5th Grade Choir Meets on Wednesdays

2:35 - 3:30 p.m.

Choir fee will be $25 for the year. This cost includes the choir t-shirt and materials. Students will be dismissed from the front door.  

*We will meet on the following Wednesdays (since Mrs. Brandon is at two schools):

September 10th and 24th; October 1st, 15th, and 22nd; November 5th and 12th; December 3rd and 10th; January 7th, 14th, and 28th; February 4th, 18th, and 25th; March 18th; April 8th, 15th, and 29th.

Joani Brandon, Music Teacher  joani.brandon@jeffco.k12.co.us

Kevin Kolasa, Principal

JeffCo Schools, Jeferson County (Colorado)

Joani Somppi Brandon is a K-5 music educator at Leawood Elementary School where she has taught since 2021. Joani served for twelve years as a public school music teacher in Carmel-Clay Schools (Indiana) and Wilmington City Schools (Ohio). She is a Professor of Music, Emeritus at Anderson University where she served for 22 years preparing future music teachers. Joani completed her bachelor of arts degree in music education and piano performance from Anderson University (where she received the Outstanding Music Alumni Award in 2024); her master's of music education from Butler University; and her doctor of musical arts degree from Boston University. Joani has Kodaly Certification and Feierabend Certification from the Hartt School, Orff Schulwerk Certification and Dalcroze training from Anderson University, and a Certificate from the Orff Institut International Course in Salzburg, Austria. She is the immediate past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and is a past national president of the Feierabend Association for Music Education. Joani co-authored First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk (GIA Publications, 2017) and has written a chapter for Scott Edgar's upcoming book on Social and Emotional Learning in the General Music Classroom (GIA Publications, 2025).