2026-2027 Workshops

James Allen is a K-5 Level 3 Orff-Certified Music Specialist, presenter, and active performer who brings energy, creativity, and a wealth of classroom experience to music education. A featured presenter at the 2021 and 2024 AOSA National Conferences and the 2023 NYSSMA elementary headliner, James has led workshops for educators across the country.

He provides professional development for Orff chapters, school districts, universities, and state conferences, with a particular passion for frame drums, improvisation, composition, and jazz in the elementary classroom. His work has been featured by Musicplay.com and in Orff publications including Reverberations and Teaching With Orff. In 2024, he taught Elementary Methods at Sacred Heart University.

James is also an accomplished percussionist, performing in musical theater, jazz, bluegrass, and orchestral settings. He holds degrees from SUNY Purchase and Yale University, along with a teaching certificate from Central Connecticut State University.

Jody Petter is a kindergarten through Grade 5 music specialist in Apple Valley, Minnesota. She earned her master’s degree in music education with an Orff Schulwerk concentration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, studied at the Orff Institute in Saltzburg, and has completed two levels of Kodály. She has served on the Minnesota Orff Chapter board for 18 years as president, program chair, and is the current past president. She presents at local conferences and is the author of the blog, Random Acts of Orff.