Faculty

Mandy Algate

Pedagogy

Mandy Algate is a National Board Certified Teacher who believes in joyful, interactive, and sequential music teaching. Algate holds a Master of Music degree in music education with Kodály emphasis and a Bachelor of Music degree, both from Texas Tech University, as well as certification in Kodály music pedagogy from Portland State University. Algate supports elementary music specialists in Lubbock ISD as an instructional coach, and serves students as a music teacher at Roscoe Wilson Elementary, an International Baccalaureate World School. She teaches on the staff of the West Texas Children's Chorus, and is a Kodály Musicianship instructor for the National Children's Chorus. Algate was a founding board member and is a Past-President of Kodály Educators of West Texas, a chapter of OAKE, and has taught pedagogy for the West Texas Kodály Initiative Levels program.

Susan Brumfield

Academic Director / Pedagogy

Dr. Susan Brumfield is Professor of Music Education at Texas Tech University and holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma. She is known throughout the United States and Europe as a clinician, consultant, author, composer, arranger and choral conductor. Dr. Brumfield is the author Jean Ritchie’s Kentucky Mother Goose, a book and CD memoir with American folk legend Jean Ritchie, which features rare and never-before-seen illustrations by Maurice Sendak.

An internationally recognized expert in the Kodály approach, Dr. Brumfield is the author of First, We Sing! Kodály-Inspired Teaching in the Music Classroom (Hal Leonard), a set of Kodály-based curriculum and resource materials for K-5 music. This comprehensive series includes the Teacher’s Guide, Teaching Strategies for Primary Grades, Teaching Strategies for Intermediate Grades, Practice Activities for Rhythmic and Melodic Elements and First, We Sing: Songbooks One and Songbook Two. Forthcoming volumes include Songbook Three, Active Listening in the Music Classroom and Songs for Reading and Writing. Other ancillary materials include applications for interactive whiteboard, student workbooks and classroom materials.

Founder and Artistic Director of The West Texas Children’s Chorus, Dr. Brumfield is also in frequent demand throughout the world as a commissioned composer and guest conductor. Her choral music is published with Hal Leonard Music, Colla Voce Music, Galaxy/ECS Publishing Group and BriLee/Carl Fischer, and includes more than forty titles. With four choirs consisting of singers from kindergarten through college, the West Texas Children’s Chorus organization serves children throughout the South Plains area and serves as a teaching lab for TTU Music Education students. In addition to performances with the Texas Tech University Choirs, the Lubbock Chorale and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the choirs have performed at the Texas Music Educators’ Conference, national conferences of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and the American Orff Schulwerk Association and has been featured in concerts at Carnegie Hall and other prestigious venues in NYC.

Dr. Brumfield was honored in both 2012 and 2014 with the Texas Tech University College of Visual and Performing Arts Award for Outstanding Research, and as a two-time finalist for the President’s Book Award. In 2015, Dr. Brumfield was the recipient of the Louisiana Tech University Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award. In 2025, she was awarded the President’s Excellence in Commercialization Award.

Kurt Cereske

Pedagogy / Musicianship

Dr. Kurt Cereske is the Principal Associate Conductor and Kodály Studies Director for the National Children's Chorus, where he leads the musicianship program across all eight city chapters and serves as the principal conductor for the Austin and Dallas chapters. A distinguished music educator and conductor, he previously served as Fine Arts Coordinator for Lubbock Independent School District, an adjunct professor of elementary music education at Wayland Baptist University, and an Associate Conductor for the West Texas Children's Chorus.

Dr. Cereske teaches pedagogy and musicianship for the West Texas Kodály Initiative and has been on the faculty of the Kodály Association of Southern California’s Summer Music Institute and the Portland State University Kodály Certification Workshop. A respected presenter and clinician, he has shared his expertise at regional and national conferences and led educator workshops nationwide. He has also conducted honor choirs at the regional, state, and national levels.

With a deep commitment to excellence in music education, Dr. Cereske specializes in early childhood and elementary music, children's choral music, Kodály pedagogy, and musicianship training. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Dr. Martin Luther College, a Master of Music Education from Michigan State University, a Ph.D. in Fine Arts Music Education from Texas Tech University, and Kodály Certification from the Kodály Association of Southern California’s Summer Music Institute.

Rachel Gibson

Music Literature / Materials

Dr. Rachel Gibson is a Professor of Music Education at Westfield State University in Massachusetts. She earned her Ph.D. in music education at the University of Washington and is an active local, national, and international clinician. Her book ¡Canta Conmigo! Songs and Singing Games from Guatemala and Nicaragua (Oxford University Press, 2021) is a comprehensive teaching resource that includes songs and singing games she learned while living in Central America. As a Fulbright Global Scholar (2021), she taught and researched at Universidad de Málaga in Spain and travelled throughout the country learning children’s songs from local musicians. Dr. Gibson was president of Kodály Educators of Southern New England (KESNE), member-at-large for Connecticut American Orff-Schulwerk Association (CTAOSA), served on the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) National Board of Directors, and on summer faculty at the University of Montevallo Kodály Institute in Alabama (UMKI). Dr. Gibson also enjoys teaching Suzuki Piano and PreK-6th grade music one day a week.

Kati Kiss

Choir / Musicianship

Dr. Katalin Kiss, a worldwide experienced choral conductor and music educator graduated and obtained her doctoral degree in performing arts from the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary.

She had been lecturing between 1989 and 2019 at the Kodály Institute of Liszt Academy of Music, where she served as Deputy Director-General in 2002-04. She spent several years in the United States of America as a guest lecturer and conductor at the invitation of the Kodály Center of America in Boston. In the 2015-16 academic year, she was appointed as a guest professor by at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. In addition, she conducts, lectures, and holds workshops regularly at music symposia and seminars in Europe, Australia, in China and in the USA.

Dr. Katalin Kiss founded the Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble in 1990 and has performed extensively worldwide, earning numerous first prizes and seven Grand Prix awards, including the Champion title at the World Choir Games (2008, Graz; 2014, Riga). With Ars Nova, she has premiered and recorded many contemporary choral works, several dedicated to her and the ensemble, which is regarded as one of the world’s leading chamber choirs.

She is also active internationally as a guest conductor, jury member at choral competitions, and representative of Hungary in the World Choir Games Council, as well as a founding member of the International Choral Conductors’ Federation.

In 1993, she founded the Ars Nova Editio Music Publishing House, which specializes in contemporary Hungarian choral music. She is the author of several music theory books for high education published in English and Chinese languages. (A Practical Approach to Harmony, A Practical Approach to Viennese Classical Music published by Editio Musica Budapest Zeneműkiadó )

Kris Olson

Special Topics

Kris Olson is well-known in American music education circles as a creative and dynamic teacher, presenter and performer. Kris holds a master’s degree in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas. She has taught music and movement for 35 years in public schools, private schools, community centers, and dance studios. Kris offers workshops across the country and has taught at various universities, including serving as adjunct instructor in Modern Dance at Texas Tech University. Kris is a member of Flatlands Dance Theatre in Lubbock, Texas, where she teaches music and movement as a private contractor and specializes in early childhood music and dance.

Dr. Gary Packwood

Choral Pedagogy and Conducting

Dr. Gary Packwood is widely recognized as an inspiring and motivational conductor, pedagogue, and lecturer with a global footprint. His impactful presence has been felt across North and South America, Europe, and Asia, where he has conducted esteemed all-state and honor choirs in more than 40 states. With a rich academic background, he has held prominent positions as a professor of music and director of choral studies at various universities in the southeastern region. Dr. Packwood's choirs, under his expert guidance, have delivered stellar performances at prestigious venues such as The White House, across Europe, and at State and Regional Conferences sponsored by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

A Lifetime member of ACDA, Dr. Packwood is a past president of the Southern Region of ACDA and serves on the board for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. He was President-Elect of the Alabama Choral Directors Association, and Repertoire & Standards Chair for Multicultural Music Perspectives for ACDA Southern Region. A member of the NAfME, Dr. Packwood served as Vice-President of the Higher Education Division for the Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA) and is also a member of the Texas Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Teachers of Singing.

In 2017, Santa Barbara Music Publishing began the Gary Packwood Choral Series, which features compositions that specialize in music for developing and advanced young voices. He also has additional music publications through MusicSpoke, Alliance Music, and a new choral series Gentry Music. Dr. Packwood has published articles in the Choral Journal, Teaching Music, the 2nd Edition of the AmeriGrove Dictionary, and a book chapter in GIA’s Publication of Conducting Men’s Choirs, and the book Choral Reflections: Insights From American Choral Conductor-Teachers published by Hal Leonard. He is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Pi Kappa Lambda

Phillip Sammons

Musicianship

Phillip Sammons is proud to call himself a music educator of eleven years. Passionate about young voices, he is excited to begin a new position teaching Pre-K – 4th grade music at the Regis School, an all-boys Catholic school located in the heart of Houston. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University of Houston and Louisiana State University, respectively. A proud member of OAKE, Phillip obtained his Kodály certification in 2019 and previously served on the National Conference Choirs Committee. He teaches summer musicianship classes for the Killeen Kodály Training Program. Phillip has presented sessions at TCDA, led workshops for various school districts, and has twice conducted the Lamar Consolidated ISD Elementary Honor Choir. Previously, he taught at the St. John’s School and Horn Elementary in Houston ISD. During his time at Horn Elementary, his choir performed alongside the Houston Boy Choir, earned recognition at local music competitions, and was invited to perform for the 2021 TMEA Convention. An avid clarinetist, Phillip teaches privately and continues to perform when given the opportunity. In 2023, he collaborated with Trio Oriens, a local piano trio, to narrate and perform a series of children’s concerts using Camille Saint-Saëns work, The Carnival of the Animals.

Jill Trinka

Music Literature / Materials

Dr. Jill Trinka is an internationally acknowledged Master Teacher in the Kodály philosophy of music education. She has directed and taught in Kodály Teacher Training Institutes throughout the United States since 1980, and currently directs the West Chester University (PA) Kodály Certificate Program and teaches for the West Texas Kodály Initiative in Lubbock, TX.

A past president of the Organization of American Kodály Educators (2000-2002) and 2003 recipient of their Outstanding Educator Award, Dr. Trinka is well known by children, parents, and music educators as “a dynamic, winsome, and energetic teacher and performer.” Her performances bring new life to the musical and cultural treasures of American folk music as she accompanies herself on the dulcimer, autoharp, guitar, and banjo. Jill’s publications – My Little Rooster, Bought Me a Cat, John, the Rabbit, and The Little Black Bull; Jill Trinka: The Bass Hall

Children’s Concerts DVD (Ft. Worth, TX); and recordings Had a Little Rooster, There’s a Hole in the Bucket, and Old Joe Clark, with John Feierabend – are published by GIA Music. She has also published An Introduction to Playing the Lap Dulcimer; Getting More Out of Your Autoharp; An Introduction to the Folk Guitar, and An Introduction to Playing the Soprano Recorder.

Dr. Trinka holds a B.S. in Music Education (University of Illinois), M.A. (Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, as a Ford Foundation Ringer Fellow), and Ph. D. in Music Education with an Ethnomusicology and Folklore cognate (The University of Texas at Austin). From 1985 to 2019 she held academic posts at the University of Central Arkansas, The University of North Texas, University of St. Thomas, and Coastal Carolina University.

She lives in Murrells Inlet, SC and enjoys her semi-retired life of teaching older beginner guitar students, working with Level 4 students on their final projects, and dancing, swimming, walking, biking, cooking, reading, stretching, and solving puzzles.

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