The University of Pretoria Kodály Academy (UPKA) is a Non-Profit Organization that focus on organizing the yearly International Music Education Course.
Elrika van der Merwe is the Executive Director of UPKA, with Dr Tessa Rhoodie & Theresa Dwyer as Board members.
UPKA in collaboration with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is hosting the fifth International Kodály Music Course in South Africa. Dr James Cuskelly – Director of the Cuskelly College of Music in Australia, Lucinda Geoghegan – Creative Learning Director from NYCOS in Scotland, Megan Flinn, Dr. Michael Bradshaw, Carla Trott, Maree Hennessy and Prof Johann van der Sandt will be presenting the course.
In 2026 there will be a course option in Cape Town and in Pretoria.
The first International Music Education Course was held in 2019 by UPKA at the University of Pretoria, with Dr James Cuskelly as the only presenter. For 5 days, over 80 participants got the first taste of Kodály music education training. The flame was ignited and the approach started to change teaching experiences for the better.
In 2023 and 2024 the course participants received full accreditation and the Australian Kodály Certificate. Four spectacular presenters taught over a 100 teachers from across the country: Dr James Cuskelly, Lucinda Geoghegan, Dr Michael Barrett and Prof Johann van der Sandt.
The 2025 course held in Cape Town with the help of the Western Cape Education Department, had an amazing 200 teachers with 6 international lecturers.