Carolyn Neumann VanderBurgh

I am delighted to be a part of the choral and music education communities locally, provincially, and nationally. I have been the conductor of the Laurier Concert Choir since 2017. I also have conducted the Inter-Mennonite Children’s Choir, a community children’s choir in Waterloo Region, since 2001. Since 2012, I have also conducted the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Choir at several events including the annual Homecoming Service. One of my favourite experiences was guest conducting the Waterloo Regional District School Board's Kodály Choral Festival in 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2023/24.

In the classroom, I am a sessional instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University for the Faculty of Music teaching courses in elementary music education and choral techniques. I am also an elementary teacher for the Waterloo Region District School Board and currently teach Grades 2 to 6 music at Keatsway Public School. In the past, I held leadership positions in the Kodály Society of Ontario and the Kodály Society of Canada. I have also been a clinician at provincial, national, and international workshops and conferences including the Ontario Music Teachers’ Association and the International Kodály Society Symposium in Alberta. In August 2022, I was honoured by the Kodály Society of Ontario with Lifetime Membership for my contributions to music education in Ontario.

My academic background includes a Bachelor of Music from Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), a Bachelor of Education from Brock University, and a Master of Arts in Music Education (Choral Concentration) from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. I also have my A.R.C.T. from the Royal Conservatory of music in piano pedagogy. Some of my writing on music includes my Master’s thesis “Children’s and Conductors’ Perceptions of Leadership Behaviors that Demonstrate Emotional Intelligence of Female Conductors of Children’s Choirs”.

In addition to my formal education, I continued to develop my conducting practice by having participated several times in the Summer Conducting Institute at Westminster Choir College, as well as taking an online course called: Creative Practices in Choral Pedagogy. In summer 2024, I participated in the Summer Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Westminster Choir College. I have completed Level I and II training in the Kodály method of music education as well as a three-week pedagogical course at the Kodály institute in Kecskemét, Hungary. In addition to my music teaching qualifications in Ontario (Kindergarten to Grade 10), I have completed the Ontario Additional Qualification courses Math Part I and Part II.