Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026
8:30am-2:30pm
$95
Music Educators are invited to join us at Groton Hill’s stunning facility for a one-day professional development event, where participants will earn 6 PD hours.
Artistic Co-Coordinators:
Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr. & Cami Tedoldi
Our artist-presenters will provide insight into flexible teaching practices that’ll help you encourage your students to realize their potential as artists and musicians.
Included in your experience:
EVENT PRESENTERS
Cami Tedoldi is the founder of C Major Consulting, specializing in educator coaching, professional development, and music program consulting, and an artist-clinician with HJP Music. An award-winning music educator and arts leader, Cami previously served as Director of K–12 Music for Foxborough Public Schools and Orchestra Director at the John J. Ahern Middle School. Her ensembles earned top honors and performed at Boston’s Symphony Hall and internationally in Australia. An active clinician and guest conductor, Cami has presented throughout New England and served as Adjunct Music Education Faculty at Bridgewater State University.
Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr. is the Director of Wind and Jazz Ensembles and Senior Lecturer in Music at MIT, where he serves as Music Director of the MIT Wind Ensemble and MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. He is also the conductor and founder of the Groton Hill Wind Ensemble. Dr. Harris has been highly active with public school students and teachers throughout his career, leading seminars and guest conducting. He has written books and articles related to conducting, jazz, and music performance. Dr. Harris and his students have been featured on NPR, PBS, and have been the subjects of two Emmy-winning documentaries.
All Things Strings!
Cami Tedoldi
Whether you are a seasoned orchestra director or new to the string world, this session will offer practical ideas, fresh perspectives, and ready-to-use strategies for the school year ahead. Together, we will explore repertoire selection, instrument considerations, scheduling, classroom organization, teaching philosophy, and other essential components of building and sustaining an orchestra program. Participants will leave with meaningful takeaways, collaborative insights, and resources they can immediately bring back to the podium.
Freeing Yourself to Free the Music
Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr.
Join us on Groton Hill’s world-class Concert Hall stage to learn rehearsal techniques that you can bring directly back to your ensemble. We’ll be exploring how imaginative music-making empowers students and fosters a culture of creativity. This session provides opportunities for 3-4 conductors to lead movements from Holst’s Second Suite in F with guidance from Dr. Fred Harris. Bring your instrument if you’d like to participate, but you’re also welcome to observe.
Finding The Magic in a Score
Dr. Frederick Harris, Jr.
This session presents a roadmap for learning and teaching a score through knowledge, imagination, self-expression, and spontaneity.
Building Ensemble Literacy Through Repertoire
Liz Schorr
In this session we will discuss ways in which educators can use the repertoire they select for their ensembles to build music literacy. We will start by identifying musical elements to look for in repertoire and then break down activities, games and teaching strategies for skill building. Attendees will walk away with templates to use in future repertoire selection and games and activities you can take and use immediately with your students.
Elementary Music School Refresh
Liz Schorr
In this session, we play! We will explore games and activities that you can take and use in your classroom tomorrow! We will also review resources for finding new songs and games to use in your classroom, and attendees will walk away with a digital library of new games and activities you can use with your students right away.
Classroom Systems for the Very Busy Teacher
Liz Schorr
In this session we will explore systems to support music teachers in their every day teaching. From quick assessment, to strategies for student ownership, classroom culture and lesson planning, attendees will walk away with digital templates to support the implementation of any strategies we discuss, and resources for how to implement these strategies in your classroom.
Learn to Jam: Rethinking MS/HS General Music – PART ONE
Jimmy Verdone
How do you engage soon-to-be musicians daily when they do not play an instrument or sing? In this session, participants will take part in the activities that the Learn to Jam students experience daily. From bucket drumming to covering Ozzy Osbourne and the Black Eyed Peas songs, Learn to Jam is quickly becoming one of the hottest classes at Marlborough High! We will go over my strategy/philosophy for teaching and classroom management throughout this session.
Learn to Jam: Rethinking MS/HS General Music – PART TWO
Jimmy Verdone
This session is intended for those who saw part one. We will dive into bucket drumming and go through the process of creating a composition with your students. Get ready for some high energy music making!
Supporting ELS in your Ensemble and Music Classroom
Jimmy Verdone
This session will explore strategies for welcoming your English language learners and multilingual students into your ensemble and music classroom. Music is a universal language and can be used to transform a student’s life. Language acquisition and collaborative instruction will also be discussed.
Defining & Creating a Strong Musical Culture in Your School
Cami Tedoldi & Janine Neprud
Do you work in a small school district? Is your program in a developing or re-building phase? Are you within your first few years in a new district? Are you challenged with limited resources? This session is for you! In this session we will discuss how we can set goals for our own programs, students and building a school wide musical culture based on our own unique circumstances. This session will teach you how to define success for yourself and your students and start to align your immediate goals for your program with your vision of success. You will come away with ideas for fostering student achievement, and building a program that you are excited to work in every day.
Amplifying Student Voice in the Choir Classroom
Sara Durkin
This session explores practical, field-tested strategies for building a student-centered choral classroom, one where singers take ownership of rehearsal, repertoire, assessment, and leadership. Grounded in the National Core Arts Standards and culturally responsive teaching practices, the session offers concrete tools and activities that directors of multiple levels and disciplines can bring back to their own rehearsal rooms.
World Music Pedagogy in the Middle and High School General Music and Choir Classrooms
Sara Durkin
In this interactive session, we will discuss World Music Pedagogy and its roots in culturally responsive teaching. We will also practice implementing the 4 pillars of Patricia Shehan Campbell’s pedagogy, attentive listening, engaged listening, performing, and creating, in a way that is applicable to multiple levels and contexts.
The Intersection of Music Therapy and Education
Kylie Desjardins
Music therapy as a field will be introduced and defined, exploring applications of evidence-based music interventions to address goals. The boundaries of music therapy within an educational setting will be discussed, identifying differences in music education and therapy approaches. Strategies, techniques, and perspectives will be shared to support inclusive and neuroaffirming rehearsal spaces.
Choral Reading Session
Sara Durkin
Sara Durkin leads a hands-on workshop on choral reading techniques that build reading fluency and student engagement through structured group repetition. Teachers will leave with concrete, low-tech routines they can implement immediately using standard classroom texts.
We offer a wide range of musical experiences, focused on mentorship, development, and creativity. Over 2,000 students enjoy private lessons, classes, rehearsals, and performances in our inspirational setting, with unique opportunities that bring education and performance together in ways that are uniquely possible at Groton Hill.
Our dynamic learning spaces encourage you to enjoy the process, with 35 state-of-the-art teaching studios, and 2 world-class performance halls, acoustically tuned for a warm, vibrant sound.