Our Teachers Bios

Paul Weller
Level II Pedagogy
B.A., St. Olaf College, M.A., St. Mary's University

Paul Weller has been teaching elemental movement and music for more than 20 years to grades K-5 at a public school in Minnesota. He did hisOrff Schulwerk Levels training at University of St. Thomas. He has taught workshops locally, nationally, has presented numerous times at the AOSA national conference, and is an Orff Level I and II teacher trainer. Paul has a unique teaching style that blends the best of the Orff Schulwerk process and Kodaly sequential literacy training and believes movement and singing are the basis for all music making. In his free time, Paul enjoys reading, biking, drinking tea and is an avid board game fanatic.

Paul Cribari
Master Class
MA, with Orff Concentration, University of St. Thomas
DMA, Boston University

Paul is the Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. Dr. Cribari received his MA with a concentration in Orff at the University of St. Thomas and his doctorate in Music Education from Boston University. In addition to his work with children, Paul teaches Levels I, II, and III of Orff Schulwerk at SMU and Metropolitan State University of Denver. Paul is a regular clinician for local chapters of AOSA and has presented sessions at state and local conferences, as well as numerous national conferences of AOSA. Internationally, he has taught in Italy and Hong Kong. Paul, along with co-author Richard Layton, recently published THE ELEMENTAL STYLE: A Handbook for Composers and Arrangers, Part II.

Paul W. Bio

Paul C. Bio

Daniel J. bio.

Daniel Jolly
Level I Pedagogy
BM and MM, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Daniel Jolly is a National Board Certified Teacher with a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He completed his Orff levels at UNLV and has been teaching in Las Vegas for 11 years. He has been published in AOSA’s Orff Echo and has presented both locally and at AOSA’s national conference. Daniel is currently serving as the President of Nevada’s Desert Valley Chapter of AOSA.

Rachel Marie-DelaCruz Rivera

Movement

Bachelors of Music Education, University of Nevada, Reno
Masters of Music: Music Education with Orff Schulwerk Emphasis, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Rachel is a National Board Certified Teacher. She completed her Orff Level certification at UNLV. She has taught K-5 General Music in the Clark County School District for 17 years. Rachel has served on the local Orff board (NDVC) as President, treasurer, scholarship chair, and programing chair. She has presented locally, nationally and at AOSA’s national conference. She co-chaired the CCSD Orff Festival from 2014-2015. Rachel believes that movement is for everyone, and using the Schulwerk to teach movement makes the possibilities of creativity endless.

Rachel R.

Jennifer Prestridge
Recorder
BME, Henderson State University, MME, University of Oklahoma

Jennifer K. Prestridge has taught music to Kindergarten through 5th grade students in Las Vegas, Nevada for the past 28 years and is currently the Music Specialist at Gilbert Academy of Creative Arts. Gilbert’s performing ensembles were featured performers at the AOSA National Conference in 2019. Jennifer is a certified Teacher-Educator in movement and recorder for AOSA and teaches at several courses across the country. She regularly presents sessions on arts integration, music, and movement at conferences and workshops at the district and national levels. She has also served as the chair of the Clark County Nevada Orff Festival and her arrangements, compositions, and choreography have been featured in multiple festivals.

Jennifer P.