Karen Ellis Author and Publisher of Print and Online Media.

THE BIO: There really is a face behind the machine . . . THE RESUMÈ

Karen Ellis
Education Publisher
of Print and
Online Media

Guavaberry Books
published the compilation titled "Domino" in 1990 using Pagemaker and a Mac 68000.
Picture of my first computer 1990
(Way back in 1985-86 the Apple IIc starter system cost $1098.00)

Imagine, in 1991 there I was using a modem, bulletin boards and Lynks @ 300 baud modems, then I upgraded to 14.4k, 2400 bps, 9600 bps, 36.6k,baud, 56k, DSL, and now cable. All that was before the www sites came along, remember, the World-Wide Web began in March 1989 and I was there and got to watch when the watch the first websites came online. Nov. 3 1992 On the day that Bill Clinton is first elected U.S. president, there are 50 pages on the World Wide Web.
My work just seamlessly moved from the meatspace playground to the cyberplayground: from publishing offline to publishing online. This was an organic, authentic process, a path that I followed in my life. That's the short story of how I got here.

My Best Advice

FEELING FREE?
That happens when you are improvising, being in the moment, but in the end you are really only free to pick the structure you want, and to study; because everyone is interdependent, and that is the fact of life. The more you study the structure you've picked to live within, using those boundaries to figure out how to solve something; the more depth of knowledge you will achieve!!

The Best Way
to Sum Me Up

A researcher filmed children romping in a school playground at lunch hour each seemed to be "doing his own thing." When they played it and rolled the film, the two fit perfectly-- for all of the film's four and a half minutes. But there was no music playing in that playground, says the author, "Without knowing it, they were all moving to a beat they generated themselves." music and rhythm are part of what draw us into the larger body of the superorganism.

Careful study showed that the group was moving in synchrony to a silent rhythm
But careful analysis revealed that the group was moving to a unified rhythm. One Little Girl, far more active than the rest, covered the entire schoolyard in her play. Hall and his student realized that without knowing it, she was "the director" and "the orchestrator."

I wear many Hats.

I'm a teacher, culture keeper, researcher, thought leader, author, publisher of print and online media, webmistress, web developer, consultuant, lecturer, interdisciplinary curriculum content developer, blogger, tweeter, online publicist, and the overall RingLeader for the Educational CyberPlayGround.

Imagine helping over 2 million people a year since 1998! Which explains why I'm on the net and not in the meatspace classroom.

• History
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HISTORY

THE RESUMÈ

Orff Schulwerk

In 1965 and 1966 as a 10 year old at Oak Lane Day School my first Orff teacher was Mrs. Fannabell Kremins. She had just received her training directly from Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman in the class of 1962 at the Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto.
Huge Picture of the 1963 Student Class of Fannabell Kremins, Gunild Keetman and Carl Orff given to me by Fannabell.

After watching American Bandstand everyday when I came home in school, I knew I wanted to play the guitar. The problem was that as a little kid the guitar was to big for me. That is why in 1963 I started to study the ukele with George Brittan at the Jenkintown Music School and that's how I met my friend Joel Bernstein (Ringleader on this site) who was in my class. Down the rode both Joel and I would meet Tossi Aaron: Orff Teacher, Founder of Orff Schulwerk PAOSA chapter, Author, Publisher, and Folk singer. Thanks to my friend Anita Medick, wife of Armand Mednick. It was in Tossi's class at Abington Friends where she reintroduced me to Orff Schulwerk and that's when I first met John Broomall who is now a RingLeader on this site. Tossi also taught Joel Bernstein guitar and when he was in High School, when she took an underage Joel to hear Joni Mitchell at the Main Point which started his career in the music business. It was Tossi who was the one who turned me onto the Orff Schulwerk Teachers Certification Program.

I finished the first 2 years of Orff Schulwerk Teachers Certification Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto in 1970 and 1971, with Traude Schrattenecker, Doreen Hall, Mimi Samualson and completed my last year at Memphis State with Jos Wuytack in 1973.

Ms. Traude Schrattenecker was a Dancer. Traude studied and danced with Mary Wigman the Mother and Founder of Modern Dance. Traude was Mary Wigman's protege.
Most people have heard of Martha Graham, who brought the movement to the United States and popularized "modern dance".
Ms. Traude Schrattenecker was one of the original creators of the Schulwerk, she developed the movement approach with Orff and Keetman at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria.
I met Traude in 1970 when I attended the University of Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music. She was was my dance teacher and friend, sadly Traude has now passed away.

Doreen Hall studied with Orff and brought the method to Canada and is responsible for implementing this technique throughout the Canadian School System.

Jos Wuytack at Memphis State University and recorder with Mimi Samuelson, through all 3 levels.

I used the Orff Schulwerk technique as a Music Therapist at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, in 1976. At that time I worked with children 3 - 18 years old and their families. The Child Guidance Clinic was nationally renowned for a technique known as "Family Therapy". The father of Family Therapy Dr. Salvador Minuchin brought this technizue to the clinic.