Write to our president if you are interested in serving on the board of NCAOSA
Executive Board
CO-PRESIDENT: Maggie Eggert (she/her)
president@ncaosa.org
Maggie has been teaching some combination of general music, band, choir, and technology for 17 years, first in the Midwest and now in the Bay Area. Since moving to the Bay Area, she has taught PK – 5 at The Nueva School, Music & Movement and Primary groups for Ragazzi Boys Choir, and currently teaches middle school music at the Episcopal Day School of St. Matthews in San Mateo, California. She holds a MMEd from VanderCook College of Music and has completed Level III certification and other courses through The San Francisco International Orff Course. Maggie loves living in the Bay Area and tries to take advantage of everything it offers her as a musician, educator, and human being.
CO-PRESIDENT: Sonya Harway (They/them)
Sonya has been teaching students of all ages for almost 20 years. They currently teach music to the Lower Schoolers at San Francisco Day School and recently served as Choral Director at Head Royce School in Oakland. They completed their Orff Levels in Carmel Valley in 2018, took the Jazz course in New Orleans in 2019, and eagerly look forward to every NCAOSA chapter workshop. Sonya is a classically-trained pianist and vocalist, a singer-songwriter, and has been band leader for groups Fall Catalogue and Cocoa Koala. They are also an AOSA affinity group leader for the LGBTQIA+ and Gender Identity Affinity Group. When they’re not making music, Sonya is probably baking bread.
VICE PRESIDENT: Julie Bruins (she/her)
vicepresident@ncaosa.org
Julie has been teaching music for 20 years and currently works with TK-4th graders at Children’s Day School in San Francisco’s Mission District. She completed her Orff Levels in 2012 with the San Francisco International Orff Course, and has enjoyed participating in many master classes, including the Latin Course, Polyphonic Singing, and the first Orff Afrique trip to Ghana in 2014. Julie holds a degree in flute performance, struggles to learn tap dance and loves a piano bar. She feels greatly indebted to the wonderful Northern California Orff contingent and is glad to be lending a hand on the board.
TREASURER: Rachel Knight (she/her)
treasurer@ncaosa.org
Rachel joined the board in 2015 as the Webmaster and in 2017 began her current role as Treasurer. She graduated from San Jose State University with her B.M. in Music Education. She teaches Preschool – 5th grade Orff at Oak Knoll Elementary School in Menlo Park, where she also directs the annual elementary school musical and is the VP of Politics for her teachers union. She attended the Orff-Afrique Master Class in 2016 and completed her Orff Levels training through the San Francisco International Orff Course program in 2015. Along with her position on the NCAOSA board, Rachel also serves as the Treasurer and Registrar for the San Francisco International Orff Course.
REGISTRAR: Elisabeth Lowry (she/her)
registrar@ncaosa.org
Elisabeth joined the board in 2021 as Registrar. She holds music degrees from Northwestern University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and she studied classical flute performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg before even knowing about Orff-Schulwerk! She teaches music and movement to grades K-5 at Bentley School in Oakland, where she also serves as the PACT Assemblies Coordinator. She attended the Orff Afrique Master Class in 2018 and completed her Level III Orff Certification through the San Francisco International Orff Course in 2016. Elisabeth plays flute in the San Francisco Philharmonic and sings in the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Choir in San Francisco.
Past President: Andrea Donahoe (she/her)
pastpresident@ncaosa.org
Andrea teaches K-5 music and movement at Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA. Before HRS, she fell in love with teaching music to preschool students at Presidio Knolls School in San Francisco and built the foundation for her music education journey at teaching at two public elementary schools in Wood Dale, IL. She completed her Orff levels at SFIOC in 2010 and joined the faculty as a part of the Level 1 Team teaching Basic Orff alongside Sofia Lopez-Ibor in 2021. Before joining NCAOSA’s board in 2017 she spent six years as Vice President for the Fox Valley Chapter in Illinois.
Members at Large
CULTURE AND BELONGING: Ashtyn Avella (she/her)
Ashtyn is in her 11th year as a music teacher. She is currently the Preschool-5th grade music and movement teacher at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park. She has music degrees from SUNY Fredonia and San Francisco State University. She completed her Orff levels at the San Francisco International Orff Course in 2024. Before joining the board, Ashtyn has worked with other organizations to create environments where everyone feels welcome and seen.
RECORDING SECRETARY: Annie Smith (she/her)
secretary@ncaosa.org
Annie is an Orff Schulwerk certified music educator and operatic soprano with an MM in Vocal Performance from San Francisco Conservatory and a BM from The Boston Conservatory. With 10 years of classroom experience, she blends Responsive Classroom, Orff-Schulwerk, and Kodály approaches. Annie performs regularly around the Bay Area and United States with various ensembles, such as 21V and Ensemble Mik Nawooj, a Hip-Hop Orchestra. She is a Program Manager at Music for Minors and oversees the implementation of TK-6th Grade music education for thousands of students in San Jose and on the Peninsula.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY: Julia Chanin (she/her)
correspondingsecretary@ncaosa.org
Julia grew up in the Bay Area and fell in love with music as a child in an Orff Schulwerk music classroom. She is now a professional saxophonist and has excitedly come home to Orff Schulwerk as an adult. She has been teaching elementary school music for the past four years in Richmond and Los Angeles, CA, and is starting a new position as Choir Director at Credo High School in Rohnert Park. She will continue to work with the little ones through an after school program she started called Rhythm and Roots. Julia studied ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University and later completed her Level III Orff training through the San Francisco International Orff Course in 2019. The Northern California Orff community feels like family, and Julia is thrilled to contribute to the chapter!
INSTRUMENT CHAIR: Lisa Gorman (she/her)
instrumentarium@ncaosa.org
Lisa teaches general music for grades K-8th at Brandeis Marin school. She completed all three levels of Orff at George Mason University (in the Washington DC area) and has taken many supplemental master classes. Lisa really loves exploring new types of dance. She has been living in the Bay Area for seven years and is loving it!
PlayNotes BLOG EDITOR: James Harding (he/him)
playnotes@ncaosa.org
James teaches music to children ages 3 through 14 at the San Francisco School. Working with colleagues Sofía López-Ibor and Doug Goodkin for almost 20 years, James has helped create an Orff Schulwerk program that has received international recognition. James teaches Orff workshops throughout the US and internationally, and currently teaches the Level II training at the San Francisco International Orff Course in Carmel Valley. James is the author of From Wibbleton to Wobbleton, a book of music and movement lessons with the theme of creative play.
SOCIAL CHAIR: Could this be you? Talk to us!
socialchair@ncaosa.org
TECHNOLOGY CHAIR: Janie Hsiao (she/her)
technology@ncaosa.org
Janie will be entering her fifth year of teaching, all of which were in SFUSD (her first year completely online!). She is currently teaching K-5 General and Instrumental Music at Clarendon Alternative Elementary School. As a primary classical violinist, Janie also holds a background of private teaching and orchestral performing. She also enjoys playing a variety of genres of music with friends and other musicians. Janie holds a Bachelors in Music (2019) and a teaching credential (2020) from San Diego State University. Janie completed her Level II (2021) and III (2022) certification of Orff-Schulwerk through the San Francisco International Orff Course, and her Level I in Chula Vista back in 2019. Having grown up in Cupertino, Janie loves to attend live music events around the Bay Area and connect with fellow music-lovers. In the future, Janie hopes to attend Kodály courses.