Hello and greetings from the beautiful city of Kuching in Malaysia!
I am writing to you from the 24th International Kodaly Symposium. The IKS is an international event held every two years which celebrates all things Kodaly and involves delegates from all over the world coming together to sing, exchange ideas, learn and be inspired.
There are a myriad of workshops and paper presentations to choose from, with a bevy of international presenters coming to share their stuff (including yours truly!). In addition to this there are several keynote addresses as well as morning singing sessions and lunchtime or evening concerts and recitals.
A very exciting highlight of this year's IKS is the day trip to Sarawak Cultural Village (something I'll be posting about later in the week!). Sarawak Cultural Village is a traditional village where local ethnic groups live and work in a traditional manner. The delegates of the conference will get to experience a number of folk songs and dances as well as other aspects of life in the village.
More to come on this in my next post!
The IKS offers a truly global perspective on Kodaly music education and the ways it can and has been adapted in different parts of the world. It is refreshing to hear the perspectives of teachers from other countries and find out the issues that we all struggle with and the joys we all celebrate, as well as acknowledging differences in teaching practice that are appropriate for different locales and circumstances.
It's also a fabulous opportunity to expand your network of Kodaly colleagues and form connections across the seas. On top of that you can tick off dozens of PD hours and have a holiday as well! What more reason could you need?
With the 2021 IKS location due to be announced soon, watch this space and start planning for your trip, as you won't want to miss it!