Portfolio

Professional Teaching Portfolio
Rachelle Wolf
MASTER OF MUSIC IN VIOLIN PERFORMANCE MIAMI UNIVERSITY BACHELOR OF ARTS IN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL MUSIC EDUCATION GODS BIBLE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE TEACHER LICENSURE, OHIO
You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.
- Clay P. Bedford
Table of Contents
Resume Teaching Philosophy Teaching Experience
String Programs Violin Studio Graduate Teaching Assistant Student Teaching Choral and General Music
Performances
Personal Degree Recitals Ensembles
Professional Development
Workshops and Organizational Memberships Lesson Plans, academic projects Personal Research
Video Inclusion
Philosophy of Music Education

Music has innate value in itself great power to affect us as listeners and performers. Each individual can successfully learn about, experience, and create music at some level. Music enables us to become self-aware and to develop confidence that transfers into other disciplines. It enriches our lives and fosters development of personal values and principles, such as appreciation for aesthetics, ability to work with other people, healthy selfesteem, and the discipline of consistency. Music is also a vital part of the academic curriculum as it relates to other subjects, such as English, History, and Arithmetic. I enjoy incorporating these other subjects in a variety of ways: students English skills are strengthened by writing program notes for concert pieces; researching the history of a time period enhances musical understanding; note values are closely related to fractions and other math concepts. Music students should develop a personal appreciation for music and be encouraged to develop self-directed engagement in observation, performance, and response to music. Our culture is saturated with music in almost every aspect of our lives, but many students will engage in creating music only in the music classroom. They will have a unique opportunity to combine knowledge of core musical concepts with the experience of performance, and should be challenged to develop skills of discernment and evaluation of music. It is an ever-growing challenge to apply the established content standards to each classroom in fresh and relevant ways. Each class requires individual application to develop basic skills necessary to experience, understand, and create music. Assessment is a means to discern what has been appropriated and what areas remain to be clarified. It should be integrated into each lesson. Students should also develop skills to ask questions and self-evaluate their own understanding and skill acquisition. Of all that we aspire to give to our students, perhaps the greatest gift is love. Of course passion for the music is essential to our teaching. Likewise, love for people is compulsory. While they will not remember everything that we hear, analyze or perform, they will remember being valued as individuals. They will remember how they feel in class, and their self-confidence and their future involvement in music will be directly affected. Ours is a unique job that allows us to invest in the lives of others.
String Programs
I began pursuing my passion for teaching strings as a high school senior, and since then experience with a variety of string programs has confirmed my career choice. Working with a variety of students from Kindergarten through high school, I have learned to adapt concepts to meet students at appropriate levels of cognitive and physical development. Each class offers new challenges and rewarding experiences. I have also greatly benefited from the mentorship of program directors and string colleagues.
Virginia Pearce Glick Young Musicians' Program At Miami University
Aldersgate Christian Academy Beginning Strings
Music camp in Guadalajara, Mexico
Northern Kentucky University DREAM Strings Delivering Remarkable Education in Art and Music
Violin Studio
My private studio began in 2006, and has been a great way to connect with students, to share what I have learned, and to learn more than I could have imagined from them!
This note is from a viola student that I taught for several years.
Miami University
Graduate Teaching Assistantship

I assisted Tammy Kernodle, Ph.D. by grading and lecturing in her undergraduate courses on American Music. Lectures included: African American Women Composers and the Chicago Renaissance : Nora Holt, Florence Price, and Margaret Bonds Dolly Parton: Her Public Image, Expansive Musical Style, and Music Industry Empire
I also served as the graduate assistant for Music Department Publicity. My responsibilities included collaborating with faculty and alumni to update current information, writing for publications and newsletters, and editing and printing all student, faculty, and guest performer recital programs. This included creating a style guide for both instrumental and vocal programs
Preparing for a concert
Classroom bulletin board
Student Teaching
In the summers of 2009-2011 I volunteered with the Indian Hill Middle School summer orchestra program. In spring 2011 I collaborated with the orchestra teacher, Mrs. Candace Putz, in the Indian Hill Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. I was able to conduct on every concert, to be involved in OMEA contest, and to coach chamber groups of different levels, genres, and instrumentation.
Jaylen wrote me a thank you note at the end of my time with them. She said, I really liked being in your class. I learned a lot and I had a lot of fun. You are an awesome teacher and conductor.
Teaching Choral and General Music

Music Expresses Emotions quilt
Learning Japanese Taiko drum rhythms
Summer Music Program During the summer of 2011 the Cincinnati YMCA contracted me to teach music during their summer program at the Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies. Students K-4 experienced music through creative expression, activities, and communication. They learned to identify and respond to music of historical and cultural origins, and to sing and play classroom instruments alone and with others.
Main Street Chapel Choir

Over the Rhine, Cincinnati.
Leading this group of singers changed my life. Some of them could not match pitch before we started, and some had never traveled outside of Cincinnati. I cannot express the rewards of seeing their budding confidence in their own musicianship and watching them take ownership of the group. We sang in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky
Performances
Moments on stage as a violinist, a singer, and an actress are some of my favorite memories, and have shaped the direction of my life. Each of my own performances has contributed to my teaching style and skill set. I can only teach what I know, and cannot lead others to a higher level of excellence than what I have achieved. I want to share with others the gifts that I have been given: musical confidence, a diverse array of life enriching experiences, and the joy of sharing passion with others.
Degree Violin Recitals

Senior Recital: Graduate Recital:
Bach Sonata No. 1 in g minor Mozart Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218 Grieg Sonata No. 3 in c minor LeClaire Sonata No. 3 in D Major Beethoven Sonata No. 5 Op. 24, Allegro Kreisler: Sicillienne and Rigaudon Wienawski Lgende Massenet Mediation from Thas Milhaud Suite for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, Op. 157b
Junior Recital:
Mozart Sonata in F Major, K. 376 Beethoven Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 Bartok Six Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
Performing Ensembles
Select traveling choir in Northern Ireland
Miami University at Carnegie Hall
Oxford Chamber Orchestra: 2013 Principal Second Miami University Symphony Orchestra: 2012-2014 Principal Second String Quartet (various) Cincinnati Community Orchestra: 2009-2011 Assistant Principal Second Symphonic Wind and String Ensemble: 2004-2011 Concertmaster Traveling Drama Team: 2007-2009 Choirs: 2003-2010
Oxford Chamber Orchestra performing at Global Rhythms
Choral and Drama Performances

The experience I gained conducting my peers in college choir, both in rehearsal and performance, taught me a great deal about musicianship and communication
Singing a duet in a large stage production with a full choir and pit was a very rewarding musical experience.
In college I also traveled with a drama team. Acting in a lead role transformed my stage presence and my confidence as a performer. I also gained priceless knowledge about stagecraft , lighting, and costume design.
Professional Development

Performing Arts Medical Association Conference 2013 OMEA conferences in 2008-2012 Creative Tension Workshop: Summer 2009 Valerie Gardner, North Georgia College and State University College of Mt. St. Joseph Orchestra Workshop: Fall 2010 Bob Gillespie, Ohio State University Violin Performance Masterclass Participant: Fall 2010 Larry Shapiro, Butler University
Professional Memberships

Performing Arts Medical Association American String Teachers Association Ohio Collegiate Music Education Association (NAFME)
PAMA 2013 Converence: Snowmass, CO Pictured with Brian Shepard, MTNA Chief Operating Officer
Graduate Research Project For my final graduate work I was involved in a collaboration between the Music, Kinesiology, and Psychology departments at Miami University. We conducted a study on upper string players that measured the effectiveness of the Alexander Technique to increase awareness of body use and proprioception (awareness of body movement in space) and ultimately yield better playing technique and sound.
Video Inclusion Lecture Student Teaching Recital
To be added in later...

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Professional Teaching Portfolio

Philosophy of Music Education

Virginia Pearce Glick Young Musicians' Program At Miami University

Aldersgate Christian Academy Beginning Strings

Music camp in Guadalajara, Mexico

Graduate Teaching Assistantship

Preparing for a concert

Classroom bulletin board

Teaching Choral and General Music

Learning Japanese Taiko drum rhythms

Main Street Chapel Choir

Degree Violin Recitals

Miami University at Carnegie Hall

Oxford Chamber Orchestra performing at Global Rhythms

Choral and Drama Performances

Video Inclusion Lecture Student Teaching Recital

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