SMOKY ROW ELEMENTARY MUSIC ROOM

Josh Southard attended Butler University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education.  He taught for four years (2004-2008) in the South Montgomery School Corporation, teaching K-6 Elementary Music and Band. Since 2008, Mr. Southard has been the Music Specialist at Smoky Row Elementary School in Carmel, IN.  There he teaches K-5 music. 

 

In 2009, he received a Master’s Degree in Elementary Music with Orff Emphasis from Anderson University.  In his music room, Mr. Southard utilizes the elemental approach to teaching music called Orff Schulwerk.  He has completed all three levels of Orff-Schulwerk certification, as well as Orff Curriculum and Composition at Anderson University.  He served as the Indiana Orff Schulwerk Association’s President from 2010-2014, and in 2011, he was appointed to the American Orff Schulwerk Association’s Historical Committee, where he served as the Chairperson of the committee from 2014-2017.  In 2017, he was elected to the National Board of Trustees of the American Orff Schulwerk Association, serving as the Region VI Representative.  In 2021, he was elected President-Elect of the American Orff Schulwerk Association.

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Josh is a featured clinician at Orff workshops around the country, state and national conferences, as well as Butler University and Anderson University for music education NAfME meetings.  He also has had two articles published in the American Orff Schulwerk Association’s national publication, the Orff Echo, as well as their quarterly publication, Reverberations.  In 2015, he completed the AOSA Apprenticeship program and is now an approved Level I and Level II Orff instructor.  He is an AOSA-approved Teacher Educator, and teaches Level II Orff Certification courses in Gwinnett County in Atlanta, GA, and Level III Orff Certification at DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and Anderson University in Anderson, IN.  

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In 2018, he was selected as the Smoky Row Elementary Teacher of the Year, and in 2019, the Indiana Elementary Music Teacher of the Year.

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In 2020, he published his first book through Beatin' Path Publications, "Sing and Play, Stories All Day."

 

Mr. Southard is a loyal Cincinnati Bengals fan and enjoys woodworking and frisbee golf!  In 2013, he received the Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity grant to further his woodworking skills.

 

Josh lives in Whitestown with his wife, Lauren and their three children Finn, Sullivan, and Rory, and dog Doolin.