Julie Scott, Ph.D.

Music

Professor of Practice in Music Education; Co-Chair, Music Education; Director, SMU Music Educators Workshops

Email

scottj@smu.edu

Phone

214-768-3717

Website

http://www.JulieKScott.com

Dr. Julie Scott is professor of practice and co-chair of Music Education at SMU, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary and choral music education. She earned a Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, as well as a Master of Music in Music Education and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from SMU.

Prior to teaching at the college level, Scott taught elementary music and choir in Texas schools for 18 years and held the position as elementary music coordinator in Richardson ISD for two years. In addition, she served as director of the 100-voice Lewisville 5th Grade Honor Choir for seven years. During the years she worked in public schools, four of her elementary groups — two choirs, an Orff ensemble, and a recorder ensemble — were invited to perform for the Texas Music Educators Clinic/Convention.

Scott has taught summer Orff Schulwerk courses to adults at eight universities over the past 30 years and has presented over 200 conference sessions and workshops in 42 states, including at the National Association for Music Education, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, the Texas Music Educators Association and many other state Music Educators Associations, Orff chapters, and school districts throughout the U.S. In addition, she has presented at international music conferences and teaching venues in Australia, Canada, Germany, Scotland, Greece, China, Italy and Thailand. Scott is a past president of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and founder/director of SMU Music Educators Workshops.

Scott was the 2024 recipient of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. She received the Award of Merit from Mu Phi Epsilon and lifetime Honorary Membership in the American Orff-Schulwerk Association.

Scott’s research interests include singing in Orff Schulwerk, vocal modeling and children’s pitch-matching ability. She authored a chapter titled “Musical Engagement Through Classroom Instruments,” which was published in 2018 in Engaging Musical Practices (Suzanne L. Burton and Alison M. Reynolds, editors). Scott has published articles in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education; the Orff Echo, the Southwestern Musician; Reverberations; and General Music Today.

Education

Ph.D., Eastman School of Music
M.M. and B.M., SMU

Recent Work

Research
Research interests include:
Children’s ability to match pitch with a male vocal model; teacher education courses in Orff Schulwerk; effective methods of teaching rote songs to children; and effective sequences for teaching improvisation to children.

Distinctions
Distinguished Service Award, American Orff-Schulwerk Association
Honorary Member, American Orff-Schulwerk Association
Past President, American Orff-Schulwerk Association

Course list

MUAS 2149
MUED 3330
MUED 3332
MUAS 4230
MUCO 3210
MUED 6354
Julie Scott