I am writing this with a truly grateful heart for you, our IKS members, and for your patience and understanding! Those of you who were present in person or online for the General Assembly at our Jubilee Symposium know that we had some technical difficulties that made it impossible in the time allowed to hear a brief report from a representative of each of our affiliated national organizations from around the world.
To fulfill our promise to share those reports, we are publishing them here as our From the Office column. They are organized alphabetically by country. I encourage readers to consult each affiliated organization’s website for more details. You will see here that several of our members have received distinguished awards in their own countries. We congratulate you all!
May we all draw inspiration from how enthusiastically and creatively each of our affiliates represent the Kodály Concept in their respective spheres of influence.
With hearty congratulations for the continuing work of all IKS affiliated members and our keen anticipation for more to come!
Dr. Jerry-Louis Jaccard, President
•AUSTRALIA - Kodály Music Education Institute of Australia by President Jason Boron:
“At the end of the 2023-2024 financial year (30 September 2024), our association recorded 993 active members, of which 860 were financial . . . The Kodály Australia National Conference New Voices in Harmony was held Naarm/Melbourne in September 2024. The theme New Voices in Harmony sought to embrace diverse views, traditions, and identities to show how modern Kodaly-inspired teaching can reflect our society. It was incredibly inspiring to come together as a national community to learn, share ideas and hone our practice . . .
It was exciting to see our most extensive offering of Australian Kodály Certificate Courses for several years. Thank you to the Cuskelly College of Music, Kodály NSW, Kodály Qld, Kodály SA, Kodály Vic, Kodály WA for your commitment to delivering these courses to members and the broader community.
[Thirty members] have been awarded the Australian Kodály Certificate in the past year . . . We are also excited to celebrate 30 years of the Australian Kodály Certificate in 2025 . . .
As a past branch president, I know that the work of our branches and chapters is critical to supporting our members and providing Kodaly-inspired professional learning in our community. 40 separate professional development events were offered, along with a National Conference and the fifth anniversary of the Musical Foundations Professional Development Package delivered by Kodály South Australia for the Music Education Strategy . . .
Katharine Finlayson . . . was awarded Honorary Life Membership of Kodály Australia. Honorary Life Membership is Kodály Australia’s highest accolade . . . [There were twelve] recipients of the 2024 Awards for Excellence in Kodály-inspired Music Education . . .
We eagerly anticipate the next Kodály Australia Conference in Adelaide, South Australia, from Monday, 28 September to Thursday, 1 October 2026. It promises to be another inspiring gathering of our national community.”
•CANADA - Kodály Society of Canada/Société Kodály de Canada by Board Member Kyle Martis:
“In 2024, the Kodály Society of Canada had a total of 222 members affiliated with six different provincial branches. In terms of training and workshops, Level 1 and 2 summer training courses were held in July and August. Four virtual workshops were also held on various topics related to musicianship and pedagogy. In October 2024, the KSC hosted Mi'kmaw Elder Sister Dorothy Moore as part of our efforts to decolonize and indigenize music education in Canada. Continuing into 2025 and beyond, our initiatives include administering scholarships for summer learning, overhauling our website, optimizing communication via social media and newsletters, conducting research, developing resources, and implementing access and belonging initiatives, all while continuing to decolonize and indigenize our learning. Finally, in terms of publications, Volume 48 (2024) of Alla Breve, KSC’s French-English bilingual journal, was published under the title “Musical Play as a Pedagogical Tool · Le jeu musical comme outil pédagogique”. We also regularly publish in the quarterly journal Canadian Music Educator in a column entitled “Kodály Perspectives”. For Volume 50 (2026) of Alla Breve, KSC will celebrate the life of Lois Choksy. Contributions from the IKS community are welcome. If you are interested in contributing, please contact our editor, Hélène Boucher (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).”
•ENGLAND - British Kodály Academy by Board Member Margaret Oliver:
“The British Kodály Academy is a membership organization, with Patrons, Honorary Members, Honorary Life Members, and individual subscribers. Our courses are open to all, not just our members – they focus on training teachers to understand and embrace the Kodály approach in their music teaching, and on supporting those wanting to develop their own musicianship using this approach. During 2024 we held a Spring Weekend in London, with a programme fully appreciated by all attendees, though applications were not as high in number as hoped for. In August 2024 we held our 40th International Residential Summer School at Keele University. Again, numbers were disappointing whilst the high quality of the teaching was valued enormously. At the review afterwards we acknowledged that the requirements we set for our Certificate Course during that Summer School had been a huge undertaking which would be modified for subsequent years. Our Musicianship classes continued online during 2024, and in 2025 – and they remain an essential part of our in-person courses. Plans for 2025 have included an online Spring weekend, and a residential Summer School, both events being greatly appreciated by our delegates.”
•FRANCE - La Voix de Kodály en France by Vice-President Elisabeth Esclattier:
“2024 was a great year for La Voix de Kodaly en France. Our main goal is still to spread Kodaly’s ideas amongst French music teachers. We organized online meetings, each one focusing on a different topic. In February Caroline Calvo shared how she teaches online using Kodaly pedagogy for adults. This was an online presentation of 50 minutes in live streaming, followed by 20 people across France. In April, we did an online sharing session with everybody welcome to share pedagogical ideas, games, music suitable for the classroom, 20 people attended as well. In May Máté Bán talked about Kodály's influence as a teacher and composer on the life of a professional musician.
The other big event of 2024 (October 24-25) was our now yearly Kodály Workshop in Paris. Five teachers led this two day event opened to anybody : Laure Pouradier Duteil, Grégory Ward, Elisabeth Esclattier, Morgane de Lafforest, Esther Hargittai. 26 participants came to sing, dance, learn and share ideas.
All along the year, our website and Facebook page is our way to connect with people from around the country: We answer requests for information, we facilitate connection between members, we share job offers…”
•GERMANY - Deutsche Kodály Gesellschaft by President Kornelia Nawra:
“The German Kodály Society organises teacher training, choir projects, and networks. Membership numbers have risen. Quite a few music teachers in Germany work with relative solmization, but this does not mean that the Kodály method has suddenly become widespread. Many are familiar with Ward or Gordon solmization and work with it. The boundaries are becoming increasingly clear. Therefore, the leadership of our society has decided to organise a symposium in 2026, a national event where all currently used RS-based methods will be presented. This will not be an international symposium, but a national one. The main language will be German. Only a few presentations will be in English. But of course, we welcome all interested parties.” (President Nawra also included a poster, informing us that the symposium is subtitled “Diversity breeds progress. That’s why we need to open up methods and broaden horizons. Syllables out of the niche and into the center stage.” The date and place of the symposium will be October 9–11, 2026 Munich at Schloss Fürstenried. Specific information is available at www.kodaly.de and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
•GREECE - Greek Kodály Society/Kodály Conservatoire of Athens/Athenaeum Conservatoire by Director Michalis Patseas:
“The Greek Kodály Society continues functioning in collaboration with the Kodály Conservatory of Athens (IKS affiliated local member) and the Athenaeum Conservatoire. They have broadened their collaboration with the “University of the Aegean” and organized many Seminars focused on Choir Conducting and Music Education. In December 2023 and December 2024, they organized Concerts honoring Kodály’s memory at prestigious Concert Halls. On May 11, 2023, the Kodály Conservatoire Mixed Choir organized a Choir Concert together with the University of Jamestown Choir, USA. On July 1, 2023, the Kodály Conservatoire Children’s Choir joined the Athens State Orchestra in a new production of Xenakis “Oresteia”, in the framework of “Eleusis – Cultural Capital of Europe”. On June 30, 2024, the Kodály Conservatoire celebrated its 35th anniversary with a great Concert of its Choirs, Ensembles, and distinguished Alumni at the “Euripides Theatre” of Rematia, Chalandri, Athens. At the same place, a Festive Concert of the Kodály Conservatoire Mixed Choir with the Cantigas Women's Choir from N.J., USA was organized on July 7, 2025. - Valentinos Patrikidis, President, and Michalis Patseas, Vice President.”
•HUNGARY - Magyar Kodály Társaság by President Gábor Eckhardt:
“As a newly elected president, my role is first of all to review the achievements of the past two years. I am proud to mention that the previous presidency, led by Bence Vas, did an excellent job:
1. They revised the Articles of Association.
2. In autumn 2023, a new campaign was launched across the countryside and throughout the Carpathian Basin to promote the best and most effective practices of the Kodály Method. Several cities and schools were visited by members of the Society. As part of this initiative, masterclasses and open lessons of the highest quality were presented.
3. An important task has been to bring young people closer to classical music and to Kodály’s pedagogical ideas. During the summer holidays, university students gave open lessons and lectures in youth camps organized by the Society.
4. Editing and publishing our quarterly periodical with rich content has also been an important goal.
What is new since the new Presidency was elected in June?
1. We continue to organize our regular festive commemorations and concerts, which have always been a constant part of the Society’s life.
2. We would like to strengthen our presence on Hungarian social media platforms. On December 16, Kodály Zoltán’s birthday, we will launch our own podcast channel. We plan to invite scientists and specialists who can speak simply and clearly about the transfer effects of music and the connection between music and science.
3. In parallel with this activity, we are launching a new double youth program: the Psalmus Hungaricus Creative Contest and the Kodály Ambassador Program. The first focuses on group activities, while the second is for individuals. The program will run until May 2026, and participants can apply with any creative project connected to Kodály’s heritage, expressed in the “language” of the 21st century. Participants in the competition can collect points and reaching certain levels will be recognized with the titles Kodály Diplomat, Kodály Consul, and Kodály Ambassador.
4. We would like to take the initiative to establish a regional Carpathian Basin Kodály Society in the near future and to strengthen professional relationships with Hungarian music communities across the region.”
•IRELAND - Kodály Ireland by Chairperson Anne Ralph
“Kodály Ireland now has 50 registered members and an 11-member committee led by chairperson Anne Ralph, secretary Meadhbh Campbell and treasurer Niamh Goucher. We organise weekend workshops, online courses throughout the year and our week-long annual summer course.
This year’s summer course took place in July at Dublin City University, with daily sessions in solfège, conducting and choir, and workshops on voice production, Kodály methodology and choir-building. International and Irish tutors included Zoltán Pad, Anna Fűri, Amy Ryan, Clare Dixon and Amy Walsh. The course was accredited by the Department of Education and Youth, leading to high attendance among primary school teachers. Kodály Ireland awarded the Colum Ó Cléirigh Memorial Scholarship, offered annually to students studying music or education at university, to Orla Connolly (Munster Technological University), Clíona Lynch (Munster Technological University) and David Vesey (Trinity College Dublin), who attended the summer course at no cost. In our year-round offerings, Kodály Ireland organises solfège classes online throughout the year, at four levels from beginner to advanced. These courses have been running since 2020. In autumn 2025 we added a new Introduction to Kodály Methodology class with tutor Amy Walsh to our online courses. We are also working towards hosting the 2027 IKS Symposium, taking place in Munster Technological University, Cork.”
•ITALY - Associazione Italiana Kodály per L'Educazione Musicale by Board member Giusi Barbieri
“During 2024, AIKEM continued its long-standing activities in . . .
•Torino: Triennial Italian Kodály Training pedagogical course (Maurizio Bovero, Teresa Sappa, Edit Ács, Tamás Tóth, Giusi Barbieri).
•Venezia: B. Marcello State Conservatory. Biennial Master's Degree in Musica Pedagogy with Kodály Emphasis. (Teresa Sappa, Maurizio Bovero).
•Cagliari: G.P. da Palestrina State Conservatory. Biennial teacher training course “The Active Mind”.
•Trasaghis (Udine): Kodály course for nursery and elementary school teachers (Edit Ács, Tamás Tóth).
•Verrès (Aosta): Summer course. Guest lecturer Katalin Körtvési (Maurizio Bovero, Teresa Sappa, Edit Ács, Tamás Tóth, Giusi Barbieri).
•The AIKEM Choir continues its activities.
•EduKodály No 3 - our online magazine was published.
. . . and it’s short-term activities in:
•Tuscany: “Discovering Kodály”: two educational seminars (January, February) (Edit Ács, Tamás Tóth, Geny Eva)
•Brescia: February, two-day seminar on Kodály pedagogy at Accademia Rondò. (Maurizio Bovero).
•Rome: March. “Form, memory, and improvisation in Dalcroze and Kodály pedagogy.” (Isa D'Alessandro, Teresa Sappa, Maurizio Bovero)
•Venezia: May. B. Marcello Conservatory. Kodály seminar (Maurizio Bovero).
•La Spezia: G. Puccini State Conservatory. Masterclass “The Kodály Methodology” (Maurizio Bovero).
•Ponte in Valtellina: International Guitar Masterclass Conference “Music Pedagogy: Kodály, a visionary of His Time.” (Teresa Sappa, Maurizio Bovero).
•August 30. “Kodály pedagogy: future prospects.” Public and online round table by the summer course teachers with the participation of Alberto Odone, Claudio Lagomarsini, and Giuseppe Guglielminotti.”
•JAPAN - Nihon Kōdai Kyōkai/Japan Kodály Society by Vice President Dr. Shinji Inagi:
“We published semi-annual JKS bulletins in 2024 (Spring issue and Fall issue). We had the annual national conference of the JKS on 17 and 18 Aug 2024 in Yokohama. Its main theme was “Early music and School Music Education.” We learned about the theory and practice of Guido’s original solmization system from Mr. Kosuke Tsuji. During the general assembly in August, Mrs. Naomi Chinen was recognized as an honorary member of JKS because of her life-long contribution to the Kodály movement in Japan. We successfully continued JKS online courses in 2024 and we had two online seminars. One taught by Mr. Takao Nakamura (24 April 2024) and the other by Mr. Michael Bradshaw (3 May 2025).”
•PHILIPPINES - Kodály Society of the Philippines by President Roselle Elinore H. Matias:
“The Kodály Society of the Philippines (KSP), led by President Roselle Elinore H. Matias, continues its mission to advance music education in the Philippines through the Kodály Approach. The current board includes Vice-President Carolyn K. Cheng, Correspondence Secretary Veralyn D. Monte, Recording Secretary Venitta Marie Victoria S. Magpantay, Treasurer Cielito Margo E. Mirandilla, Public Relations Officer Pauline C. Wong, and board members Catherine Anne K. Cheng, Amiel Q. Capitan, Princess Joyce C. Galicia, Rea L. Jimenez, and Iris Joan C. Tan.
The Society currently has 69 biennial and 43 lifetime members. In 2024, KSP organized several educational and cultural activities: “Kamay at Paa: Filipino Children Spoken Games” presented by Catherine Anne K. Cheng, “Philippine Music ++” led by Amiel Kim Q. Capitan, and the 24th Kodály Certificate Course (June 10–21, 2024) at the Philippine Women’s University, with guest lecturer Dr. Arpad Toth.
For 2025, KSP plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary with the theme “Gathering with Gratitude” through KANTA 4, featuring choral arrangements of Dr. Miriam Factora’s folk song collection. The Society also aims to expand the Certificate Course to provincial areas and strengthen its graduate program collaboration with PWU.”
•UNITED STATES - Organization of American Kodály Educators by President Thomas Michalek
“Since the 2023 symposium, OAKE has experienced two vibrant, productive years. Membership has rebounded to about 1,200 professional, lifetime, retired, and collegiate members. Our mission—to provide education, advocacy, and inspiration within an inclusive community of Kodály-inspired music educators—remains central. We continue to support chapters, promote teacher education, and offer high-quality professional development, highlighted by our 2025 National Conference in Chicago, which brought together over 500 student singers, met attendance goals, and was financially successful. Our four divisions remain active, and recent structural streamlining—from over 25 committees to seven Standing Committees, seven Action Teams, and an Advisory Council—has focused our energy and strengthened chapter support nationwide.
Looking ahead, OAKE’s most pressing needs include adapting to a shifting professional development landscape, sustaining the affordability and inspiration of our National Conference, and expanding our social media reach to engage more educators. We also face ongoing challenges in ensuring access and equity amid political and social pressures and in supporting staff and volunteers within increasing workloads. Strengthening communication and collaboration across leadership remains a key goal.
OAKE deeply values its partnership with IKS, whose international connections enrich our teaching, communities, and shared mission to advance Kodály-inspired music education worldwide.”