University of Maryland Nafme Chapter #225

11/02/2026

We love starting the month with a PD event, and we think you will too! Join us in the MERC at 7pm on Thursday, November 5th for “Taking Musical Risks: Being Brave While Making a Change - Teaching New-To-You Secondary Choral Concepts” by MMEA President Amy T. Hairston!

Amy T. Hairston, MMEA President, is in her 21st year as a choral/general music teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland. She is a proud alumnus of Oakland Mills High School and the University of Maryland. In addition to over a decade of work in Montgomery County, Amy has been a professional development clinician, virtual conductor and adjudicator for multiple school districts in Maryland, and has presented for CMEA, MMEA, NJMEA and the Maryland Arts Summit. She enjoys educational advocacy, vocal coaching for musicals and coaching youth soccer.

This is a PD event you won’t want to miss! GOOOOO MUSIC EDUCATION!!🐢🐢🐢

10/27/2026

UMD NAfME is hosting a Halloween movie night THIS THURSDAY, October 29th at 7PM in the MERC🎃🎃🎃

We will be watching… Coraline! This event starts at 7pm, but feel free to join us a little later if you can’t make the start of the movie. Come enjoy some snacks, candy, take a study break, and hang with some cool MUED folks!

Bonus points for attending the event in COSTUME🐢👻🐢👻

10/08/2026

‼️‼️ PD event tonight is cancelled ‼️‼️

10/07/2026

TOMORROW!! PD!! We are so excited to welcome Julie Vaughn to present Yoga for Musicians at 7pm in the MERC!

Julie Vaughn works as an Academic Specialist for Music with Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She is a Nationally Board Certified Music Teacher, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Albion College (1999) and Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University (2005). She earned her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification from the Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts in May, 2024. Pranakriya Yoga is steeped in the Hatha Yoga teachings of Swami Kripalu and adapted for modern practitioners by Yoganand Michael Carroll. The Pranakriya tradition focuses on cultivating awareness and aliveness through pranayama, asana, and meditation. She also hold a Level One Certificate from Love Your Brain Yoga (2021) and she is called to help those who have experienced concussion and brain injury—along with their caretakers—as they travel their path of healing.   
She loves stand up paddleboarding, knitting, music, swimming in the ocean, and traveling this beautiful world. She is a mom to a sweet and playful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Owen.

Come get your PD hours MUEDTerps🐢🐢🐢

09/29/2026

09/26/2026

And for our next trick… ANOTHER PD EVENT!! UMD is so happy to welcome back Rebecca Vanover to present Good Teaching is Good Teaching: K-5 to SATB.

Rebecca Vanover is a soprano, pianist, and National Board Certified music educator, born and raised in Gaithersburg, MD. A proud Terp alumn, she graduated from the University of Maryland with a BM in Voice and a BME in Choral Music Education. She spent 3 years teaching general music at Veterans Elementary School before becoming the Director of Choirs at Centennial High School. During her time at UMD, she performed regularly with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center and the Baltimore Symphony at the Meyerhoff and Strathmore as a member of the UMD Chamber Singers. In 2014, she traveled to Seoul to represent the United States at the 10th World Symposium of Choral Music, sharing repertoire with some of the world’s best ensembles. In addition to her love of choral music, Rebecca thoroughly enjoys opera and musical theater, and has performed both genres locally in D.C./MD area. When she’s not immersed in music, Rebecca can be found running, hiking, baking, and wearing the Maryland flag as many ways as possible

This PD event will be THIS Monday, September 28th at 7pm in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library seminar room. If you would like to attend but are unsure of where this location is, reach out through our instagram OR contact any of your NAfME officers. There will also be someone outside of the library to help you on Monday night. You don’t want to miss this one (or the rumored silly goose stickers that come with it…) !!🐢🪿🎶❤️⭐️

09/21/2026

Hey MUED Terps! This Thursday, September 24th, at 7pm in the MERC, we are so excited to have Lauren Walker present Programming for Your Choral Ensembles!

Lauren Walker earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Choral Music Education from the University of Maryland (‘09) and her Masters of Kodaly Music Education from Loyola University (‘13). Mrs. Walker currently serves as the Lead Vocal Director for the Apex Arts magnet program of Anne Arundel County at Broadneck High School. Prior to teaching high school, Mrs. Walker taught twelve years of middle school chorus at Southern and Central Middle Schools. Her choirs consistently receive Superior ratings at both County and State Choral Adjudications and many of her students participate in county, state and regional honor choirs.
Mrs. Walker also serves as the Executive Artistic Director of the Youth Chorus of Annapolis, a community youth chorus for children in grades K-12. Under her leadership, the choir has traveled to Philadelphia, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Denver, Cincinnati, and Disney World.
In 2020, Mrs. Walker was named a Semi-Finalist for the Anne Arundel County Public School’s Teacher of the Year and in 2023 was named an Outstanding Music Educator by the Maryland Music Educators Association. Mrs. Walker previously managed the Anne Arundel All County Middle School choirs and served on the Maryland Choral Educators Association board as the Junior All State Chorus manager. She is in high demand as a guest conductor and adjudicator in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Mrs. Walker has presented at state and regional music conferences on repertoire, literacy and engagement in the choral classroom.

Mrs. Walker is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the Maryland Music Educators Association. She currently resides in Annapolis with her husband, Grant, and children, Jackson, Caroline, and Patrick.

If you missed our first PD event, don’t sweat it! We have more coming your way, starting this Thursday😎🐢

09/08/2026

ITS ALMOST HERE! UMD NAfME’s first PD event of the semester is this Thursday, September 10th at 7pm in the MERC. UMD is glad to welcome David Kauffman, presenting Administration for Music Magnet Programs!

David Kauffman is the Senior Manager of Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Apex Arts Magnet Program. He is a lifelong musician who has had an enormous impact in the public and private sector, and was selected as the 2025 Maryland Music Education Association Hall of Fame inductee.

Kauffman has served in his current role since 2018, has held a variety of educational roles over the last 30 years. He served students as a teacher, band director, fine arts coordinator and assistant principal for 20 years before becoming AACPS’ Coordinator of Music in 2015. He has held his current position, where he helped to refine the Apex Arts program’s mission and refine instructional, performance, and presentation resources, since 2018.

Kauffman has also supervised teacher interns for Towson University and the University of Maryland Baltimore County and has been director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Jazz Combo since 2021. He is the President-Elect for the Jazz Education Network, an international organization committed to advancing jazz education, and has served on the organization’s Board of Directors since 2019. He was a member of the National Association for Music Education’s Council for Jazz Education from 2013 to 2022 and served as its chair from 2018 to 2022.

Hope to see everyone there! WOOHOOOOO🐢🐢

09/05/2026

Welcome back MUED terps!! Next Saturday, September 12th, we are holding our annual NAfME Welcome BBQ at 12pm in the Clarice Courtyard! Come for some food, meet new people, and learn more about our NAfME chapter. We would love to see new AND returning faces this weekend, so come and join us! 🐢🎶

Check your email for the BBQ RSVP and sign up sheet😁

05/08/2026

Don’t forget to submit your PD hours! So proud of all our music ed terps for their hard work this semester, have a terprific (🐢🐢🐢) summer and see you in the fall!❤️💛