Faculty
Program Administrator, Level 1 and 2 Secondary Track (vocal)
Matthew is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at California State University - Bakersfield, where he teaches courses related to music education and voice. He previously served as the Director of Fine Arts at The Independent School and was on the faculty of Newman University, both in Wichita, KS.
Matthew has studied in person at the International Kodály Seminar in Kecskemét three times, once as a participant in Peter Erdei’s conducting course. Matthew earned his Kodály certification through OAKE at Wichita State University, and has taught solfege, conducting, pedagogy, and materials in several Kodály training courses in the United States.
Matthew has presented workshops related to choral music and the Kodály philosophy at the local, state, regional, national and international levels, including presentations at OAKE and NAfME national conferences, and the 2023 IKS Symposium. Matthew currently serves on the OAKE national board as the Secondary Education Advisor.
Robert Lee
Level 1-3 Solfege
Robert Lee is a classically trained pianist and educator with a keen interest in music education
and collaborative piano. Robert holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance
from the University of Calgary and a Master of Music degree in Music Education with
Kodály Emphasis from Holy Names University (HNU). Having lived in the San Francisco
Bay Area for over a decade, Robert enjoyed building close connections within the music
community. He has taught undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education classes
at HNU, and taught musicianship classes, conducted and accompanied the San Francisco
Boys Chorus. Robert is an active board member for organizations supporting music
education, including the Northern California Association of Kodály Educators, the
Organization of American Kodály Educators, and the Kodály Foundation for Music Education.
Robert is excited to join the WSU Kodály team this summer!
Sarah Martinez
Level 1 Secondary Track Pedagogy & Analysis (vocal)
Sarah Martinez is the fine arts specialist for Pflugerville ISD near Austin, Texas. She taught middle school choir for six years and elementary music for seven years in Texas public schools. She received a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from Texas State University, where she also completed a masters degree and Kodály Certification. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in Teacher Leadership from Walden University. She has served as treasurer for the Kodály Educators of Texas and TMEA Region 26 middle school vocal coordinator and serves on faculty with the Rio Grande Valley Kodaly Program.
Tom Michalek
Level 2 Pedagogy & Analysis
Tom Michalek has taught elementary music since 1991 and is the OAKE national president-elect (2022-2024). He currently teaches at Watson Elementary School in Hastings, Nebraska. A native of Hastings, Tom received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his Kodály Certificate from Nebraska Wesleyan University. In 2011, he was named “Hastings Public Schools Educator of the Year,” was a finalist for the Nebraska Teacher of the Year, and received a Nebraska Department of Education “Award of Excellence.” He has over 20 years of experience leading children’s choirs with the Nebraska Children’s Chorus in Omaha and the South Central Nebraska Children’s Chorale in Hastings. Tom has served as a staff development presenter and choir clinician for many organizations and school districts throughout the United States. His areas of professional development specialization include curriculum planning in the elementary general music classroom, music room organization, singing games and folk dances, and ukulele. Tom has taught Kodály methodology courses at the University of Central Missouri (Level II), the University of Nebraska-Omaha (Level III), and Drake University (Levels II & III). He has also taught music education courses on an adjunct basis at the university level.
Steve Oare
Program Director, Level 1 and 2 Secondary Track (instrumental)
Steve Oare is a professor of music education at Wichita State University, chair of the Wind and Percussion Studies area, and Program Director for the WSU Summer Kodály Program. Dr. Oare earned his Ph.D. in music education from Michigan State University. Prior degrees include a Master of Music in School Music and a Diploma of Fine Arts in the Kodály Method from the University of Calgary under the tutelage of Lois Choksy and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Idaho. Dr. Oare teaches courses in instrumental music education and graduate courses in psychology and music philosophy. Before teaching at the university level, he taught beginning through high school band and general music for 17 years, also serving as instrumental music team leader for North Thurston Public Schools. A woodwind specialist, Dr. Oare served as the principal clarinetist in the Olympia Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest Wind Symphony, as a saxophonist with the 22nd Avenue Dixieland Band, and in his church worship team. Dr. Oare has conducted bands and orchestras in Washington, Idaho, Michigan, Kansas, and Canada. Current research interest areas are literacy development and conceptual teaching within the band rehearsal context.
Kari Proksch
Level 1 Pedagogy & Analysis
Kari Proksch is excited to join the faculty at the Wichita State Kodály Summer Course this year! Kari is the choir director at S.J. Welsh Middle School and the artistic director of Les Petites Voix Children’s Community Choir in Lake Charles, LA. She has been teaching for 21 years, mostly at the elementary level. She has served on the faculty for the Kodály Institute at McNeese State University, the University of Central Missouri Kodály Summer Institute, and the Kodály Institute of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana at Lamar University. Kari has a BMEd and a MMEd from McNeese State University. She also received her Kodály Certification from McNeese where she studied with Lamar Robertson, Ann Eisen, Susan Tevis, and Eva Vendrei. In 2007, she earned a Diploma in Music Pedagogy from the Franz Liszt Academy, Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary.
Elaine Quilichini
Adult Choir, Treble Choir Camp, & Children's Choir Camp Director
Internationally recognized choral conductor Elaine Quilichini has conducted across Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, Argentina, and the Canary Islands. Ms. Quilichini founded the well-known Calgary Girls Choir in 1995 and conducted the University of Calgary Women’s Choir for over ten years. She has served as Artistic Director of summer youth choir programs at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Wichita State University, and the New England Conservatory. Ms. Quilichini has a successful choral series published by Alliance Music and was the recipient of the Alberta Choral Federations’ ‘con spirito’ award for her contributions to the choral arts. Global Television also recognized Ms. Quilichini as a Woman of Vision.
Susan Tevis
Level 3 Pedagogy & Analysis
Susan Tevis, Founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor of the Children's Choir of Chico, holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in piano pedagogy and music education from California State University, Chico. She completed a Kodály Certificate at the Kodály Institute at McNeese State University (Lake Charles, Louisiana). She completed advanced studies at the McNeese Institute and the Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary. Ms. Tevis has been an adjunct faculty member at McNeese State University (Lake Charles, Louisiana), CSU Chico, Capital University Conservatory of Music (Columbus, Ohio), and the Kodály Pedagogical Institute. Susan was on the faculty at the Kodály Institute at McNeese and the Kodály Institute at Capital University, teaching summer courses for professional music educators. Susan has been a music educator since 1970, working in public schools, community choir programs, and churches. During these years, Ms. Tevis has served on numerous regional, state, and national boards, including the Louisiana Music Education Association and the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE). From 1999 to 2004, Susan was Vice President of OAKE and presently sits on the OAKE National Conference Choir Committee. As a choral specialist, Susan is active as a guest clinician and conductor for treble choirs, conducting honor choruses in Texas, Louisiana, and California, and is frequently invited to present music education workshops for various state and national music organizations and conferences.
Amanda Vanausdall
Assistant Program Director
Amanda Vanausdall received her BME and MME in Special Music Education and her OAKE Kodály certification, all from Wichita State University. She taught K-5 elementary music in Wichita Public Schools from 2013-2022 and now serves as an Assistant Music Educator and Placement Coordinator in the College of Fine Arts at Wichita State University. Amanda serves in leadership roles with the Kansas State Music Educators Association as Special Needs Co-Chair, as a member at large for the Midwest Kodaly Music Educators Association, and as a member of the Organization of American Kodály Educators Equity Committee. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wichita State University.