GINA
DEPAOLI
Biography
A typical day for Gina DePaoli is teaching elementary school students the joy of music in Waltham, Massachusetts and then performing in music ensembles in the evening, namely The Concord Band, or the recently established, GoodReed clarinet quartet. She has been performing with The Concord Band in Concord, MA since 1997 and has served as Secretary of The Concord Band Board of Directors from 1997-2006. She was a featured soloist with the band in October of 2004. She has performed throughout Massachusetts with various musical theatre companies and chamber ensembles. Some of these groups and companies include Newton Playhouse, Exit Stage Right, Actorsingers in New Hampshire, Publick Theatre, and Concord Players. Gina can also be seen performing in Boston's North End with the North End Band during the summer feasts.
After earning a Double Bachelor's degree in Music Education and Clarinet Performance from The Boston Conservatory 1994, Gina began teaching K-5 general music in Massachusetts public school systems. She has been teaching in Waltham since 2001 and taught in Woburn and Gloucester in previous years. It was through teaching music that Gina developed a special appreciation for different cultures throughout the world. This appreciation is often reflected in her work. She was overjoyed to have discovered the Lesley College Creative Arts in Learning Masters Program, from which she earned a master's degree in 1998. This program allowed her to customize her studies to have a multicultural focus while learning how to incorporate the arts with other curricula throughout the school.
One of the most artistically rewarding discoveries Gina has made is Orff Schulwerk. Gina has found Orff Schulwerk to be a very inspiring, meaningful, and artistic philosophy to teaching music. Her strong belief in this approach to teaching led to her completion of Level 3 Orff Schulwerk training at University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, for which she received a Gunild Keetman Scholarship. She is also the Past President of the New England Orff Schulwerk Chapter (2007-2008). Gina is a founding member of Patschwork, New England's first professional level Orff-Schulwerk performance ensemble, which had its debut performance in December of 2004. Other Patschwork appearances include the AOSA National Conference 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska and the 2005 Massachusetts All State Conference.
