About Ms. Turgeon

Ms. Turgeon with Metropolitan Opera Star Christina Goerke
"Austin Otto" from Quaver's Marvelous World
With Ms. Ashleigh Spatz of Burgess-Peterson
David Wish, founder of Little Kids Rock
at the Modern Band Summit 2019
Marsha Drummond and Dan Marshall from the Metropolitan Opera's Met in HD 

CMA Music Teachers of Excellence 2019 with Dierks Bentley

Bald Ms. Turgeon with her 4 sisters:
Michelle, Traci, Kim, Amy, and me


Ms. Turgeon's first moment as GMEA Statewide Elementary Chair

·         "If arts have a place in society, they must be a part of a community. To be an artist is not the privilege of a few, but the necessity of us all." –Robert Lawson Shaw

So many adults nowadays don’t consider themselves "musical"--because they never really got to find out what their talents were OR they were told “just mouth the words” if they didn’t sound perfect. Other adults may have enjoyed Music class and may have even played in Band, Chorus, or Orchestra, but once they realized they were not “musicians” they quit trying to be musical.  The U.S. is sadly unique in the numbers of adults that do not participate in some sort of musical activity (even just for fun) throughout life. 


Thankfully, Modern Elementary Music is based on deeper music literacy and understanding—kids should be learning how to: sing & dance, play instruments, read and write music, improvise, compose, listen to and analyze music, and to connect music to other subjects, places, and eras. My goal is to help your child become as musical as possible in as many ways as possible by the time s/he leaves Springdale Park. 


I hope each child will find many talents and explore all avenues of music so that once they leave elementary school they will sustain an understanding and love of Music for the rest of their lives. But I also aspire to support the work that students do in their other classes, so some of the activities we do in Music (taking notes, creating flashcards, completing a research project and designing presentations) will connect to things outside of Music. Not every child will want to be a singer or instrumentalist or performer, but every child can learn how to improve their skills, to understand more, to read basic notation, and even compose music. The great part is Music connects to just about everything, so we can learn just about anything in Music! 



Awards, Leadership, & Recognition:


  • ·         Georgia Music Educators Association Statewide Elementary Chair 2019-2021

  • CMA Music Teacher of Excellence 2019 

  • ·         Presenter at Georgia Music Educators Association Statewide InService Conference (Social Emotional Learning and Music), January 2019

  • ·         Springdale Park and Music class featured in GPB Atlanta Symphony Live Exploration (nominated for a Southeastern Emmy Award)

  • ·         Springdale Park ES Advanced Chorus LGPE ratings: Superior Repertoire (2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Superior Sight-Singing (2014-2020)

  • ·         Presenter at Woodruff Arts Center Educators Conference 2017(Music and ELA integration), 2018 (Pure Imagination), and 2019 (Music, Science, Math, and Social Studies Integration)

  •        Gwinnett County Elementary Honor Chorus, Conductor 2016

  • ·         Give a Note Foundation School Music Program of Excellence semi-finalist 2014

  • ·         Springdale Park Elementary Teacher of the Year 2014 

  • ·         APS Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Committee 2014-2016

  • ·         APS Fine Arts Support Teacher, Elementary Team

  • ·         Atlanta Families' Award for Excellence in Education Winner's Circle 2013

  • ·         Voting Member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammy Academy)

  • ·         Presenter at ECET2 (Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers)

  • ·         Coordinated student performances at the Center for Civil and Human Rights Teacher Open House 2014-present

  • ·         Star Teacher at Jackson High School (Jackson, GA) 1997 & 1998


Other Awards/Recognition/Leadership:


  • ·         Springdale Park Specials Team Leader & School Instructional Lead Teacher (SILT) 2009-2014, 2016-2018

  • ·         Member of the Awards Day Committee (2009-present)

  • ·         Received grants from DonorsChoose: String Things 1 (August 2015) and String Things 2 (October 2015)--Ukuleles and supplies; The Composer Connection (August 2015) Android Tablets, Chromebooks, and an 8-track audio recorder/mixer; Hands and Eyes on Music (October 2015) Hands-on materials for composing and pocket charts

  • ·         PTO Grant: Ukulele books and materials (October 2015), Flat and Soundtrap (2017-present)

  • ·         Recipient of CINS Awards 2010 (Oye), 2008 (Guitar Heroes and American Tunes)

  • ·         Morningside Elementary Leadership Team (2007-2009)

  • ·         NARAS Grammy Award Winner (with ASO Chorus): 

  • 1998, Adams: Harmonium / Rachmaninov

  •         · Best Choral Performance 

  • 1999, Barber: Prayers of Kierkegaard / Bartók: Cantata profana / Vaughan Williams: Dona nobis pacem 

  •        · Best Classical Album 

  •        · Best Choral Performance 

  • 2003, Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony 

  •       · Best Classical Album 

  •       · Best Choral Performance  

  • 2005, Berlioz: Requiem  

  •       · Best Choral Performance 

  • ·         C.J. Hicks Elementary Teacher of the Year 2006

  • ·         Jackson High School STAR Teacher 1997 (Katie Niles) and 1998 (Christopher Hughes)

  • ·         Director for Jackson High School’s First-Place Boys Quartet in Literary event, 1998


Certifications and Training:

  • ·         Orff Level 1 and 2

  • ·         Kodaly infusion

  • ·         Teaching Guitar Workshop 2004 and 2018

  • ·         Little Kids Rock 101 and Modern Band Summit (2018, 2019)

  • ·         UGA Summer Workshop in Conducting with Dr. Daniel Bara (auditor, 2014)

  • ·         UGA/GSU Summer Workshop in Conducting with Dr. Daniel Bara and Dr. Deanna Joseph (auditor, 2016)

  • ·         Creating Artistry with Henry Leck (2015 and 2018)

  • ·         Metropolitan Opera Met in HD training (2018)

  • ·         Piloting lessons from Carnegie Hall Musical Explorers (2019 & 2020)

  • ·         World Music Drumming with Wil Schmid (2004)


2 comments:

  1. you know me your student kaetlan in ms. mailmans class that joins miss berrys... i think that ur a great music teacher and have an amazing voice Love,Kaetlan Brannock :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kaetlan! Thank you for your sweet words! I got this message in May (many months after you left it!). Thank you for being a sweet and attentive student!

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