Grace R.

Demerath
Music Education Portfolio
 Biography
Grace R. Demerath is currently the Middle School Band Director in Oneonta, New York. At Oneonta
Middle School she teaches 6th-8th Grade Bands and lessons. She also leads a parade marching band and
middle school jazz band. Previous duties in this position have included teaching 6th Grade General Music
and a small percussion ensemble. This year, Demerath has served as the Chairperson for the Otsego
County Music Educators Association Junior High All County Band. Last year, she served as the
Chairperson for the Otsego County Music Educators Association Elementary All County Band.

Demerath attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor
of Music degree in Music Education. As a horn player, Demerath has performed with the Catskill Valley
Wind Ensemble, Hill City Brass, Ithaca College Wind Ensemble, Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra,
Ithaca College Symphonic Band, Ithaca College Concert Band, Ithaca College Horn Choir, and the Ithaca
College Brass Choir. Demerath has also performed, most notably, Beethoven Symphony No. 9, with the
Ithaca College Chorus. Demerath has studied horn privately with Alexander Shuhan and Dr. Colleen
Conway. This past summer, she began the Summer Master of Music in Music Education program at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Demerath did her senior student teaching at Hilton Central High School, in Hilton New York with Ms.
Nancy Russo. During her senior year, Demerath served as the Collegiate National Association for Music
Education President on the New York State School Music Association Executive Council. In this
position, she was a monthly contributor to School Music News, which is the official publication of the
New York State School Music Association.

Along with Dr. Susan Avery and Ms. Erika St. Denis, Demerath has conducted research on the effects of
a variety of allergies to various components of musical instruments. St. Denis and Demerath presented
their findings and some practical approaches to overcoming allergens in the music classroom at the James
J. Whalen Academic Symposium at Ithaca College in 2013, where they received an award for
"Outstanding Research and Presentation". They also presented their research at the New Jersey Music
Educators Association Winter Conference in February 2014. As a brass player with severe metal allergies,
Demerath sees allergies in the music setting as an incredibly important topic that all music educators need
to be made aware of. She plans to complete her thesis by continuing research in this area.

Demerath also enjoys community service. Her involvement with the Ithaca College-Longview
Intergenerational Choir led to her being chosen to work with Dr. Emily Mason as the 2014-2015 Dana
Intern for the group. This is a group that is comprised of Ithaca College students and residents from the
Longview Assisted Living Community. In this position, she helped select music, planed and led
rehearsals and concerts, and communicated with students and residents.

She worked for three years as a Student Librarian in the Ithaca College Library of Ensemble Music where
she helped organize and maintain the college's collection of ensemble music. She also served as Dr. Beth
Peterson's Student Administrative Assistant for two years. In this position, Demerath completed
administrative duties and projects, such as collecting, organizing, and analyzing data from participants in
the High School Institute Division of The Midwest Clinic, an international band and orchestra conference.

Demerath is originally from Clinton, Michigan, and is a 2011 graduate of Clinton High School. She has
worked as a substitute teacher for PESG for various schools in Lenawee County, Michigan.

When not teaching, or playing her horn, she can be found cooking, sewing, or visiting with family and
friends.
 Teaching Experience

Oneonta Middle School

I am currently serving as the Middle School Band Director in the Oneonta City School District. In this position, I
teach the 6th-8th grade band and lessons. I also have a middle school jazz band that meets outside of school time, and
direct the 7th/8th Grade Marching Band (which marches in two parades a year). In this position, I have also taught a
percussion ensemble, and 6th Grade General Music. I love working with my students to develop their basic technique
and musicianship, and especially love seeing their growth as musicians and students. In my general music class, I
focused on finding ways to connect music to students’ everyday lives and interests. My goal for my students is to
make them more aware and appreciative of the music in their lives, and to encourage them to be lifelong music
lovers and supporters.

Substitute Teaching
I served as a substitute teacher in Lenawee County, MI, including the districts of: Clinton, Tecumseh, Onsted,
Adrian, Madison, Hudson, and Blissfield, as well as the Lenawee Intermediate School District. After graduating
from Ithaca College, I substituted in these schools until the academic year ended, I have also substitute taught in
these districts during my senior year while Ithaca College was on academic breaks.

Senior Student Teaching

I did my student teaching at Hilton High School in Hilton, New York with Ms. Nancy Russo. They have an
incredible program, and it was truly an honor to do my student teaching there. During my student teaching
placement, I helped conduct the Wind Ensemble and Sinfonia. I also taught private and group lessons for a variety
of instruments. During my placement in Hilton, I was also able to observe and work with teachers and students in all
of the buildings in the district.

College Band Directors National Association Conference

I had the honor of being chosen to conduct members of the Ithaca High School Band in a session at the College
Band Directors National Association Conference at Ithaca College. One other current Ithaca College student, and
two past graduates of Ithaca College were also asked to conduct a piece, and work with a "master teacher" and the
students for 20 minutes. I conducted Amazing Grace by Frank Ticheli, and my "master teacher" was Nicki Zawel,
who is the Director of Bands at Ithaca High School. It was great to receive feedback from master teachers and
students. Visit my "Videos" page to see an excerpt of me conducting the Ithaca High School Band at CBDNA.

The Tecumseh Summer Chamber Music Program

I spent several summers throughout high school and college working with Dr. Colleen Conway for the Tecumseh
Summer Music Chamber Program. We met with several Tecumseh Middle School students for several hours a day
for a few various weeks in the summer. During this time, we arranged the students into various chamber ensembles
and coached them on how to play chamber music together. At the end of each week we performed somewhere in the
community, such as a nursing home or community center.
Junior Student Teaching
During my Junior year at Ithaca College, I did my Junior Student Teaching within the Ithaca College Home School
Band Program. This is a unique program that allows home school students to receive weekly music instruction in the
form of private or group band lessons and full band rehearsals. Within this program I taught horn, flute, clarinet, and
percussion lessons, as well as full band rehearsals. This group was especially interesting due to the large age and
ability level found between students. Students ranged in age from 8-18, grades 2-12, and had varied ranges of ability
levels. I learned a great deal about the importance of differentiating instruction while teaching these students. I also
learned what an incredible impact students can have on each other in a learning environment. By pairing students of
varying abilities and ages that played the same instrument, I was able to see a great deal of progress in all of my
students. Not only did this mean that every student had individual support at all times during full band rehearsals,
but it also gave the students who were excelling a new challenge, teaching. By encouraging the students to
collaborate more in this way, I found that all of my students learned more quickly, and I was able to keep my
rehearsals running more smoothly. Visit the "Videos" page on my website (gracedemerath.com) to see an excerpt of
me conducting during the spring 2014 concert for the Ithaca College Home School Band Program.

Educating Students with Diverse Needs Classroom Hours

During my junior year at Ithaca College, I took a class titled "Educating Students with Diverse Needs." This class
focused on the rewards and challenges of working with students with a variety of needs, ranging from: physical,
learning and intellectual disabilities, to emotional disturbances. As part of this class, I was required to work in a
classroom in the Ithaca City School District that had students with such diverse needs for two hours a week for the
length of the semester. I worked with students in a second-grade classroom at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School
in order to complete this. This class was comprised of students from many different backgrounds and of varied
abilities. The school had originally intended for this class to consist solely of students who were learning English as
a second language. Later, the school decided to expand the class to also include other students with varying diverse
needs, such as intellectual and learning disorders. I learned a great deal from teaching in a diverse setting by
working with these students, and I loved being able to get to know each and every one of them. You can see more
about my time in their classroom, and other things I learned in "Educating Students with Diverse Needs," by
clicking on the "Educating Students with Diverse Needs" tab on the side of my website.
 Conducting Experience

Conductors Studied With

During my time at Ithaca College, I studied with the following conductors:
• Dr. Stephen Peterson, for Advanced Conducting (Spring 2015)
• Dr. James Mick, for Conducting II (Spring 2014)
• Dr. Elizabeth B. Peterson, for Conducting I (Fall 2013)

Conductors Played Under

Over the years, I have played and sang under the direction of the following notable conductors:
• Dr. Stephen Peterson, Ithaca College (now at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Dr. Elizabeth B. Peterson, Ithaca College (now at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Dr. Jeffrey Meyer, Ithaca College (now at Arizona State University)
• Dr. Mark Fonder, Ithaca College (now retired)
• Dr. Keith Kaiser, Ithaca College
• Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner, Ithaca College (now at University of Georgia- Athens)
• Mr. Larry Rachleff, Rice University
• Mr. Frank Battisti, Conductor Emeritus of the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble
• Mr. Frank Ticheli, Composer
• Mr. Ray E. Cramer, Emeritus Director of Bands Indiana University
• Mr. Larry Livingston, University of Southern California
• Dr. Rodney Dorsey, University of Michigan (now at University of Oregon)
• Dr. Laura Joss, Baldwin-Wallace College
• Dr. Kenneth Thompson, Bowling Green State University
• Dr. Marty Marks, Adrian College
• Dr. Lawrence Doebler, Ithaca College (now retired)
• Dr. Janet Galván, Ithaca College
• Dr. Emily Mason, Ithaca College (now at California State University- Fresno)
• Mr. Frank Bianchi, Baldwin-Wallace College
 Published Articles
During my time as National Association for Music Education - New York State School Music Association
Collegiate President (2014-2015), I was responsible for the "Collegiate Corner" page in School Music News, the
monthly publication of the New York State School Music Association. My articles range in subject, from the New
York State School Music Association Winter Conference to Music in Our Schools Month. Here are my articles that
were published in School Music News.
 Research Project
University of Michigan Thesis
This past summer, I began my research and proposal for my thesis project as a part of the Summer Master program
at University of Michigan. I hope to use this project to expand the research that Erika St. Denis and I completed as
part of our Instrumental Allergy Solutions project. While I am still developing this project and proposal, I currently
plan to include a multiple case study of students with nickel contact dermatitis to their instruments. Dr. Colleen
Conway is serving as my advisor and the committee chair for this project.

Instrumental Allergy Solutions

Along with Erika St. Denis, a close colleague from Ithaca College, I have researched allergies caused by
components found in musical instruments and how they can affect students in the music classroom. St. Denis and I
have created an expansive list of hypo-allergenic alternative supplies and adaptive techniques for many instruments.
We are continuously expanding our research and hope to find ways to make music educators more aware of allergies
found in the music classroom, how to identify them, and how to help students with such allergies.
This is a topic that is close to me, as I am allergic to every metal but platinum and titanium. As a French Horn player
and music teacher, I have had to find ways to accommodate my own allergies. I found very few resources to help me
and felt very alone when searching for answers and solutions. I am hoping that our research can help other
musicians overcome the same obstacles.
 Professional Affiliations

National Association for Music Education

2015-Present: Member
2013-2014: President, Ithaca College Collegiate-NAfME
2012-2013: President-Elect, Ithaca College Collegiate-NAfME

New York State School Music Association

2015-Present: Member
2014-2015: Collegiate President
2013-2014: Collegiate President-Elect

Otsego County Music Educators Association

2017-2018: Chairperson, Junior High All County Band

2016-2017: Chairperson, Elementary All County Band
2015-Present: Member
Mu Phi Epsilon, Lambda Chapter

2014-2015: Alumni Secretary

2013-2014: President
2012-2013: Service Chair
2012-2013: Inter-Fraternity Council Representative
 Marching Band Experience
Oneonta Middle School Marching Band
I am currently in charge of the Oneonta Middle School Marching Band. This band is comprised of students grades in
7th and 8th grade. These students perform in two parades a year: Halloween and Memorial Day.

Personal Marching Band Experience

I have had personal experience playing mellophone, pit percussion, and snare in marching band as a high school
student. During my student teaching placement, I was able to attend some marching band rehearsals and
performances. During my senior year at Ithaca College I took a class called "Marching Band Techniques" taught by
Dr. Chad West. During this class, we worked on basic marching technique, philosophy, and organization, as well as
drill design.

Drill Design Experience

In my Marching Band Techniques class, we focused on learning how to effectively design a marching band show.
We learned about the challenges that face marching bands and how to overcome them when designing a show, as
well as what issues different size bands may encounter, and how to design a show that will be appropriate for the
size band that you are writing for. My final assignment in my Marching Band Techniques class was to design the
drill to a song using Pyware, a drill writing software. To watch a computer animation of the drill that I designed for
this assignment visit gracedemerath.com and click on the “Marching Band Experience” tab. Below are two
screenshots from the drill that I designed.
 Jazz Band Experience

Oneonta Middle School Jazz Band

I direct an after-school jazz band at Oneonta Middle School. When I started at Oneonta, this was a 6th-8th grade
ensemble. This school year, I decided to change this group to include only 7th and 8th grade students. I have found
that this change has been a very positive thing for this ensemble, as it allows for the students to play more
challenging music, and to explore more jazz styles and techniques. Jazz is a challenging style of music, and is
especially challenging for students who are still developing their basic playing skills. Our jazz band meets for an
hour to an hour and a half weekly, and is comprised of 20 students. This year, I also established leadership positions
for students in this group. I did this so that the students can be more involved, and can help me better shape the
group to fit their wants and needs.

I frequently play a variety of instruments with my jazz band. This allows me to help fill out our instrumentation, fill
in for missing students, and demonstrate for my students. I often challenge this group to play without a conductor,
and choose students to lead songs by counting them off and ending them for the group. This helps my students
develop independence and leadership, and allows the flexibility for me to fill in for any missing students or parts.

My jazz band performs at two band concerts per year. I am currently working with my student leaders to decide on
opportunities for this group to perform in the community.

Jazz Band Playing Experience

I frequently play with my middle school jazz band, but I have also performed as a student in a jazz ensemble.
While in high school, I played trumpet in Jazz Band. I enjoyed being able to perform on another instrument and
performing jazz music around my community. My years as a student in jazz band, greatly helped me gain an
understanding of the jazz style and the repertoire of the style.
 Stringed Instrument Experience
Experience Playing Stringed Instruments
During my senior year at Ithaca College, I took Class Strings (with Dr. James Mick), which focused on learning to
both play and teach Cello, Bass, Violin, and Viola. During this class, we also spoke about string instrument
pedagogy and rehearsed our own orchestra.

Experience Playing in Orchestras

During my time at Ithaca College, I played in the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, directed by Jeffery Meyer.
Playing in an orchestra helped me learn more about orchestral playing as well as some important pedagogical issues
with stringed instruments. You can see videos of me playing in the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra on my "Past
Ithaca College Performances" page at gracedemerath.com.
 Vocal Music Experience

Ensemble and Solo Experience

• Solo Cantor at Sacred Heart Parish, Sidney, NY (2015-Present)
• Ithaca College-Longview Intergenerational Choir (2012-2015)
• Ithaca College Chorus (2012-2013)
• Clinton High School Lady Reds (2010-2011)
• Clinton High School Choir (2009-2011)

Ithaca College-Longview Intergenerational Choir

For the 2014-2015 year, I am served as the Dana Intern for the Ithaca College-Longview Intergenerational Choir.
This is a group that is comprised of college students (of varied majors) and residents of a local assisted living home.
Once a week, the students in this group travel to the assisted living home and rehearse with the residents for an hour.
As the Dana Intern of this group, I was able to help with the organization of the program, music, and rehearsals. I
also get to conduct and teach during the weekly rehearsals. It was a pleasure working with Dr. Emily Mason, the
faculty director of the Intergenerational Choir. Dr. Mason has already taught me so much about choral, rehearsal,
and teaching techniques, as well as conducting.

Ithaca College Chorus

On the “Vocal Music Experience” tab at gracedemerath.com, there is a link to watch a recording of me singing
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Ithaca College Chorus and the Ithaca College Chamber Orchestra. Singing
Alto I for such an incredible work, and with such amazing musicians, was a truly fantastic experience.
 General Music Teaching Experience
Oneonta Middle School
In my current position at Oneonta Middle School, I have taught 6th Grade General Music. This class has about 20
students and meets every day for a full semester. After teaching this class, I feel like I have a new outlook on music
and its impact on my students' lives. In this class, we explored the importance of music in different cultures, as well
as pop culture. We also talked about the science behind music, different instruments, and did a lot of rhythm and
note reading. Students were given opportunities to compose and perform their own simple compositions. I also
included a large unit on movie and video game music, as this is what I have found my students to be most interested
in. I was impressed by the improvements I saw from my students, in both behavior and skills during their time in my
class. My goal for my general music students, is to make them more aware and appreciative of the music in their
lives, and to encourage them to be lifelong music lovers and supporters.

Educational Technology

I use Schoology to communicate with my students, post assignments, and grade my classes. I post all lesson
schedules on Schoology, so that they are easily accessible at all times for students and their parents. I also keep
information about events on our Schoology page, as well as an updated list of missed lessons. Students who miss a
lesson are sent a message on Schoology. Students can also send me a message to schedule lessons or ask any
questions that they may need answered. Badges are awarded when goals are met or particular assignments are
completed.

This year, I developed weekly practice reflections on Schoology, to help my student learn effective practice
techniques. I have been astounded by the insightful answers that I receive from students on these assignments, and I
have used these responses to ensure that my curriculum meets the needs of my students.

I have used Schoology in my general music class. I find that many students actually prefer to take their tests on
Schoology rather than in the usual paper and pencil form. Often times, I allow for students to choose whether they
take their test on Schoology or using the traditional paper and pencil form.
I have used Google Classroom in the past for both my band and general music students. Google Classroom is very
intuitive, and allowed for student to easily find assignments in one place.

While I did find some aspects of Google Classroom to be helpful, I have found that Schoology seems to provide a
more comprehensive and organized platform overall for my students.

I am constantly using Google Apps for Education. All of my lesson schedules are created through Google Docs and
are stored on Google Drive.

I also create my weekly practice reflections for students in Google Docs, before uploading them to Schoology. By
doing this, my students are each given their own copy of the assignment, where I can view their personal answers.
My students like that their assignment saves automatically and that they can pick up their assignment on any
computer.

I have used Google Apps for Education in my general music class for several projects. I love that my students are
able to easily collaborate on documents and presentations, even if they are not at school. I also love that my students
are able to access their work from any computer, and that their work is saved automatically.

I periodically use SmartMusic to assess my students on their music. Most frequently, I use SmartMusic with my
students as a practice tool. I love that it helps my students better understand their mistakes and what they can do to
play and sound better. I find that many students have an easier time understanding and fixing mistakes after seeing
them marked on the screen. My students also enjoy being able to slow down their part, and practice it with the
accompaniment that they usually hear from the rest of the band.

My favorite thing to do with SmartMusic is to measure and show my students their progress. When students play a
pre-test on SmartMusic they often think that they will never be able to play the music. When they take the post-test
and compare their scores they are shocked and extremely proud of their progress.
Plickers are an incredible assessment tool that I have utilized in my general music class and band rehearsals. Plickers
are cards with codes on them that can be scanned via the Plickers app. Each student is assigned a particular code, so
that it is easy to keep track of responses from specific students. Students are able to answer multiple choice
questions by holding up their card in a specific way. As I scan codes, I can show the class a graph of their answers
on the SMART Board. These cards allow for quick quizzes and assessments. They are especially helpful in my band
rehearsals, because of the number of students that I have in band. I like that these cards are always available for me
to reprint, in case a student loses theirs.

I have used EdPuzzle in conjunction with my weekly practice reflections for students. I like to use these to help my
students better understand the music that we are currently working on and how we can play them better. My students
are able to listen critically and provide great insight on these assignments.

Special Education Experience

Educating Students with Diverse Needs

During my junior year at Ithaca College, I took a class title "Educating Students with Diverse Needs". This class
focused on the rewards and challenges of working with students with a variety of needs, ranging from: physical,
learning and intellectual disabilities, to emotional disturbances. As part of this class, I was required to work in a
classroom in the Ithaca City School District that had students with such diverse needs for two hours a week for the
length of the semester. I worked with students in a second-grade classroom at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School
in order to complete this. This class was comprised of students from many different backgrounds and of varied
abilities. The school had originally intended for this class to consist solely of students who were learning English as
a second language. Later, the school decided to expand the class to also include other students with varying diverse
needs, such as intellectual and learning disorders. I learned a great deal from teaching in a diverse setting by
working with these students and I loved being able to get to know each and every one of them. You can learn more
about my time in their classroom and other things I learned in "Educating Students with Diverse Needs" by clicking
on the "Educating Students with Diverse Needs" tab on the side of my website (gracedemerath.com). On this page, I
also have a link to a website that I created that has basic resources for families that may be confused about how they
can help their child who has diverse needs.
 Ensemble Experience
Conducting Experience
• Oneonta Middle School - Middle School Band Director (2015-Present)
• Hilton Central High School - Student Teacher (Fall 2014)
• Ithaca College-Longview Intergenerational Choir - Dana Intern (2014-2015)
• Conducted members of the Ithaca High School Band in a session at the College Band Directors National
Association Conference at Ithaca College (2014)
• Ithaca College Homeschool Band Program - Student Teacher (2013-2014)
• Clinton Middle School Band - Peer Mentor (2009-2011)

Ensemble Experience
• 2017-2018 Hill City Brass Quintet
• 2015-2018 Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble
• 2014-2015, 2011 Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra
• 2014 Ithaca College Wind Ensemble
• 2011-2014 Ithaca College Symphonic Band: Principal Horn
• 2012-2013, 2015 Ithaca College Concert Band: Principal Horn
• 2012-2015 Ithaca College Brass Choir
• 2012-2015 Ithaca College-Longview Intergenerational Choir
• 2011-2015 Ithaca College Horn Choir
• 2012-2013 Ithaca College Chorus
• 2012-2013 Ithaca College Student Woodwind Quintet
• 2011-2012 Ithaca College Student Brass Quintet
• 2010-2011 Adrian College Concert Band
• 2010-2011 Clinton High School Lady Reds
• 2010 Baldwin Wallace University: Conservatory Summer Institute Orchestra
• 2010 Baldwin Wallace University: Conservatory Summer Institute Brass Quintet
• 2009 University of Michigan: MPulse Ann Arbor Horn Choir
• 2009 University of Michigan: MPulse Ann Arbor Woodwind Quintet
• 2009-2011 Clinton High School Choir
• 2009-2010 University of Michigan Youth Ensembles: Michigan Youth Band
• 2007-2010 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles: Wind Symphony
• 2008-2009 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles: Sinfonia Orchestra
• 2007-2011 Clinton High School Symphonic Band
• 2007-2011 Clinton High School Marching Band
• 2007-2011 Clinton High School Jazz Band
• 2007-2011 Clinton High School Pep Band

Musicals Performed In
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 2018 (Groton Central School District- Groton, NY)
• Beauty and the Beast, 2018 (Newfield Central School District- Newfield, NY)
• Aida, 2016 (Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton Central School District - Mt. Upton, NY)
• Beauty and the Beast, 2015 (Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton Central School District - Mt. Upton, NY)
• Annie Get Your Gun, 2007 (Clinton High School - Clinton, MI)
Professional Conferences Attended