Aimee D. Pearsall, M.M.

CURRICULUM VITAE
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1931 Spruce Street, Apt. 1A, Philadelphia, PA, 19103 ∗ aimee@udel.edu ∗ 814-441-3237 ∗ aimeepearsall.weebly.com

POSITIONS HELD

2017-present Wallingford Swarthmore School District, Strath Haven Middle School

General Music, Choir & Orchestra Teacher
Teaching Responsibilities
• 6th grade general music teacher: focus on musical creativity with vernacular instruments
such as guitar, iPads, & keyboard
• 7th & 8th grade chorus teacher/conductor: program comprised of 160 students with large
ensemble rehearsals & small group voice lessons/sectionals
• 7th & 8th grade select chorus teacher
• 7th & 8th grade orchestra teacher/conductor: program comprised of 90 students with large
ensemble rehearsals, small group instrumental lessons & chamber music coaching sessions
• 7th & 8th grade chamber orchestra teacher/conductor
• Organized/Participated in the following: Winter and spring choral & orchestral concerts,
Coffee House Singer/Songwriter evening at local coffee shop, Choral adjudications, PA
District 12 Jr. Chorus Festival, PA District 12 Jr. Orchestra Festival

Curriculum Development
• Selected for Wallingford Swarthmore School District’s music department vertical team
• Developed the 6th grade general music curriculum: grounded in informal learning. Unit-
based with a focus on musical creativity & independence

2017-present Wallingford Swarthmore School District, Strath Haven Middle School

Spring Musical Director
• Director of Mary Poppins:
o Organized a full-length, 2.5 hour musical with a cast of 130 students & 70 crew
members between the ages of 11 and 14
o In charge of staffing & budget
o Created calendar and managed the rehearsal process
• Music Director of Mary Poppins:
o Taught students in large and small groups all songs from the musical
• Producer of Mary Poppins:
o Supervisor of all student crew heads & crew members
o Secured services from “Flying by Foy” & supervised lighting, sound design, set
construction, painting, props, and costumes

2014-Present Delaware Choral Academy, Newark, DE & Aix en Provence, FR

Program Director
• Coordinates a three-week choral symposium in the south of France for conductors, teachers,
and other young professionals to study conducting and the choral art while singing in a
semi-professional choir
• Manages a team of staff members while on the ground in Aix en Provence
• Coordinates housing, researches & books excursions, manages daily tasks over the course
of the symposium

Aimee D. Pearsall-Curriculum Vitae 2018 1

2015-2017 Red Clay Consolidated School District, H.B. du Pont Middle School
Choir Teacher/Conductor
Teaching Responsibilities
• Teacher and conductor of the 6th-8th grade choral program, comprised of over 300 students
and seven choirs
• Music Director for the H.B. du Pont Musical Theatre Program
• Organized/participated in the following: Winter and spring choral concert, Café of the Arts
night, H.B. Coffee House Singer/Songwriter evening at “Drip Café, Choral adjudications,
DE Jr. All State Chorus, DE Children’s Honor Choir, National Children’s Honor Choir, DE
Only Med Aloud, DE Women’s Choral Festival, Broadway workshops

Awards & Honors

• Earned Superintendent’s Award for “Outstanding Rookie Teacher” in Red Clay
Consolidated School District
• Earned all superiors and excellent ratings for all choirs at adjudication events in 2016 &
2017
• H.B. Chamber Choir invited to perform at the statewide Delaware PTA awards dinner

Curriculum Development
• Created and implemented a diverse music curriculum that included a focus on musical
independence and incorporated the following: singing of diverse repertoire, songwriting,
sight singing, and the learning of ukulele, guitar, and piano

Grants/Funding
• H.B. Parent Teachers Association Grant for ukuleles: $500.00
• Donorschoose Funding for guitars & ukuleles: $416.00

2015-2016 Newark Center for Creative Learning, Newark, DE

Kindergarten through Eighth Grade General Music and Choir Teacher
• Taught general music classes with a focus on singing, the informal learning of vernacular
instruments, folk dancing, recorder, and music literacy
• Implemented a choral curriculum that included the singing of diverse choral repertoire as
well as the students composing and teaching their own pieces for their choral concert
• Led and accompanied the “sing alongs” for the weekly All School Meeting

2014-2016 University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Graduate Assistant/Instructor
• Instructor for MUSC112, University Strings: Designed a curriculum that included a diverse
array of repertoire as well as a focus on improvisation
• Teaching assistant for MUED378 & MUED 379: Graded lesson plans & papers,
presentations, & teaching by pre-service teachers. Observed practicum students in choral,
general, and instrumental teaching placements & provided feedback
• Graduate Conductor for the UD Chamber Choir, the UD Chorale, and UD Choral
Symposium

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2013, 2014 University of Delaware Undergraduate Research Program, Newark, DE
Program Assistant for the University of Delaware Summer Scholars Program
• Led seminars for undergraduate research scholars about conducting research, writing a
refereed journal article, writing abstracts, and presenting at conferences
• Advised 12 undergraduate researchers each summer as they completed research in the
College of Arts and Sciences

2013-2017 Delaware Arts Conservatory, Bear, DE

Piano, Voice, Violin, and Viola Private Instructor
• Taught private lessons to a studio of students ages 4-15 weekly
• Designed individual curricula around each students’ interests & goals

2011-2015 University of Delaware Community Music School, Newark, DE

Early Childhood Music Teacher, Children’s Choir Manager, Opera Director
Teaching Responsibilities
• Teacher of Music for Babies, Music for Toddlers, Little Music Makers, and Hands on
Music classes at the University of Delaware and Newark Day Preschool
• Responsible for administrative tasks related to scheduling and enrollment while also serving
as a teacher and conductor for the University of Delaware Children’s Choir
• Producer and director of two musicals through ProjectMUSIC Opera!, which fostered a
collaborative partnership between students at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School and at
the University of Delaware
• Designed the curriculum/instruction taught to students at Richardson Park Elementary
School through ProjectMUSIC Strings, a service learning project
Honors
• WHYY Television Network: Interviewed as the director of ProjectMUSIC Opera!
• Delaware Today Magazine: Interviewed and featured as director of ProjectMUSIC Opera!

EDUCATION
2016 Master of Music, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Major: Music Education
Major: Choral Conducting
Thesis: Informal Learning in the Choral Classroom
• Teaching assistant to Suzanne Burton, Director of Music Education & Music Graduate
Studies & Alden Snell, Music Education Professor
• Conducting study with Paul Head & Duane Cottrell

2014 Honors Bachelor of Music, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Major: Choral/General Music Education
Minor: Violin Performance
Thesis: Young Children’s Preferences for Musical iPad Apps
• Music education research study with Suzanne Burton
• Private voice study with Melanie Dement
• Private violin study with Xiang Gao
• Private viola study with Esme Allen-Creighton

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Awards
• Summa Cum Laude
• Secondary Education Award for Outstanding Student Teacher (2014)
• Donald W. Harward Fellows Award (2014)
• Winner of Phi Kappa Phi Undergraduate Research Essay Competition (2014)
• Winner of NAfME Collegiate Chapter of Excellence when President of the Chapter (2014)
• Academic Year Scholar Award (2013)
• Arts and Humanities Undergraduate Research Scholar (2013)
• Service-Learning and Community-Based Research Fellowship Award (2013)
• University of Delaware Honors Enrichment Scholar (2013)
• General Honors Award (2012)

PUBLICATIONS
2016 Burton, S. & Pearsall, A. (2016). Music-based iPad app preferences of young children.
Research Studies in Music Education, 38(1), 75-91. doi: 10.1177/1321103X16642630.

2016 Pearsall, A. (2016). Informal learning in the choral classroom. Retrieved from ProQuest Digital
Dissertations. (AAT 10157415).

2014 International Society for Music Education, Early Childhood Music Education Commission,
Brasilia, Brazil: Four-year Old Children’s Musical iPad Preferences. (Summer, 2014 with
Suzanne Burton).

2014 College Music Symposium, St. Louis, MO: Children’s preferences and responses to musical
iPad apps: Where America’s technological culture meets music education.

2014 Pearsall, A. (2014). Young children’s preferences for musical iPad apps. Retrieved from
http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/13206

RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
International
2014 International Society for Music Education, 2014 Early Childhood Music Education
Commission, Brasilia, Brazil: Four-year old children’s musical iPad preferences. Presented
with Suzanne Burton.

2014 Suncoast Music Education Research Symposium at the University of South Florida: Young
children’s preferences for music iPad apps. Presented with Suzanne Burton.

National
2016 National Association for Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference,
Creativity Special Research Interest Group, Atlanta, GA. Informal learning in the choral
classroom.

2014 National Association for Music Education, Research and Teacher Education Conference, Early
Childhood Music Special Research Interest Group, St. Louis, MO. Young children’s
preferences for musical iPad apps. Presented with Suzanne Burton.

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2014 The College Music Society National Conference, St. Louis, MO. Children’s Preferences and
Responses to Musical iPad Apps: Where America’s Technological Culture meets Music
Education.

State
2016 Pennsylvania Music Education Association Conference, Hershey, PA. Informal Learning in the
Choral Classroom.

2014 University of Delaware Day at the Delaware State Legislature, Dover, DE. Young children’s
preferences for musical iPad Apps.

OTHER SCHOLARLY CREATIVE WORK

Choral Conducting
2016 Conducted The University of Delaware Chorale singing “Vidi: The Visions of Hildegard” at the
American Choral Director’s Association Eastern Division Conference in Boston, MA

2015 Selected as a conducting scholar for the Delaware Choral Academy Summer Conducting
Symposium. Studied with Dr. Paul Head, Dr. Wayne Abercrombie, & Dr. Andrew Kreckmann

2014 Selected as a conducting scholar for the Delaware Choral Academy Summer Conducting
Symposium. Studied with Dr. Paul Head

PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2012 Gordon Institute for Music Learning Early Childhood Music Certification Course, University of
South Carolina

2013 Jamaica Field Service Project, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS
• Musical creativity in the choral classroom
• Adolescent songwriting
• Democracy in the choral and general music classroom
• Informal learning in middle school music ensembles and general music classes

MEMBERSHIPS

NAfME, National Association for Music Education

Phi Kappa Phi, National Honors Society
Pi Kappa Lamba, National Music Honors Society
Alpha Lamba Delta Honors Society
ACDA, American Choral Director’s Association
GIML, Gordon Institute for Music Learning
ISME, International Society for Music Education

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