Darla Meek Assistant Head and Coordinator of Music Education

Darla Meek serves as Lecturer, Assistant Head of the School of Music, and Coordinator of Music Education at East Texas A&M, teaching undergraduate and graduate music classes and supervising student teachers. She earned the Bachelor of Music Education from Dallas Baptist University, the Master of Music in Music Education at Southern Methodist University, and the Doctorate of Education in Supervision, Curriculum and Instruction at East Texas A&M University. Certified in both Kodály and Orff Schulwerk, Darla is a teacher trainer for the American Orff Schulwerk Association in both Movement and Level I Pedagogy for Orff Levels courses. Darla enjoys conducting elementary honor and festival choirs.

She has published children's choir curricula for Lifeway Christian Resources and for Celebrating Grace, Inc. She is the author of four resource books for elementary music specialists, It’s Music to Their Ears! Movement-Based Listening Lessons for the Music Classroom, Journey Around the Globe with Recorder! and Flight 2: Another Journey Around the Globe with Recorder! published by Sweet Pipes, Inc., and All Things Bright and Beautiful published by Choristers Guild. Her articles have appeared in The Orff Echo, The Chorister, Southwestern Musician, and The Kodály Envoy and she contributed to the Alfred publication Kaleidoscope. She presents sessions for teachers at conferences and workshops at the district, regional, state, and national levels.

A Conversation with Darla Meek

What would you tell a student who is thinking about attending East Texas A&M?

The ETAMU School of Music is known for its collaborative, encouraging culture, where students support one another's growth instead of competing against each other. The students live and work in an atmosphere of delightful camaraderie.

How has East Texas A&M influenced your life and/or career?

Education majors do not only learn as students—they also look at lessons and lectures through the lens of a teacher. My wonderful music education majors who question everything I do have made me continually reflect on my choices. They have made me a better teacher.

Educational Background

• Ed.D., Supervision, Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Emphasis, East Texas A&M University, 2025
• M.M., Music Education, Southern Methodist University, 2002
• BME, Music Education, Dallas Baptist University, 1989

Professional Activities

1. American Orff Schulwerk Association, National Teacher Trainer
2. Kodály Educators of Texas, Higher Education Liaison
3. Texas Music Educators Association, Region III College Chair
4. National Association for Music Education
5. North Texas Chapter of AOSA, past president

Honors and Awards

1. Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators of The Texas A&M University System Award, 2025
2. Sigma Alpha Iota, National Arts Associate, 2024
3. Texas A&M University-Commerce (now East Texas A&M University) Faculty Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2014

Research Interests

• Music Listening
• Movement in the Music Classroom
• Orff Schulwerk
• The Kodály Method

Selected Publications

1. Meek, D. (2025) Better Together: Blending the Approaches. The Southwestern Musician, TMEA.
2. Meek, D. (2024). It's music to their ears! Movement-based listening lessons for the music classroom. Sweet Pipes, Inc.
3. Meek, D. (2021). From West to East – Ideas for the classroom. The Chorister, Vol. 72, Issue 9.
4. Meek, D. (2021). Celebrate the colors in our world. The Chorister, Vol. 72 (6), 10-16.
5. Meek, D. (2021). Building cultural intelligence in students. The Chorister. (national journal published by The Choristers Guild)
6. Meek, D. (2021). Spreading hope through song – Ideas for the classroom. The Chorister, Vol. 72 (7), 27-31
7. Meek, D. (2019). The Murray Volumes: Music (and movement!) for children. Reverberations. AOSA. (national newsletter published by the American Orff Schulwerk Association)
8. Meek, D. (2018). Flight 2: Another journey around the globe with recorder! Sweet Pipes, Inc.
9. Meek, D. (2018). Orff Schulwerk in the children's choir setting. The Chorister, Vol. 71, 11-15.
10. Meek, D. (2018). Purposeful movement in the band camp setting. Orff Echo. AOSA.
11. Meek, D. (2017). All things bright and beautiful, Dallas, TX: The Choristers Guild.
12. Meek, D., contributing author. (2017). Kaleidoscope: A collection of standards-based lessons for the K-8 general music classroom. Los Angeles, CA: Alfred Publishing, Inc.
13. Meek, D. (2016). Journey around the globe with recorder! Sweet Pipes, Inc.
14. Meek, D. (November-December 2017). Using movement to introduce a masterwork. Reverberations. AOSA.
15. Meek, D. (2015). It's like herding cats! Classroom management in the children's choir setting. The Chorister, Vol. 67, Issue 4, pp. 22-29.