John Bertles is an educator, composer and instrument-builder. He has worked in arts education since 1988 as a teaching artist, administrator, professional developer and consultant. He is a facilitator for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts National Touring Workshops for Teachers. He is also the founder and co-director of Bash the Trash Environmental Arts LLC, an educational performance ensemble with groups in New York City, Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles, reaching 60,000 students yearly. In 2019 Bertles received the Elizabeth Coleman Visionary Leadership Award, was nominated for a Grammy and a Drama Desk Award for his work on "Once on This Island”. He a five-time winner of the ASCAP Childrens' Song-writing Award, and board member emeritus of the NYC Arts-in-Education Roundtable.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH JOHN BERTLES

Overview with John Bertles.

John Bertles Professional Development Offerings Master List

Single Facilitator Workshops (3 or 6 hour)

• MOST POPULAR! Building Musical Instruments from Recycled and Reused Materials - Connecting science, sound, literacy and the environment for classroom teachers and arts specialists

• MOST POPULAR! Paul Klee and Imagination: Painting with Music, Composing with Images - Inspiring and exploring connections and creativity through the works of Bauhaus painter Paul Klee

• MOST POPULAR! The Sound of Science: Connecting STEM to the Arts (3 hour) - An exploration of the concepts of STEAM education through the lens of the science of sound and invented instruments

• Composing with Children - Discovering new entry-points to literacy through music, for classroom teachers and arts specialists

• Invented and Graphic Notation - Exploring alternate forms of notation for music teachers

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Transforming Through Performing - Professional Development for Performers for Youth

• Creating Effective Arts Assemblies with the Community in Mind - An introduction to performing for children and creating relevant assembly programs with community and curriculum in mind

• Strengthening Existing Arts Assemblies - Tuning-up school-time and assembly shows while raising the bar and adjusting to modern audiences

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The Teaching Craft

• Backwards Design - An introduction to a planning model that integrates student art creation, curriculum design and assessment into a unified package

• Arts Entrepreneurship - Demystifying and getting comfortable with the business of the arts - for Artists, Teaching Artists, and Arts Educators

• You’re Doing it Already - How to identify the curricular standards that are hidden in your arts curriculum - for Arts Educators

• Creating Arts-based Assessments - Exploring strategies for assessing arts activities through curriculum, content, and creativity

• The Lead Teaching Artist: Observer, Evaluator, Mentor - A how-to for creating, nurturing and expanding on a vital staff position for arts institutions with teaching artists

Two-Facilitator Workshops (3 or 6 hour)

• Building Musical Instruments from Recycled and Reused Materials (6 hour) - Adds dance/movement to the workshop emphasis on science, sound, literacy and the environment

• Paul Klee and Imagination: Painting with Music, Composing & Choreographing with Images (6 hour) - Connecting science, music, dance/movement, and visual arts through the works of Bauhaus painter Paul Klee

• From Page to Stage (3 or 6 hour) - Transforming the written word into music and dance/movement for classroom teachers and arts specialists

• Feeling Fractions (3 or 6 hour) - A new way of exploring and understanding the concepts of fractions through dance/movement and music for classroom teachers​

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Workshops and Events for Orchestras and Musical Institutions

• Orchestrash! - Workshops/Performances with Professional and/or Student Orchestras, featuring unusual composing activities, found-object instruments, and audience participation

• Creating and Notating with Student-built Instruments - A combination of the “Instrument-Building” and “Inventive Notation” workshops, created especially for orchestras and other musical institutions

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Master Classes

• Arts in Education as Part of Your Career - An overview of Arts Education as a career choice, or to supplement an arts career

• Arts Entrepreneurship - A look at the business side of the arts, and why every artist has to take control of their own interests - without the stigma!

Keynotes

• Arts and the Environment: Natural Partners - The arts can be a powerful force to help students understand and explore environmental concepts

• Active Engagement for the Modern Learner - Engaging students who have never known a world without the Internet

• Exploring STEM to STEAM - A look at the concepts of STEM and STEAM through the lens of Bash the Trash, a small arts-in-education organization

Bertles receives Visionary Leadership Award from Bennington College President Isabel Roche