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Continuing the Legacy...
It’s hard to believe that it has already been two years since my mother, Denise Gagné, passed away. Every day, I feel the weight of her absence, and we miss her more than words can truly express. I know she would be incredibly proud to see how her work continues to make a difference in classrooms around the world. Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with teachers who have shared just how much Denise impacted their teaching and their students. It brings me great comfort to know that her legacy is still inspiring young musicians and touching lives globally.
Today, we are honored to announce something that has been in the works for some time. We have officially established the Denise Gagné Memorial Society.
The goal of this society is to continue the generosity and passion Denise was known for by supporting elementary music teachers and students around the world. Through this society, we hope to expand access to meaningful resources and opportunities in music education.
Our key focus areas include:
- Educating the public by providing courses, seminars, and workshops focused on elementary music education
- Advancing education by offering scholarships, bursaries, awards, and other forms of financial assistance to elementary music teachers
- Supporting students by providing books, equipment, and educational aids that enhance music learning
We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported Denise’s work over the years, and we look forward to continuing her legacy in a way that reflects her lifelong dedication to music and children.
Classroom Materials Grant
As part of the Denise Gagné Memorial Society’s mission to support elementary music educators and students, we are excited to share our very first grant opportunity.
This grant is designed to support elementary music classroom teachers by providing funding for resources, instruments, and materials that enhance student learning and increase access to quality music education.
Each grant cycle, one $1,000.00 grant will be awarded to a selected applicant to help bring meaningful music-making opportunities to more students.
We are proud to offer this grant in Denise’s memory, continuing her lifelong commitment to generosity, creativity, and excellence in music education.
Incorporating Musical Picture Books in the Elementary Music Room
with Music Room Reads
Wednesday, March 11th, 2026 @ 4:30-5:30 MST (60 Minutes)
A recorded version will be available if you are unable to watch live.
About the Webinar:
This session will share practical strategies and ready-to-use activities that meaningfully incorporate picture books into the music room. Discover how music and storytelling can lift all voices with engaging lessons you can implement right away for rhythm work, vocal exploration, movement, and classroom instrument activities.
Learning Objectives:
• Implement ready-to-use lesson ideas that integrate music and storytelling into rhythm work, vocal exploration, movement, and classroom instrument activities.
• Adapt picture-book–based lessons to meet the needs of diverse learners and different grade levels within the music room.
• Use storytelling intentionally to promote student voice, cultural representation, and meaningful musical expression.
• Design or modify music activities inspired by picture books to support
Musicplay Team Updates:
We wanted to take the opportunity to share some updates from the team:
Content Updates:
- Echo Sing videos added to Solfa Practice Level s,l,t,d
- Echo Sing videos added to Solfa Practice Level s,l,t,drm
- Program resources added to BINGO, Dashing Through the Show, and It's a Boy
- Script and audio tracks added to new musical Kick It
Development Updates:
- New Drum Machine interactive
- New Staff Lesson bass resources
- Support for 2 beat rhythms in Word Rhythm Composition tool
- Added the ability to disable student codes
- Navigation now remembers the last open state.
- Notifications can now be dismissed more easily
