Katinka Daniel: Her life and her contributions to Kodaly pedagogy in the United States.

Abstract

Katinka Scipiades Daniel (b. 1913) was raised and educated in Hungary. She graduated from the Franz Liszt Music Academy with degrees in piano performance and music education and earned the Absolutorium in art history pedagogy from the Pazmany Peter University. Daniel was teaching music in the Budapest schools at the time the music education program in Hungary was changed to align with the educational philosophy of Zoltan Kodaly. Jeno Adam, author of the first Kodaly-approach curriculum, mentored Daniel during her teaching tenure in Hungary.

Daniel has traveled extensively and presented the Kodaly approach at the invitation of universities, schools, and music education groups. Participants in her classes have expressed admiration for Daniel's knowledge, materials, and positive influence on music education in the United States. She has been the recipient of many honors and awards from individuals and organizations who recognize her positive contributions to music education.

The data from this study was gathered from historical accounts of the Kodaly approach in Hungary and in the United States, interviews with Daniel, questionnaires distributed to Daniel's students and colleages, and Daniel's personal papers. The conclusions from the data analysis suggest Daniel has contributed to the music education profession in the United States in two ways. She has influenced hundreds of individuals, inspiring them to become master musicians and teachers, and she has created and published an adaptation of the Kodaly approach for the United States in wide use today. Daniel has been teaching and writing in the United States since 1960 and continues her work today.

In 1960 Daniel came to the United States and settled in Santa Barbara. She began developing an American adaptation of Jeno Adam's curriculum, collecting American folk songs and games and choosing key songs from the culture to present musical concepts. Daniel field tested her method at the San Roque school in Santa Barbara for ten years. Adam and Kodaly examined her collection and approved her work.