Isabel McNeill Carley

Isabel McNeill Carley (4 December 1918 – 14 July 2011) was a published writer, editor, composer and music teacher. She is considered one of the leaders of the Orff Schulwerk when it began to take hold in the United States in the 1960s. As a co-founder of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), Carley contributed greatly to the organization’s beginnings, serving as a board member and magazine editor. Carley devoted much of her life to musical instruction, publishing a series of books titled Recorder Improvisation and Technique. Carley died on 14 July 2011, at her home in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Early life and education Daughter of John T. and Netta H. McNeill, Isabel McNeill was born on 4 December 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up there and in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For the next ten years, she and her family lived in New York, Oregon and Texas. In 1953, they moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. Carley completed a three-year education program in one year and earned a Specialist Diploma with honors to become the first American honors graduate at the institute. Philosophical views In her classes from pre-school to adult, Carley taught the importance of improvisation, speech