Darla Eshelman

Dr. Darla Eshelman has taught all levels of music and choir for the past 43 years. She received her BME from Grand Canyon University, and Masters in Choral Music from Arizona State University. Darla taught elementary music and middle school choir for many years in Arizona before coming to the University of Oklahoma to earn a Ph.D. in Music Education with Kodaly Emphasis, where she studied with Dr. Joy Nelson. During her time at OU, she was the centennial graduate research assistant and received a grant to teach music and choir utilizing the Kodaly approach for Whitebead K-8 School in Pauls Valley, OK.

 After completion of the doctorate, Dr. Eshelman joined the Oklahoma Baptist University faculty as vocal music education coordinator, conductor for the university women’s choir as well as a community youth choir. After OBU, she moved to the University of Central Oklahoma, where she was undergraduate and graduate music education coordinator, conductor for the university women’s choir and became founder and artistic director of the Central Oklahoma Sol-Fa Youth Choirs. Upon leaving university teaching she was honored as professor emeritus of music education at UCO.

Currently, Dr. Eshelman continues as founder and artistic director of the Central Oklahoma Sol-Fa Youth Choirs and is a choral music composer with over 50 publications through Colla Voce, Indianapolis Children’s Choir Publishing House, Alliance, BriLee, and Hinshaw Music. Darla’s choirs have performed for many regional and national conferences, and she has conducted numerous choral festivals as well as regional and all-state honor choirs. She has served on the board of directors in various positions for OAKE, ACDA and NAfME as well as their Oklahoma chapters. Darla is a frequent clinician around the country, providing sessions on elementary and middle school classroom teaching, choir and other research topics. Dr. Eshelman is passionate about the Kodaly approach to music teaching, and the incredible results gained from utilizing solfege as a tool for music literacy and independent musicians at any level.