Lorelei Batisla-ong

Ukulele Instructor

Prof. Lorelei Batisla-ong joins the faculty at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music as an Associate Professor of General Music Education and BW Community Arts School as ‘Ukulele Instructor. For the last five years, she taught undergraduates at The University of Texas at Austin and previous to that taught elementary music in San Antonio and Austin for 14 years. She received a BM in Music Education from Southwest Texas State University, an MM in Instrumental Conducting from Texas State University, and will soon receive a PhD in Music and Human Learning from The University of Texas at Austin.

Batisla-ong has served on the National Board of Trustees and chaired the Diversity and Equity subcommittee of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and is the State Director of the Texas affiliate of the National Association for Music Education. She currently serves as the Deputy Director and lead editor of Decolonizing the Music Room, a non-profit organization working to amplify the voices of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian people in the field of music education.

Batisla-ong combines her passion as a veteran teacher and enthusiasm for research by presenting national and international workshops to both practitioners and researchers alike. She is the co-author of the book, “Elemental ‘Ukulele: Pathways and Possibilities” which presents effective teaching and inclusive practices and activities for practitioners who teach young students in a classroom setting. Her research interests include: Teacher noticing and cognition through eye tracking and gaze analysis, teacher skill acquisition and development, equity in the classroom and teaching profession, and generally wondering why everything is the way it is and how it could be better.