Music educator and composer

In May of 2019, music education pioneer Laurie Orth published her first book, Rocket Recorder: Volume One, an innovative music workbook for recorder students that combines the contrasting disciplines of music with space exploration. Creating a pipeline for young people into STEM and STEAM educational programs is important to her. Laurie has presented her Rocket Recorder material at music educator, STEM and STEAM conferences in the United States and internationally.

Throughout her professional career, Laurie has taught music classes in a variety of school settings and has been a church choir director. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School, at the University of Hartford, in Connecticut. Her Master of Music Education degree is from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. In 2012, she began her own business, teaching general music classes to the homeschool community. She currently teaches on her YouTube channel, Laurie Orth Music Teacher.

Rocket Recorder is a labor of love, and came out of years of teaching home school students as an independent contractor. After composing a short recorder piece, Laurie asked her sister, Lisa Hasselback, music educator and professional jazz pianist, to help with an accompaniment. The new music was a hit in class, and the students loved it.

Thus began a wonderful collaboration between the two sisters. Laurie composed the melodies, and Lisa created the jazz accompaniments for them. They have been singing and playing music together all their lives and it was a joy to bring all of that together in the Rocket Recorder project.

Accomplishments

Laurie serves as the Vice President of Aerospace Education for the Savannah Air Force Association and served for four years as the team assistant to her son’s high school CyberPatriot cyber defense team. Professional affiliations include Georgia Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Educators, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She serves as a Teacher Liaison for the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and volunteers at her high school alma mater, Interlochen Arts Academy, in Interlochen, Michigan, where she studied bassoon, dance, musical theatre, and voice.

In October 2019, Laurie was selected as a social media influencer by the NASA Headquarters Social Media Team to attend the International Astronautical Congress and have a behind the scenes tour of NASA HQ in Washington, DC. It was the trip of a lifetime.

In June 2020, she was awarded the Air Force Association’s Medal of Merit for the state of Georgia.  This medal was awarded for exceptional service in local, regional, or national field and denotes great initiative on the part of the recipient for specific achievements in the position of Vice President of Aerospace Education for the Savannah AFA.