MEMBER PROFILE
Michele Paynter Paise
- Music Education Coordinator and Associate Professor of Music
- Morehead State University
- Morehead, Kentucky
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Dr. Michele Paynter Paise is the Music Education Coordinator, an Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Kodály Institute of Kentucky at Morehead State University. Prior to this position, Dr. Paise was a faculty member at Cumberland University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Idaho. She also taught courses at Arizona State University and was a public-school music teacher in Maryland, Tennessee, and Arizona.
Dr. Paise is a member of several professional music organizations, including the National Association for Music Education, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, The International Kodály Society, The Kentucky Association of Kodály Educators, The Kentucky Music Educators Association, and The Mayday Group. Within these organizations, she has held numerous offices.
Dr. Paise is in demand as a vocal/choral clinician and has presented numerous workshops focused on elementary and vocal music education throughout the country. She has served as an instructor for summer certification programs at the Kodály Institute of Kentucky, University of Montevallo Kodály Institute, and Arizona State University. Her areas of specialization within the Kodály approach include solfa/musicianship and choir/conducting.
Active in all aspects of music education, Dr. Paise has served on the editorial board of Music Educators Journal and the advisory board for General Music Today. She presents her research at local, state, national, and international conferences, has served as a National General Music Mentor for beginning music teachers, and regularly advises undergraduate and graduate students in their own research projects. Paise is a three-time nominee for the Grammy Music Educator Award and has been named District 8’s University Teacher of the Year twice by the Kentucky Music Educators Association. At Morehead State University, Dr. Paise was awarded the Faculty Community and Civic Engagement Award in 2024.
Dr. Paise holds undergraduate degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Shepherd University, a Master of Music degree from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University. She is certified in both the Orff-Schulwerk and Kodály approaches to music education and has completed training in World Music Drumming. She is the Choir Director at Holy Spirit Orthodox Church in Huntington, WV, where she also serves as a chanter for Vespers, Matins, and other services.