Elda Franklin holds degrees in music performance and music education from Florida State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a Professor Emerita of Music at Winthrop University in South Carolina where she taught undergraduate and graduate music education courses for 25 years, and received the Distinguished Professor award in 1993. Her teaching experience has ranged from pre-school through adults. She is a fully-certified specialist in Orff-Schulwerk, and was a teaching artist for the Charlotte Symphony Education Program for five years.  During 2001, Franklin served as interim director of the S.C. Arts in Basic Curriculum Project, and has worked with that agency in various capacities for the past 15 years. Presently, she is assessment and evaluation consultant for the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Education Institute in Charlotte, N.C. and also coordinates the training of new teaching artists for that organization. In addition, Franklin is an arts assessment consultant for Opera Carolina’s Education and Community Programs, and for the McColl Center for Visual Arts in Charlotte.  She has published numerous articles in professional journals including the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Music Educators Journal, the Chorister, Education Digest, and the Teaching Artist Journal. She is also a professional violist, and performs regularly with orchestras in the Charlotte region.