About 

Crystal A. Pridmore is a music educator, curriculum developer, and arts‑integration teaching artist whose work blends Orff Schulwerk, Kodály, and process teaching with SEL‑centered, trauma‑informed strategies. She currently serves as a teaching artist with Guitars in the Classroom, providing professional development and collaborative co‑teaching with K–6 educators across San Diego (2025–present).

From 2016 to 2025, Crystal taught general music at Myrtle S. Finney Elementary School in the Chula Vista Elementary School District, where she directed an Orff ensemble; coordinated grade‑level performances; launched a ukulele program; integrated orchestral strings through a Save The Music Foundation grant; and developed a highly regarded training site that mentored university teacher candidates. The district has been regularly named one of the NAMM Foundation’s Best Communities for Music Education.

She is a Director of The American Center for Elemental Music and Movement (2018–present; Vice President 2019–2022) and Past President of the San Diego American Orff‑Schulwerk Association Chapter, where she helped sustain programming during the pandemic by moving workshops online. Her publications appear in The Orff Echo and Teaching With Orff—including a 2025 feature on the Studio 49 factory—and she has presented widely for state, regional, and national audiences.

Crystal’s honors include the Arts Empower Ovation Award (2021), GRAMMY Music Educator Award semifinalist (2020), San Diego Youth Symphony Profiles in Music Education Award (2020), and CMEA Southern Border Section Fortissimo Award (2019). She holds a B.A. in Music Education (voice, cum laude) from Point Loma Nazarene University, an M.A. in Teaching, and a California Single Subject Clear Credential.

Find out more about her work in public schools by watching the following application videos she made for the GRAMMY foundation.

Check out Crystal Pridmore on Instagram!