Dr. Jill Trinka lives in Pawleys Island, SC.  She retired from full-time university teaching in 2019 at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, where she taught undergraduate and graduate ear training and sight-singing, elementary music methods, American Music, and classroom instrument courses.  Previous academic posts include The University of North Texas, the University of St. Thomas, and the University of Central Arkansas. 
 
An internationally acknowledged Master Teacher in the Kodály philosophy of music education, she has directed and taught in Kodály Teacher Training Institutes throughout the United States.  She currently directs the West Chester University (PA) Kodály Certificate Program. A past president of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and 2003 recipient of their Outstanding Educator Award, Dr. Trinka is well known by children, parents, and music educators as “a dynamic, winsome, and energetic teacher and performer.” Her performances bring new life to the musical and cultural treasures of American folk music as she accompanies herself on the dulcimer, autoharp, guitar, and banjo.  Jill’s publications – My Little Rooster, Bought Me a Cat, John, the Rabbit, and The Little Black Bull; Jill Trinka:  The Bass Hall Children’s Concerts DVD (Ft. Worth, TX); and recordings Had a Little Rooster, There’s a Hole in the Bucket, and Old Joe Clark, with John Feierabend, are published by GIA Music.
 
Dr. Trinka currently teaches workshops for elementary music educators throughout the United States and Canada, serves as an Artist-in-Residence for elementary schools, performs folk music concerts for children and adults, and sings with the Carolina Master Chorale.