Sofía López-Ibor
Sofía López-Ibor is an internationally experienced music educator and specialist in Orff Schulwerk. For more than four decades, she has worked with children, teachers and students from diverse backgrounds, combining artistic practice, teacher training and interdisciplinary arts education.
After studying flute and recorder in Madrid and London, Sofía López-Ibor continued her studies in music education at the Orff Institute of the Mozarteum University Salzburg, specialising in Orff Schulwerk. Over the course of more than forty years, she has taught students of all ages and backgrounds, supporting the development of musical creativity through elemental music-making and interdisciplinary artistic approaches.
López-Ibor currently teaches at The San Francisco School, where she works with young learners in music education. She is also a faculty member of the San Francisco International Orff Levels programme, where she trains future music educators in the Orff approach. Alongside her teaching activities, she has published widely on Orff Schulwerk and arts integration. Together with Verena Maschat, she co-authored Quién Canta Su Mal Espanta, a collection of songs from the Americas, and she is also the author of Blue is the Sea, a book dedicated to integrating the arts in education.
Her contributions to music education have received international recognition. López-Ibor has been awarded the Orff Schulwerk Forum Medal and the Herbst Foundation Award, and was named Teacher of the Year in San Francisco. Through her artistic, pedagogical and scholarly work, she continues to influence generations of students and educators worldwide.