Friday Fun: From Shooting Hoops to Singing Opera!

I happened upon this video about mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges and thought it was worth sharing. My takeaway? It's NEVER too late to try something new...and who knows? You may end up being REALLY good at it!

HAPPY FRIDAY, everyone!

For more info on Bridges' story, click here.

5th Grade Chorus: The Vocal Roller Coaster!

Here are the 5th graders doing one of their favorite new vocal warm-ups: the Roller Coaster! This exercise helps us expand our vocal range in a fun, silly way to warm up our voices.

Music Together Concert with Sunny Train, Jessica Nevins, and Uncle Gerry!

Last Friday we hosted a special Music Together concert at The Country School. 

 Lala (ukulele) and Christopher (guitar) from Sunny Train came to perform with their band, along with Music Together of the River Valley director Jessica Nevins on accordion, and also troubadour "Uncle" Gerry Dignan, one of the original voices from all the Music Together recordings. With the help of PreSchool, PreK, Kindergarten, and some visiting families, we rocked out to lots of great songs, and they even invited me to play violin with the band!

Together with these talented musicians, I had a blast sharing the joy of music with all the children. Now I cannot WAIT to kick off this year's Music Together song cycle, FLUTE, with my PreS and PreK classes this fall!

Quote of the Day #3

I'm sure this won't be the only quote I offer from this brilliant mind, but the words felt especially worth sharing as we dive into another full week of teaching and learning here at TCS:

"Play is the highest form of research." -Albert Einstein

I love watching TCS students (and my own children) when they are deep into playing something. There is something truly magical happening in the brain when one is at play, and if you think about this quote in connection to music, the words can become even more powerful.

Thanks, Einstein...now let's do some serious research this week, everyone!

Quote of the Day #2

In an effort to start the week off well, I'm going to try to post a quote on Mondays. I might not be able to do it every week, but I will try! Here's a quote from another one of my favorite violinists:

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"I just want to work with people, so I always try to find a way to collaborate in the best way for the music." -Hilary Hahn

I really enjoy working with people (it's one of the reasons I became a teacher!) so here's to seeking out ways to collaborate with students and colleagues. Thanks, Hilary!

Great First Week!

Congrats to everyone for making it through the week with kindness, respect, and responsibility! I am so glad to be back teaching full-time at TCS, and it's been fun to see how the students have changed over the past six months while I was out on maternity leave. 

Below is a photo of the Kindergarten musical agenda. Both K classes had their very first visit to the music room today, and we rocked out to all these great tunes and had a blast singing, moving, listening, and playing together!

 

Enjoy the weekend, and I'll see everyone back on Monday for more musical learning!

Quote for Day 1

"Never miss an opportunity to teach; when you teach others, you teach yourself." -Itzak Perlman

Thanks, Itzak. Okay...let's do this! See you all at the Community Welcome!

Happy First Day, everyone!

Staying Connected: Back to School!

...and just like that, 6 months of maternity leave have come and gone, and this time tomorrow I'll be at school welcoming everyone back to TCS! While I will miss spending my days with my babies and enjoying the summer sun, it's time to get back to teaching and learning with my students. I'm really excited for the year ahead, and I know there will be lots of fun things happening in my classroom and all over the TCS campus.

Are you excited too? Nervous? A little of both?

Check out the "Important Dates" page if you're looking to start adding things to your calendar...I just updated it will all the musical performances that will be happening this year.

Looking forward to greeting everyone in the courtyard tomorrow morning for the Community Welcome & Candle Lighting Ceremony!