You Will Be Found

Broadway's hit musical Dear Evan Hansen is full of powerful messages, and the song "You Will Be Found" has been stuck in my head since I first heard it and felt the profound emotions from both the lyrics and the music. This is a song I will be exploring with my intermediate and middle school singers to discuss a variety of musical choices, and this video of the One Voice Children's Choir singing their version of "You Will Be Found" has been a great entry point for our learning. Enjoy the video, listen to the words, and share it with your families to spark some important discussion.

Remember: You are not alone!

Second Grade: Solfege Exploration

The second graders are exploring solfege during music class, and singing together to recognize the connection between each vocal pitch and its corresponding hand sign.

Each syllable of the scale (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do) has a matching hand signal, and the students are making color charts to extend their learning.

Can you guess which two hand signs should have the same color? Ask a second grader!

WELCOME BACK!

Greetings! Welcome back to TCS! Now that September is in full swing, I wanted to dive back into my blog posts and share how excited I am for this year. Having seen all my students now, I can honestly say it feels great to be back. The students are already beginning their journeys this year as young musicians, and I have been designing two different bulletin boards for them to help me complete as the weeks continue.

Some students will be sharing their musical hopes and dreams for the year with me here:

Others will be taking note of what "music is" to them by connecting back to their experiences over the summer, and sharing how music is part of their lives every day. This project was inspired by the book Music Is... by Brandon Stosuy & Amy Martin. 

I will post the final versions of these boards when they are completed. Stay tuned!

HAPPY SUMMER!

It's been another WONDERFUL year here at TCS, full of musical learning! I am so proud of all my students and all that they've accomplished this year. I will be taking the summer to spend time with my family, play some gigs with my band, and put my toes in the sand at my favorite place on earth, Goose Rocks Beach, ME.

I will *try* to share some interesting articles, music, and other thoughts as the weeks go by. Until then, I encourage everyone to rock out together with their kiddos, and I have challenged my students to attend at least one live, outdoor music event this summer...we'll see who takes on that challenge!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I am SO incredibly proud of all the students in grades 4 through 8 who participated in the Celebration of the Arts concert last Thursday evening.

It was an unforgettable event, and our theme of EMPOWERMENT was certainly felt through the lyrics and performance of every young TCS musician.

Check out the TCS facebook page and thecountryschool.org for more photos and videos of the performance, and CONGRATULATIONS to all involved...it was a wonderful night full of empowering music!

Musical Connections to World Language

A few weeks ago, Mrs. Wei approached me with an idea to collaborate on a short musical connection with her Latin club. I jumped at the opportunity, so we talked about a piece of music that would be worth examining from both linguistic and musical perspectives. Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" is an epic composition, filled with orchestral and vocal power. It begins with some intense Latin text, so we decided to focus on the "Oh Fortuna" as an entry point. The students first listened and focused on the language, complete with side-by-side Latin and English texts. Then I visited their class and brought along an orchestral score that included both instrumental and vocal lines.

The students were able to listen again and "hear" the music in a new way. We discussed musical choices that the conductor could make based on the words, and based on the melodic lines in the orchestra. Dynamics were also a hot topic given how Orff uses them to emphasize the text.

I'm really glad we got to show a few students how different subjects intertwine, and hopefully this will be the first of many musical connections we can make across the academic spectrum. Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Wei and Latin Club!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I'm so incredibly proud of the cast and crew for their amazing performances of Into the Woods Jr.! It was truly a spectacular show, and everyone should be proud of their achievements! Since I'm not quite ready to let go of the process yet, you'll find a bulletin board devoted to the cast in the music room. It's engaging students to recall their favorite moments, find out who played which character, and some even burst into song when they see it! Feel free to come and check it out. (Photos by Mrs. Coyne)



Thank you to EVERYONE who had a hand in helping to bring the show to life. I am eternally grateful, and we could not have made the show happen without all the extra help from teachers, students, parents, and faculty!