Things are gearing up for this year’s Spring Concert in our third and fourth grade classrooms. Students have been working hard learning their song lyrics, memorizing their lines, and singing their hearts out. This year’s program is entitled “Project: Peace” and will be held on Thursday, April 15th. We hope to see you there!
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Rehearsals are progressing along. We just covered this scene. Still a few more to go. It’s going to be a rough April. Here is a photo of Jeff Handley and the Ravinia Quartet. They made their last visit with our fourth graders on Wednesday March 24. It was such a wonderful experience for the students. Thanks to the District 112 Foundation and the Ravinia Festival for making this opportunity possible.  Jeff Handley and the Ravinia Quartet First and second graders have been bringing the stories of Eric Carle to life through music. First graders are doing “Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear” and second graders are doing “The Very Quiet Cricket”. It is a fun project that involves the barred instruments as well as the unpitched percussion instruments. We really bring the stories to life through music. Third and fourth graders are busy rehearsing for their upcoming Spring Concert. The concert is called “Project: Peace” and will be held on April 15th at 1:00 and 7:00 pm. Finally, fifth graders are still hard at work on preparations for “High School Musical Jr.” which will be presented in May. Here’s a video clip of the new “Phantom of the Opera” sequel called “Love Never Dies”. It just opened in London with a New York opening in November. This is for all you musical theater junkies out there! We had another great visit with Jeff Handley and the Ravinia Quartet. Here’s a photo of the group performing for our fourth graders. We’re excited about our next two visits! Well, morning rehearsals are well under way for the 5th grade production of “High School Musical Jr.” We are almost halfway through the scene blocking process with just a few big production numbers left. I’ll tell ya, it’s alot of work. But, I thank and praise all my little actors who show up on time early in the morning. Due to the snow last week, we had to change the date of our musician-in-residence. In fact, we need to change the last two visits. I am currently working with the quartet to come up with alternate dates. But, as you know, we all have busy schedules. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I know the last two dates they will be visiting. Otherwise, things are running smoothly in the music room. First graders are still exploring high/low sounds. Second graders are on top of their half notes and love to play rhythm instruments. Third grade continues to study our theory skills and we also started on music for the Spring concert. Fourth graders are sight-singing, learning about composer George Gershwin and are also working on Spring concert music. And finally, fifth graders are wrapping up music rehearsals for “High School Musical” and are about to delve back into the music curriculum. Have a great week! After much anticipation, our upcoming musician-in-residence begins tomorrow. Many thanks to the District 112 Foundation and the Ravinia Festival for making this wonderful opportunity possible. Arriving tomorrow will be percussionist Jeff Handley and the Ravinia Quartet. They will be working with the students for a four-week period. The students will be learning about the Great American Songbook and all the great standards that go along with that. I am looking so forward to their visit. Who doesn’t love a jazz quartet performing live for you? Parents are welcome to attend. The first visit begins tomorrow 2/10 at 8:50 am in the gym. We hope to see some of you there! Hey everyone! Tons of great things are happening in the music room this week. First, kindergarteners are exploring high/low sounds with melody bells. First grade just wrapped up their unit on Camille Saint-Saens’s “The Carnival Of The Animals”. Second graders explored unpitched rhythm instruments, reviewed dynamics (loud/soft), and sang a song in Spanish. Third grade continued their study of recorder and just recently began music for their Spring concert. Fourth graders are gearing up for their visit with Jeff Handley and the Ravinia Quartet next week. In the meantime, they have been honing their sight-singing skills and learning about composer George Gershwin. We even sang “I Got Rhythm”. And finally, fifth graders are still hard at work working on the music for their Spring musical. The “jocks” finally learned their big production number called “Get’cha Head In The Game”. It’s not easy teaching a group of fifth grade boys how to dance with basketballs in their hands at 7:45 in the morning! But, we did it! Stay posted for more updates! We are rehearsing this number next week! Exciting! |
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