Weekly Review 4/3-4/7

This week in music, the first grade students continued learning about the Carnival of the Animals, a piece composed by Camille Saint-Saëns.  They followed a listening map for one movement of the piece, "Fossils."  The listening map showed the different instruments and themes which can be heard, including the xylophones, piano and clarinet.  To conclude the unit, the students watched a video of an orchestra performing the Carnival of the Animals in a zoo - it was so funny!

The second graders finished writing lyrics to their class song (which they composed last week), then performed in small groups!  Their lyrics were so creative, and we cannot wait to share them with you!  We will be posting them sometime next week.  The students have also continued to work on music for the Memorial Day Assembly.   They started to learn a second part (or partner song) to go along with "Grand Old Flag."  They will be learning more music next week!

The third graders learned a new note on the recorder this week, F#.  The F# has a tricky fingering, and can be found in the blue belt song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  The students are continuing to work towards their Recorder Karate Belts, and we are so proud of their progress!  Please remind your child to practice at home, or you can ask them to perform for you!  The third graders also started a new song for their concert, "Rock Boom BAG!"

The fourth and fifth graders have officially entered "concert mode" - which means that we are rehearsing for their performance in every class instead of only once per week.  After the spring concert, we will do extra general music classes to make up for this time.  That will mean more games and instruments in May! :)  From now until the concert, students should be working towards memorizing their lyrics, and practicing their band/orchestra instruments.  We have posted chorus lyrics and recordings HERE, and orchestra students can practice along with the recordings found HERE.  Below is a concert information sheet, which went home earlier this week:

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The music department at Memorial presents:

Elements of Music

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017

7:00 p.m.

Your child has been working very hard towards this concert and we hope you and your family can be there to support them. Feel free to email or call us if you have any questions.

• Day/Evening Concert Attire:  

Students will wear the white t-shirts that they decorated with a musical symbol along with any solid colored bottoms.

• Call Times:

• Band students will report to the music room at 6:40pm.
• String students will report to the lesson room at 6:40pm.
• Chorus students who do not play an instrument will report to the kindergarten wing at 6:50pm.

• Please note: ALL 4th and 5th graders must attend the Spring Concert. The students have been working so hard since January to prepare for this performance, and we need all of their wonderful voices and instrumental skills in our ensembles!  (Please contact us in advance if you have a conflict with attendance)

* We look forward to seeing you there! *

Sincerely,

Mr. Napierkowski, Mrs. Niu, and Mrs. Rzasa