2010 Music Olympics

Students have been participating in the "2010 Music Olympics." Events include Rhythm, Melody, Timbre, Vocal Performance, and Instrumental Performance. Medal Ceremonies will be occurring next week. Ask your child for more details about this fun event!

Research Confirms Brain Link for Words and Music

A very interesting article on msnbc.com about recent research linking words and music to the same areas in the brain; suggesting that intensive musical therapy may help improve speech in stroke patients as well as children with dyslexia and autism.

Click here to read the article.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Sixth grade students have begun their study of Baroque and Classical composers, starting with J.S. Bach. Ask a sixth grader which country Bach was from, which instruments were his specialties, where he worked for most of his life, and whether or not he was famous during his lifetime (and why). Students might also enjoy sharing some of the more quirky facts about Bach, like the fact that he was married twice and had 20 children, or that recordings of his compositions were launched into space with the Voyager space craft in 1977.

One of Bach's most notable compositions, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, is a superb example of contrapuntal music, where two or more voices or instruments share portions of the melody and weave in and out of one another. After a chance to listen to this piece, sixth grade students were asked to create a piece of artwork that allowed them to connect to the music in a meaningful way. Below you will see several examples of student artwork, accompanied by just a portion of this great masterpiece by J.S. Bach. Enjoy!

Congratulations Third and Fifth Graders!

What a wonderful performance of "Seasons of Sound." Many congratulations to the third and fifth graders for all their hard work in preparing for this music program.

Thanks also to classroom teachers: Mrs. Monroe, Mrs. Saffell, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Gulla, Mrs. Smucker, and Mr. Hale. And to the Related Arts teachers, Mrs. Collins, Miss Ciaffoncini, and Mr. Wilson, who assisted in rehearsals.

Thanks to Mr. Porter and Mr. Hodges for their help in setting up equipment for the performance, as well as to the Bluffsview PTA for their continued support of the music program.

Don't Miss "Seasons of Sound!"

The Third and Fifth Graders are ready to perform their music program, "Seasons of Sound," this week! Don't miss their performance the coming Thursday, February 4th at 1:30 PM and 7:00 PM.

Students are reminded of their call time at 6:45 PM in the music room. Dress is black pants or skirts and a solid color top. Fifth graders should bring their recorders, if applicable.

See you Thursday!