Holiday Show A Grand Success

Thank you all for coming to our holiday show, despite the cold and our leaky auditorium roof. Special thanks to our KDLP friends for helping out.  As for the ensembles, you both did a terrific job!

I'm posting some video clips here, partly to say thanks to all the kids and parents for participating in ensemble.  We will pick things up again in January the first week back with Wednesday recorder ensemble and Thursday Orff ensemble -- 7:20 start on both days.

Have a great holiday everybody!

Third Street Music - Holiday Show - Keetman Canon

Third Street Music - Holiday Show -- Ode To Joy

Third Street Music - Holiday Show - Ahri Rang

Final Week for Fourth Grade!

This week I said good bye to the wonderful fourth grade classes I had this year. We spent the final session arranging parts of some of the songs they wrote this year for the Orff Instrumentarium. The clip you see here is from "Christmas and Hanukkah are Here" by Ella and Christian and arranged by Ms. Yoon's class. Enjoy!

Ensembles Week 6 -- Extra practice anyone?

Ensemble Cats -- we had an extra rehearsal of the Orff Ensemble on Friday where we worked on "Arabian Coffee" and "Keetman Canon" and I am scheduling another extra practice for anyone who can make it on Tuesday morning before school.  This is more necessary for Orff as the kids cannot take the instruments home to practice.  Recorder players I assume you are practicing -- if not, get to it.  The show is in ten days!

Here's the program of music:

Orff Ensemble -- "Canon #1," "Wise Old Owl," "Keetman Canon," "Arabian Coffee"

Recorder Ensemble -- "Bransle," "Ah Ree Rhan," "Good King Wenceslas," "Pentatonic Moon," "Ode to Joy"  

There are recordings of all of these songs for you to listen to on this blog -- you just may have to go back to November to find them.  Click on November to the left and look for the titles of the songs.

Mrs. Caruso's class plays "Jingle Bells"

In addition to the repertoire that all Third Grade classes learn, Mrs. Caruso's class learned "Jingle Bells" this year so they could use it in their upcoming production of "The Grinch." Having had two children in previous version of "The Grinch," I can tell you it's a terrific show. Check it out on Monday, December 15!

Here's a small sample to put everybody in the holiday mood.

 

4th Grade Week Nine -- arranging our songs

This week the 4th grade classes turned in their songs and we began arranging some of them on the Orff instruments (as Ms. Polacheck's class is doing here).  With so many wonderful collaborations, it will not be possible to play all of them in class, but we'll try to find a way to do at least a few.  I'll also be posting some audio clips as they become available on this blog, so keep checking back!

Adieu, Ms. Caruso, Ms. Limb and Ms. Birdy's classes!

It is hard for Jazz Cat and me to believe, but my ten weeks with the 3rd grade classes of Ms. Caruso (assisted by Ms Garcia), Ms. Limb (assisted by Ms. Lee) and Ms. Byham aka Ms. Birdy have come to an end.  I want to thank those teachers and the students for making the classes fun and, I hope, rewarding.

Today was spent reviewing some of the songs we learned and discussing how to accompany and arrange them.  To that end the kids got a chance to try out the Orff instruments they will be using a lot more in 4th grade.  Alas, the videos did not turn out.  I'll try to stop by some of the classrooms and snag some audio files later this week.

As the French (and good recorder articulators) are found of saying -- adieu, mes amis!  I hopw I see a few of you in recorder ensemble.  Ms. Caruso's class -- good luck with your Grinch thang!

More 4th Grade Work from week 8

4th Grade Upcoming Week 9 -- working on our songs

Last week there was no music for 4th grade, leaving you a little extra time to work on your songs.  Does everybody remember the formula?

Your melody goes on lines 1 and 3 of your "Our Song" worksheet.

Your partner's melody goes on lines 2 and 4.

You collaborate on lyrics for at least one of the versions.

Bring the songs to class this week so we can start playing them!