Choir and Promise of Peace Updates

We made it to Friday!  I know many are checking in to see what is going on with choir and with Ms. Dry's program this Saturday, so here are some updates.

The children are doing a great job on the Promise of Peace Show, this Saturday, September 29, 2012.  Our performers should arrive at 4:00 at the Lakewood Theater.  We will have a little rehearsal time on stage.  Dress is jeans and tennis shoes.  Ms. Dry will bring Promise of Peace shirts.   I think you will enjoy the program.  The children will sing at 5:00.   Bring family and friends. 

Choir auditions have been overwhelming.  There is a wonderful interest in choir this year.  I will be working on invitations to choir this weekend.  I have not had a moment to get it done this week.  I am hoping we can get started this week.  It is time to work on our winter program.   I have sent a few invitations to parents via email to Tuesday's Canto Vivace group.  If you got an invitation, please send your child on Tuesday morning at 7:30.  If they have already had breakfast, I will pick them up in the gym and the auditorium.  Otherwise, they are to grab their breakfast and come straight to the music room.   I will be working on the other choirs this weekend.  Be on the lookout for an email from me. 

Our next PTA meeting is October 16th.  It is our 5th graders time to shine!  We will have a choir parents meeting at 6:00 before PTA.  I would love the opportunity to share with you our plans for the year and even give parents a chance to exchange uniforms if your child will need a new uniform.  For those of you who are new, the uniform is khaki pants or skirts for the girls and a black polo shirt with our Honor Choir logo.  We will order more shirts once we know who needs what sizes. 

 

 

 

This is the last song that I will be teaching for POP Benefit.  The other two are below this newest post.

 

The words are:

 

 

You are my cherry tomato, you are my little potato.

You are my - leafy greens, you are my skinny, little green bean.

 

You are so beautiful, You are so beautiful. 2x

 

It's all in the dirt, it's all in the dirt.

Agents of Change 2010

This is another song for the POP Benefit.  We'll start it this week.

spirit of the plants (Lisa Thiel)

This is is a song for the Promise of Peace Benefit on September 29 at the Lakewood Theater. I am teaching our Sanger children this song to promote our school garden. I am looking for 20-25 Sanger related children, of all ages to join us onstage to sing this and two other simple songs, accompanied my a couple of local professional musicians. Should be fun.  First after school rehearsal is Wed. September 12 at 4:30.  Hurry up kids, run home, grab a snack, do your homework and come back to the music room. 

"Mrs. Brown, When does choir start?"

I have been so happy to hear this over and over as students enter the new music room.

After such a wonderful year last year, I feel it is time to set a bigger goal for our choir. I try to attend TMEA, Texas Music Educators Convention as often as affordable.  Last year, thanks to generous financial assistance from our PTA, I was able to make this trip.  Each year, a small number of choirs are invited to perform for around 25,000 music educators in Texas.  To be invited is a huge honor.  While attending the conference, I heard some very good choirs, talked with directors, and attended workshops about submitting an application for selection as a performing choir for this conference in San Antonio.   The first step is to make a quality recording of our choir and submit it to the steering committee for the next year’s convention.  I believe it is a worthy and achievable goal to prepare to take our choir by February 2016.  With the help of Mr. Dwayne King, we will make a recording of our choir this year, and will submit it for consideration for the 2014 convention.  It may take more than one submission, but we will learn so much through this process, which will make our chances of being selected better each year.  This process will require growth on the part of our students, our parent supporters, and for me, but I believe we are ready for this goal. 

To help us become a select choir for TMEA, I am changing the choir program in the following ways:

Choirs will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 a.m.  Children who eat breakfast will need to be in the cafeteria at 7:30, pick up their breakfast, and come directly to the music room for rehearsal.  Because of the limited rehearsal time, no student will be allowed into the music room after 7:45. 

Our choirs will no longer be organized by grade levels.  We will have two choirs:  Developing Singers, and Advanced Singers.  All students who want to sing in a choir, have good behavior, and who regularly attend rehearsals will be admitted to one of our choirs.

 

Membership in a choir will be determined by a short audition, by recommendation from Mrs. Brown and other Sanger teachers, and by a parent conference.  The beginning choir will be less structured and will give beginning and developing students more time to enjoy singing while adjusting to the expectations and discipline of an award-winning choir.  The advanced choir will be made up of students who already demonstrate appropriate choir posture, have excellent focus and attention to the director, and who demonstrate an ability to produce quality choral sounds. 

 

Students may audition from Sept. 10-14 from 7:30-8:00 a.m. in the music room.  Students may sign up for an audition in the music room starting this week.   Choir rehearsals will begin on September 18 for the Beginning choir and September 20 for Advanced Choir.  From time to time, we may have to schedule an after school rehearsal in order to prepare for performances.

I plan to have a choir parent meeting soon to discuss this goal and this year’s choir program.  Please check this webpage regularly for more information.

I look forward to another great year of Song with our Stallion Students.