Elementary Music Update
It has been a busy year in the elementary music room with the return of concerts, extracurricular groups, and activities! We began the year with the return of the Central Lee Youth Choir, a group of approximately 30 fourth- through sixth-grade students who rehearse once a week. We have also added a new extracurricular music group this year: Ukulele Club! This is also offered to students in grades 4-6 and meets weekly. Both music groups are preparing for a performance in April.
Kindergarten through third-grade students spent several weeks preparing for their holiday concerts and gave entertaining performances in December! For the third-grade students, this was their first music concert since they were kindergarteners. We celebrated their successful performances by watching videos of the concerts and having a popcorn party. These students will spend the remainder of the school year learning about steady beat and rhythms by playing a variety of instruments, including xylophones, boomwhackers, and several non-pitched instruments, while also engaging in movement activities and body percussion. In third grade, students have also been learning songs to sing at their Pioneer Days field trip in the spring. A few of the songs they will be singing are “Yankee Doodle,” “Old Dan Tucker,” “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” and “Oh Susanna.”
Fourth-grade students spent the first part of the school year learning to play the recorder! This group has proven to be hard working and quite talented, and I cannot wait to see what they bring to our band program next year as fifth graders. These students are preparing for their Biography Day performance in May. Many students have been excited to learn “Fifty-Nifty States” and work on improving their singing of the National Anthem.
Fifth- and sixth-grade classes are preparing for their Broadway-themed spring concert. They will be performing music from “Annie,” “Rent,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Music Man,” “Grease,” and “The Lion King.” They have enjoyed learning the music and are sure to put on a great performance in May!
The 5th Grade Band is working hard each day in rehearsal to learn new notes, vocabulary, and basics in musicianship. While they are expanding their abilities on their individual instruments, the students are preparing music for their upcoming May concert and the 5th Grade Solo Festival on March 28th. Several of the 5th grade band members are also preparing music for the Centerville Honor Band on April 23rd and the SEIBA Honor Band in North Liberty on April 30th.
Upcoming Elementary Concert Dates
4/26/22: Ukulele Club & Youth Choir
5/12/22: 5th & 6th Grade Band and Choir
5/20/22: 4th Grade Biography Day
