On January 26th, the Elementary class went to the North Carolina Symphony.  We heard all of the families of instruments together and it sounded really good.  We also heard each instrument separately.  Most of the class' favorite family of instruments was percussion.  Our class sat beside the orchestra in a balcony. We sat right beside the tuba and the timpani and it was fun to be able to see the conductor's face instead of his back.  One of the songs that our class heard was from one of Beethoven's nine symphonies.  We also heard Tchaikovsky's music.  We learned about different time periods of music, the tempo, and musical forms.  We want to go there again, and now everyone really wants to play an instrument!

-Gillian Ginsberg, age 9
Picture
 
 

Currently, in the elementary music classes we have been studying the composer, Ludwig van Beethoven.  Beethoven was well recognized for his ability to express feelings and "paint pictures" with his musical compositions.  The elementary students are developing an understanding of how music can evoke a variety of emotions in people.

In light of this study and the upcoming holiday season, the elementary class took a trip to the Carillion Assisted Living Center to spread some cheer through music.  The students sang several festive Holiday tunes and handed out candy canes to the residents.  It was wonderful to see the joy and thankfulness expressed on the faces of the elderly.  We look forward to visiting again.

We were excited to welcome a reporter from the News of Orange to our performance. She was impressed with our students and plans an article for this week's (Dec. 17th edition) paper.

Jennifer Sewell / Music Teacher