Chorus


October 8, 2013


The chorus did a wonderful job singing for the school play!  "Treasure Island" was a huge success.  We sang songs included in the play and a traditional Sea Chantey "Blow Ye Winds."  

Great job, chorus kids!  

Some candid pre-performance photos are below.  :)






August 2, 2013

Chorus Information and Handbook

Important Dates to Remember:

Thursday, August 22--Information sheets due--no exceptions!
Friday, August 23--Auditions at 8:00 AM in the music room
Monday, August 26--Audition results posted
Tuesday, August 27--Mandatory parent/student meeting


 



August 1, 2013

Chorus auditions will be held on Friday, August 24 at 8:00 AM in the music room.  Students will sing "America" ("My Country 'Tis of Thee") along with other, short exercises given by the teacher. 

Here are the lyrics that students will sing from "America":

My country 'tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride.
From every mountainside
let freedom ring.

Here is a video with the music.  Remember, students only need to sing the first verse.


I look forward to hearing everyone at auditions! 


 

May 2, 2013

Spring choir students had a successful concert!  You sang beautifully and the music you added with instruments was very creative.  I'm proud of you all! 

To choir parents and families, thank you for your support and commitment which allowed your children to be involved with choir.  Your support also had a tremendous positive impact on my first year as choir director.  I am grateful to work with supportive parents and families of such wonderful children.

March 2013


Have I mentioned how wonderfully you sang and represented our school at the basketball games?  You all are great, and I'm so thankful to work with such wonderful singers, students, parents, and teachers.

December 6, 2012

The choir visited an assisted living home today, and I must say, they did a wonderful job.  Not only did they sing beautifully, but they were excellent ambassadors for our school in behavior and attitude. 

Choir kiddos, you are the best! 

Here's a snippit of our visit to the office after our field trip:






October 15, 2012

Hello, choir kids!  Here are two of the songs we're learning:


Dona Nobis Pacem:


Shenandoah:

The choir is sounding great.  Happy practicing!  


Thank you!

To parents, guardians, neighbors, friends, students, and all who attended the choir meeting--thank you!  I truly appreciate your support as we start not only one, but two choirs this year.  Thank you for your flexibility and positive responses to the expectations and changes.  I am even more confident in the potential for our choirs because of your support.  Our students, families, and staff are the best.

Choir Handbook



Click here to view the PDF version of the choir handbook.

"America"

We have many students interested in choir so far!  For the auditions, students will sing the first verse of "America" ("My Country 'Tis of Thee") and some simple exercises given by the teacher.  The lyrics for this part of the audition are below:

My country 'tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside
let freedom ring.

Happy practicing!  I'm looking forward to hearing everyone at auditions.


Take Care of Your Voice!


Here is a chart that gives us some tips about how to take care of our voices.  You can save the chart to your computer as a picture to see a larger version.


Comments

  1. Hi, Mrs. Benson!!! This is one of your students. I loved the choir practice! I can't wait until I start in the Spring!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's great! I enjoyed it as well, and I am really impressed with everyone. We will have great choirs this year.

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    2. Hi, Mrs.Benson i'm one of your students:Braden and i was wondering how long have you been teaching the recorders?

      Thank you :)

      Delete
    3. Hi! Fourth and fifth grade classes started playing recorders in January and we finished with the "Recorder Bracket" in April. Ms. Gade's class won!

      Delete
  2. Dear Mrs. Benson,
    This blog is wonderful, and you are doing an amazing job! I wish we could attend the Choir's Concert, but we can't this year. Maybe next year!
    Best wishes and Good Luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. dear mrs.benson
    where are the chior songs
    from haley

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Haley!

      I just posted a video of "A Whole New World" that can be used for practicing. I can't post the other song we've practied for the Aladdin play because it was composed only for our choir to sing, which is pretty exciting.

      Happy singing!

      Delete
  4. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful lessons. I'm a first year music teacher and I'm 'hungry' for great new ideas. I'm excited to try them out. Keep up the great work!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm glad you're finding some things here to be helpful. Enjoy the rest of your first year!

      Delete
  5. Hi! I have been enjoying your blog. I've gotten some great ideas for lessons and am impressed with your use of donor's choose. I also have a chorus and would love to see what you have in your choir handbook. Would you be willing to share that?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely! I actually didn't realize that I didn't have the choir handbook link on the "share" setting. You should be able to see it now. Let me know if it still doesn't work.

      Donors Choose is wonderful! My school has had several projects funded. I highly recommend it.

      Delete
  6. Hi there! I love the arrangement of Dona Nobis that you posted above! I am a music teacher and would love to do that arrangement with my students, who is the arranger? Thank you!

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  7. I actually don't know who arranged the music for that particular performance. My students didn't play instruments for their performance, but I think they would be easy to add. I think metallophones or xylophones would be nice, too.

    ReplyDelete

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