Welcome Back!
We would like to welcome three guest teachers from Westminster College of the
Arts - Miss Gerardino, Miss Patrician, and Miss Trettin. They will be
working with our 4th and 5th Grade classes this semester.
"One of the incredible values of music is that it can transport us to the
experiences of other people."
-- Henry Leck (Director of the Indianapolis Children's Choir)
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Please visit my website regularly for the latest news and upcoming events
throughout the school year. I welcome you to contact me via email with any
questions you might have regarding your child or the music program at any
time. I encourage your involvement and appreciate your support in your
child's music education. I have included many great links to music websites
that your child/ren will enjoy at home. I am looking forward to a wonderful
and rewarding year of music-making with your children.
I would like to take the opportunity to inform you about our Irwin School
Chorus. Any child in the 4th or 5th Grade is invited to participate in this
extra-curricular ensemble, and I would like to make you aware of the nature
of the program, hoping for your support and participation in the development
of a fruitful year. The Irwin School Chorus provides an excellent
opportunity for your child to develop his/her singing potential. As your
child learns the basics of singing, posture, breath control, diction,
phrasing, tone color, dynamics, and part-singing, each child will expand
his/her singing skills and overall musicianship as well.
The choral program is child-centered. Singing for the sake of music or
performance is not the goal of this group, as it has little lasting value for
the student. Rather, the program is envisioned to provide an experience for
the children to become active learners in the music making process.
Together with the primary purpose stated above, the broad goals of the choral
program include:
*Helping children develop a means of aesthetic expression
and appreciation;
*Helping children develop a varied repertoire of vocal
literature including folk songs, art songs, sacred songs, songs of other
cultures, and songs of the current genre;
*Helping children understand the importance of corporate
as well as personal experience and identity;
*Helping children experience the joy and satisfaction of
performing well for themselves and others;
*Helping children develop skills and attitudes that will
encourage them to use their singing voices as lifelong musical instruments.
Rehearsals will be held before school on Tuesday mornings from 8:10-9:00 in
the music room. Your child's participation in chorus is not only a
commitment for your child, but for the family as well. To ensure the quality
of the program and to benefit the entire ensemble, it is the
parent/guardian's responsibility for the child to make rehearsals every week,
on time. Our first informational meeting/rehearsal will take place on
September 29, 2009.
If your child shows an interest in joining the Chorus ensemble, your child
will bring a chorus contract to you and your child to sign. Please read the
contract and discuss it with your child. In order to continue as a member of
the Irwin School Chorus, students are expected to follow the rules of the
contract. Students failing to meet the expectations are subject to dismissal
from the group. Please send the Club registration for to the Financial
Services address on the form and your child/ren should return the Chorus
contract to me by Friday, September, 25th.
Thank you for your support in your child's music education. I look forward
to hearing from you and making beautiful music with your child.
Ms. Moore
Irwin School General-Vocal Music/Choral Director
** Additional Chorus Information**
The Irwin Elementary 4th and 5th Grade Chorus will perform two concerts
during the school year.
The concerts will take place in the Irwin School All-Purpose Room.
There will be a school assembly for staff and students at 1:30 PM and an
evening concert for family and friends at 7:00 PM.
Chorus concert attire for assembly and evening concert are as follows:
Girls: White shirt, black skirt, dress slacks or black and white dress
(comfortable dress shoes)
Boys: White dress shirt, black dress pants and dress shoes (tie and jacket
are optional).
Dress rehearsals and call times will be announced closer to the concert
dates. Please see "calendar" for concert dates on my webpage.
______________________________________________________________________________
Rutgers Children's Choir Auditions
The Rutgers Children's Choir is open to students entering Grades 3-8 and
meets on Wednesdays from 5:45-7PM on the Douglass Campus of Rutgers
University from mid-September until May. Membership for the choir is $275
for the year. For more information visit:
www.masongross.rutgers.edu/extension or call (732)932-8618 for more details.
