Excitement abounds in the AE/MS Music Department! March is Music in Our Schools month, and in celebration of that fact we are rolling out two major portions of our new music curriculum. You may have already heard the melodious squeak of a recorder from a neighbor nearby as our third graders have begun learning the recorder. Also, you may soon hear the delightful sounds of beginning band instruments filling the air as our fourth graders have been invited to join the band program.

Our third graders have begun learning how to play the recorder. This year, we will be using the Recorder Karate program. This program allows students to earn colorful belts to be worn on their recorders upon the completion of each piece. Along with helping students learn to read and play music, this program is noted for improving dexterity and listening skills while students perform both in large groups and individually. We will continue our recorder learning into fourth grade and see how many of our best and brightest can earn the coveted black belt!

I am very pleased to announce that this year we have 20 fourth graders joining the band program! This will just about double the size of our band program and thankfully get the majority of our instruments off the shelves and put to good use challenging student’s brains and making beautiful music.

In fact, we have more interested students than instruments, so if you happen to have an instrument gathering dust and taking up space in your home, please consider donating it to our program. We will be sure to put any and every instrument to good use, regardless of its current condition. Our band program is projected to continue growing with many larger classes in the elementary school, so this is a very exciting time to be a musician at AE/MS!

Some dates to look forward to:

Thursday, April 17: Our kindergarten through fourth grade Spring Concert will feature our kindergarten through second grade chorus singing classic American music, our third graders debuting their recorder skills, and our fourth graders singing several songs as well. Show starts at 6:30 PM.

Thursday, May 15: Our Middle School Concert will feature our Advanced Band and Chorus along with the unveiling of our new and improved Beginning Band and a special piece prepared by our eighth grade students. It’s shaping up to be a memorable night; don’t miss it! Show starts at 6:30 PM.

Thank you all for your continued support of our music program here at AE/MS. We look forward to seeing you soon!