Let's Catch Up!
I know for most music educators, spring is the busiest time of the year. I'm not sure how the last month has gone for you, but for me, it was a whirlwind of field trips, performances, fun....and exhaustion! So, let's get you up to date with what's been happening here at the Chorus Room!
CPA Preview Concert
Our CPA Preview was the Tuesday before spring break. I like having the concert early, because then I have time to go back and work on any hiccups that happen before we do it for real. Here are videos from that performance:
We also sight read on stage for the parents. To learn more about how I put everything together, check out this post.
Spring Break
Napoleon was not having this whole "write a million page paper and ignore me" thing.
Yep, you're reading this right. We had Spring Break the week BEFORE our adjudication. Actually, it's not as bad as you think, because after stressing out about getting ready, you have a whole week to chill.
Well, not really. I was busy working on my thesis, and renovating our office, because that's just who I am as a person.
Yes, our office is space-themed. Yes, that is a three foot tall Lego model of a Saturn V rocket in the corner.
Rising 6th grade Orientation
The Tuesday after spring break, and before CPA, our school held its annual rising 6th grade orientation. This is our main recruiting event for the year, so the sweet angels pictured above volunteered to hang out with me for a few hours after school so we could do some singin'.
CPA (Concert Performance Assessment)
They always look so dapper with their red bow ties.
....and then my Women's Choir "army"
Ah, there it is. I was worried they were being too serious and mature for a second.
As always, we started off the day performing, and ended the day with fun! In the rush of the day, I forgot to ask one of my parents to video us on stage, but it you're interested in hearing the final performance, I've added the mp3 files for Men's Choir and Women's Choir below. To see more of their journey with these pieces this semester, check out this post about how we clean using checklists, and the preview concert videos above.
And of course, we had to end the day with putting our first ever Men's Choir Superior trophy on the shelf back in the room!
Dollywood
photo credit: www.smokymountains.com
Our fine arts department decided to do a joint trip to perform and play at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's close enough to us that we can do it as a day trip. So, we piled about 300 kids and parents onto six buses, and hung out for the day. I've never actually done an amusement park trip before, so this was an entirely new experience for me! 8th grade students cleaned two new pieces in the two weeks between CPA and this trip to perform at this festival. They really stepped up to the plate! I was so off my game, that I forgot to take and cool pictures :(
I Graduated! (sort of...)
Students in the Summer Master's Program at the University of Michigan walk in the May BEFORE their last semester. I know, weird, right? I didn't walk for my undergrad, so I really wanted to have the experience this time. We flew up to Ann Arbor last weekend to attend two ceremonies: the first was just for the SMTD (school of music, theater, and dance), and the second was a massive ceremony in the stadium.
Two more classes, a workshop, and a thesis defense stand in my way of officially completing my degree. I'm pumped to head back this summer....and frantically writing whenever I have free time!
100% jealous that I didn't come up with this.
And now of course, we just finished our first week of standardized testing, and we are gearing up for the 6th grade concert next Tuesday, and 7/8th grade the week after. Hold on to your hats, because we've almost made it to the end of another school year!