We have been mainly working on the Chrismas Program music with the 7th and 8th grade choir. Come to the Concert on December 18 at 7pm to see what those songs are!

I am currently working on music appreciation: allowing the students to hear music that they may not have heard before and evaluating it, actively listening to it, helping them to understand how much work goes into a good performance. I also hope that they will start to appreciate other kinds of music so that they will broaden their musical horizons.

We had a special in-class project that the class worked on last week. During Smetana's symphonic poem, "the Moldau," the students were to write a story or draw a picture or series of pictures (like a comic strip) that would go along with the music. I know I had a lot of fun looking at the pictures and reading the stories, and several of the students expressed their enjoyment of the project. The projects will be handed back to the students by the end of the week.

As of second semester, this choir is now the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade choir. The 9th graders were moved to this choir so that there are a few more people in the choir, which helps a lot.

We have been learning a lot in the last few weeks. We started off the semester by learning a little about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most famous classical composers of all time. We then were able to watch a video of his last opera, called the "Magic Flute."

We have since been learning the music for our Spring Program, which will be held on May 19.