Holten-Richmond Middle School Music

Chorus and Music Technology

Theory Assessment 2 (new)

Philosophy

The purpose of the Holten-Richmond Middle School choral program is to provide students with a quality music education by exploring the art of choral singing. Our program stresses all aspects of musicianship; sight reading, music theory, performance, and critical thinking. Our goal is to create a lifelong appreciation for music and choral singing in particular. Therefore we will explore and develop the following skills:

· Performing a varied repertoire of music either individually or with a group.
· Reading and writing music.
· Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
· Evaluating music and musical performances.
· Understanding music in relation to history and world culture.
· Seeing the relationship between music and the other arts. hi

It is critically important to understand that the same skills needed to succeed in an instrumental music program are identical to succeeding in our choral program. The only difference being that our instrument is our voice. Which, when you think of it, is pretty easy to carry around.

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Chorus Opportunities

Holten-Richmond Middle School offers three choral ensembles: 6th, 7th, and 8th grade chorus. Each of our choruses performs separately a wide range of grade appropriate music. The music becomes more advanced as the student progresses through the grade levels. The music sight reading and music theory skills also become more developed as the student progresses through the program.

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Concert Recordings and Song Lists

Anthem

Jubilant Gloria

Singers All

I Got Rhythm

Art Thou Troubled

2007 Song Practice

New Songs are coming soon. Check Back Frequently.

All	Anthem All Voices	Anthem 2	Anthem 3
Nelly Bly	Nelly Bly Soprano	Nelly Bly Alto	Nelly Bly Tenor	Nelly Bly Bass
Weeping in Sorrow	Voice 1 (per.6)	Voice 2 (per.7)
Beauty and Pleasure	Voice 1 (per.6)	Voice 2 (per.7)
Night Song	Voice 1 (per. 7)	Voice 2 (per.6)
Linden Lea	Linden Lea Sop. 1	Linden Lea Sop. 2	Linden Lea Alto
Choo Choo	Chatanooga Sop. 1	Chatanooga Sop. 2	Chatanooga Alto	Chatanooga all voices
Shine On Me	Shine On Me Sop. 1	Shine On Me Sop. 2	Shine On Me Alto
Freedom Isn’t Free	Voice 1	Voice 2	Voice 3

Grading

It is of vital importance that each student understands that chorus is an academic subject. The grading policy is as follows:
40% Daily Grade. Student is: singing with the group, has a positive attitude, contributes to class discussions, is attentive and avoids talking during instructional time, is cooperative with all other students.
25% Personal Projects. Student will create one research project per trimester of his/her own choosing. This project must reflect the student's achievement of their personal chorus goals for this year. The project will be graded in five steps: 1) Pick the project, 2) Outline, 3) Rough Draft, 4) Completed Project, 5) Presentation. The student should use a variety of media sources (computer, audio, video/dvd, poster board, etc. to present the project.
20 % Music Knowledge. Weekly instruction includes theory and musical terms associated with our music selections. Students will be assessed of their knowledge of what is covered in class in four written assessments during each trimester. Students are encouraged to use our website for extra preparation of these terms. 15% Individual Performance. Even though we are a performance GROUP we are interested in the music improvement of each individual student. We will check the singing performance of basic concepts learned in class three times during each trimester. Each student will sing with a small group of students from familiar examples in our books. Extras (up to 5 points). Students that want to improve their grade may do extra projects on their own like: learn and perform a song in class, compose music, usage of the website and research of information, go to a concert and write a review, review of a music article, etc. Student must ask for permission before deciding on an extra credit project.

IT IS A REQUIREMENT OF EVERY STUDENT TO ATTEND EVERY PERFORMANCE. There will be a 25% reduction in a student’s grade if he or she misses the performance without prior parental communication with me. There will be no exceptions to this rule. If your child is going to be absent from performing our concerts due to illness or family emergency then I must know in advance.

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Music Project Phases (Click here for a rubric of your project)

Phase 1: Give me the title of your project (ex. "The Changing Voice.") and give us a paragraph explaining: a) why you chose it, b) how does it relate to your personal goals. Phase 2: Give me an outline of your project. Perhaps 4-5 points you want to hit. (ex. "The usual age of the changing voice", "how is it different for boys and girls", "What are the usual comfortable ranges for singers in the midst of a changing voice" What can I do to get a pleasing tone while my voice is changing" Phase 3: Give me a rough draft of your project. Take your outline from phase 2 and write short paragraphs on each point that you want to hit in your research. Start listing your sources of your research Phase 4: Give me your completed project. It needs to have all the information on paper. A title, a table of contents, the related chapters, possibly a conclusion, and sources cited (books, articles, interviews, internet articles, etc.) Phase 5: Give us a short presentation, a synopsis, of your research. You may use additional sources and visual aids to make your presentation more interesting to the class.

Materials and Dress Code

Holten-Richmond Middle school Chorus will provide all the song materials for our chorus students. Each student is responsible for their chorus folder. Each student must have a 3-ring binder, 1 inch, with inside pockets, and 3 pencils. There may be times during the school year when parents are asked to buy particular supplies for their child. I will notify you in writing when and if this occurs.

The dress code for all our performances is as follows:
6TH, 7TH, AND 8TH GRADE CHORUS
BOYS AND GIRLS
1. White button down collared dress shirt/ or HRMS POLO SHIRT
2. Black pants for boys and girls. Girls may wear black skirts of appropriate length.
3. Boys must were ties of any color and design
4. Black dress shoes
This dress code ensures that our groups have a professional semi-formal look. All performances are considered semi-formal events and our students must reflect this standard.

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Expectations

The following expectations are required from all chorus students.
1. Chorus students must behave in a disciplined manner both in class and at performances
2. All students must come to class prepared for the day’s lesson with folders, and 3 pencils.
3. There will be no gum, candy, or food at any time in class
4. All students are expected to support each other in a positive learning environment.
5. Practice your songs and lessons using our new Holten-Richmond Middle School Chorus website.
6. HAVE HUGE AMOUNTS OF FUN; the voice is the most difficult instrument to learn. It is very personal because there is nothing that you can hide behind like a tuba or a flute. The pleasure that we get from singing and from singing with others is the reason we like doing this in the first place. The greatest pleasure comes from the feeling that we know we are singing at the very best level we can. ?

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Quizzicals

These are music sheets that we use during class to learn theory, solfege, sight reading, rhythm, and choral performance techniques. Once every two weeks, every student performs in front of the class as a sol, duet, or part of an ensemble. Students can download these sheets for personal practice at home. The numbers correspond to the order of each sheet. During class I will point out to what number we are currently studying. You need adobe reader to view these files. Click here for a free download of adobe reader.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Vaccai 1

Vaccai 2