Music

In Music 9, students explore and deepen their understanding of melody, harmony and rhythm by listening, analyzing, creating and performing music. Students use digital pianos to create and perform music through a series of projects that involve composing electronic music on the computer and live performance of their own arrangements of songs. Throughout the semester, students will engage with music from around the world while making connections with their own musical experiences.

Music History provides students with a historical overview of Western music, beginning with Gregorian chant in the Dark Ages. Students study music of the Renaissance, Baroque, classical and Romantic periods, as well as that of the Twentieth Century. The course begins with students studying the instruments of the orchestra. Time is spent mastering the vocabulary necessary to deal with the major composers while incorporating the cultural, artistic and historical events which shaped the major musical works of each period. The final part of the course involves studying contemporary musical genres such as jazz, rock and rap as well as their historical influences. Advanced Music History continues the study of musical elements by exploring music of the Romantic era and the 20th century. There will also be more in-depth study of the musicians who played jazz.

In this course, students will study the history of one of the few truly American art forms: musical theater. Through readings, class discussions and viewing footage of original stage musicals, students will explore the historical evolution of the form by examining the ways representative artists approached the basic elements of the American musical.

AP Music Theory focuses on developing students’ abilities to understand and describe the basic elements of music, both aurally and in written form. Corresponding to the first semester of the typical college music theory sequence, students who take AP Theory will, by the end of the course, strengthen their own musicianship, be better able to communicate their musical ideas to others and be equipped to apply the fundamental skills of tonal music to whatever style or genre interests them.
 

Concert Chorale is an elite mixed choir that focuses on learning and performing advanced choral repertoire. Full group and sectional rehearsals will emphasize score study, ear training and ensemble vocal technique. This is a year-long course that will perform in the Winter and Spring concerts.

Jazz Improv is a course for instrumentalists who would like to study the theory and technique of improvisation in a jazz style. Students will study jazz harmony and form and will play their instruments every day. This is a year-long course that will perform in the Winter and Spring concerts.

Treble Choir is a vocal performance group open to all treble voice singers in grades 9-12. The primary focus of the course is choral skill-building. Through a combination of ensemble rehearsals and smaller-group sectionals, detailed attention will be paid to principles of posture and alignment, breath, score reading, diction, tone quality and aural skills. Treble Choir will perform in the Winter and Spring Concerts.

Musica da Camera is a mixed chamber ensemble class for advanced instrumental players and singers. The course will explore a variety of chamber music styles and settings with the goal of putting on various performances at the chamber concert each spring. Open to all intermediate and advanced instrumental students, as well as singers who possess strong note-reading and harmony ability. Informal and formal performance opportunities will be available throughout the year.