Vocal
The Middle School choral program concentrates on creating a strong foundation of ensemble singing while still incorporating soloistic qualities in group dynamics. Each singer is encouraged to focus his efforts towards improving techniques and musical understanding through the exercises and choral literature studied each semester.
Chorus is part of the weekly curriculum for the fifth grade. Each boy is introduced to his voice as an instrument and taught daily routines that include bodily and vocal warm-ups, ear training, sight singing, theory studies and the elements of good ensemble singing. The students are trained in recognizing and understanding the differences in vocal registration ("head voice" and "chest voice"), and how enhanced their singing can be through vowel unification and pitch accuracy. In addition to their fall and holiday concerts, the "Fives" showcase their singing (and dancing!) talents in a musical revue setting which is produced in the late spring. This musical performance offers the rare opportunity for a grade level to perform together in a single production. They see one another in a new performance arena, giving opportunity for individual talent to blossom and be recognized by their peers.
The sixth grade chorus is comprised of students who have selected chorus as their year long artistic choice. The sixth grade ensemble not only sings in unison but works on multi-voiced repertoire. Each boy deepens his knowledge of musical theory and harmony, which he uses as navigation tools with each new piece of music that he encounters. The individual voice is now strengthened as each singer is given the opportunity to solo selected passages of a song. The sixth grade chorus is featured in a production by themselves in addition to performing with the seventh and eighth grade chorus. They also take a trip to New York to see a Broadway musical as a class.
The seventh and eighth grade chorus members have progressed to an increased awareness of their individual musicianship. By now each singer has developed a better recognition of rhythmic and melodic phrases at first reading, he can easily follow the "road map" of a song, and knows how to implement the various techniques of singing in order to sustain his sound through long musical phrases. In what are normally labeled as the beginning of the "changing voice" years, the boys are made aware of biological changes that can affect their instrument and how discrete adjustments can be made to try and help blend the two voices together. The seventh and eighth grade singers can audition for a role in the fall musical and as a group they are inspired by another trip to see a Broadway show.
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