Music
	More than a “universal language,” music is a universal teacher of everything from patience to cooperation. Committed to the belief that music, like all the arts, enriches a student’s life in real if intangible ways, we make it our mission to promote musical literacy in every graduate. At IDS, we teach each student to read sheet music, sing and play at least one instrument—an ambition and accomplishment unique to our school. A music specialist instructs students in Kindergarten through Third Grade. All Fourth and Fifth Graders participate in both the 4/5 Chorus and in band, the latter of which they continue with up through Eighth Grade. Extracurricular opportunities exist for students to participate in a number of ensembles, such as Jazz Band, Chamber Music, Chamber Strings, and the Middle School Chorus. Early Childhood Music Children in Beginners and Pre-Kindergarten experience music with their classroom teachers as part of the regular curriculum. Kindergarten and First Grade students meet with the music teacher twice weekly for thirty minutes. Students sing, play rhythm instruments, and move to music, while learning to match pitch and develop rhythm skills. Folk songs, musical games, and world music are incorporated, each enhancing the students’ appreciation and enjoyment of the overall art. Students begin what will be their ongoing study over the years of various composers, their lives and music. And the students not only learn about the various instruments of the orchestra but they hear and see many of these played during class as well—an exciting supplement. Lower School Music Second grade music students meet twice weekly and enjoy more complex variations of the same activities practiced by the younger students. At this level, they also learn to read the music staff and sing solfège, play hand bells, and square dance. Third grade students also meet twice weekly. They learn to play the recorder and read music and, by the year’s end, they have mastered numerous songs. Third graders continue to study composers and world and folk music. But they tackle new challenges like singing rounds and partner songs. In a wonderful project that requires the investment of all their learned skills and natural creativity, students create and print a recorder solo using the computer program, Finale.

	Lower School and Middle School Performing Ensembles At IDS, students have access to the Galluzzo Performing Arts Center, an IDS treasure, where they practice in spacious music rooms and perform in the beautiful, state of the art performance hall. Participation in our band gives children an all-purpose lesson in harmony and teamwork. It teaches them that something as complex and thrilling as a musical performance requires a diversity of skills and efforts, including patience and practice. In Chorus, students master two and three part harmony and gain exposure to a variety of genres, while learning to balance, blend and sing in tune. String players have the opportunity to play in our Chamber Strings Ensemble. These groups have received superior ratings at music festivals and have had the honor of performing by invitation at the Connecticut Educators Conference. The 4th Grade Band: Our youngest members receive the necessary basics here, including tone production, reading music, and following the conductor. They participate in a group lesson once a week to prepare for performances in the winter and spring. Students are required to practice their instrument to reinforce their playing proficiency. Instrument choices include flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, and percussion. The choice of instrument is based on the student’s preference, with guidance from the teacher given the student’s aptitude. The 5/6 Band: Our Fifth Grade instrumental students continue developing their playing skills through group lessons and band rehearsals. Our Sixth Grade instrumental students hone technique while developing their own unique musical expression. The 7/8 Band: We challenge members of the 7/8 Band with more complex musical assignments to prepare for the Winter and Spring Concerts. During rehearsals, we emphasize tone quality, accuracy, dynamics, playing positions, blending and balancing. The Jazz Band: The Jazz Band consists of a select group of students from Fifth through Eighth Grade, who learn to play in the various jazz styles of the jazz greats they hear in class. Eighth Graders have the opportunity to improvise solos during concerts. The 4/5 Chorus: All students in Fourth and Fifth Grade are required to sing in Chorus and meet weekly. Students learn to sing together with sensitivity to intonation, balancing, blending, and phrasing. Students delve into a variety of genres here while singing in two and three-part harmony. The Winter and Spring Concerts showcase their abundance of talent. The Middle School Chorus: Many IDS students elect to sing in this voluntary group. Students practice challenging vocal literature in two and three part harmony, developing advanced singing skills. The Middle School Chorus performs of course in the Winter and Spring concerts as well as adjudication festivals. Other Chamber Strings: Chamber Strings offers the more advanced string players, studying privately, the opportunity to play with a group of equally skilled musicians. We teach sophisticated string techniques here and play the string literature of a variety of famous composers. This ensemble is open to students in Third through Eighth Grade who demonstrate the requisite skills to play in the group. Chamber Ensembles: Advanced students are selected to play in Chamber Music and perform at various school functions. Regionals: Each year, IDS students participate in the highly competitive Southern Region Music Festival. Many IDS students have been selected for Regionals and several have placed first, second, and third chairs in recent years.  IDS had three students place first and one student place third in the 2012 Southern Region Chorus.  IDS students have also been selected to play or sing solos. In 2011, one third of the IDS Middle School participated in the Regional Festival. Forty percent of the middle school, 29 students, were selected to perform in the 2012 Southern Region Music Festival. Additional Music Opportunities: The Middlesex Academy of the Performing Arts, IDS’s after school program, offers additional opportunities for those who are interested in excelling in the arts.