Parker Music News
September & October Have Been Exciting!
There’s been SO much going on in our Parker Music Department these 1st two months of school! Here are just a few of the highlights:
Welcome to our newest members of the music department's performing ensembles!
3/4 of the 6th Grade Class is in the Band or Chorus (or both)!
Many Thanks to REF For Providing a New Marimba for the Band Program!
Instrumental News!
6th grade band students have gone from learning how to open their cases and put together their instruments to playing music pieces as an ensemble!
Jazz band auditions were held at the beginning of October, & our newly formed band comprised of both Parker and Coolidge students has begun to rehearse on Tuesday evenings.
7th grade band students are eagerly working on their concert music. You won’t want to miss their performance, which includes a roller coaster ride and a visit from Santa the Barbarian!
8th grade students from both Parker and Coolidge gathered with the RMHS marching band for a combined rehearsal & performance, as well as dinner and a few games at this year's BAND DAY (see photo below) on Friday, 10/20. Students viewed a percussion and color guard demonstration. The students performed well!
RMHS Hosts marching band show - did you know that RMHS will be hosting a marching band show tomorrow (Saturday), 10/28 from 3-9:30 pm? See the NESBA (New England Scholastic Band Association) website for the full schedule. Come support the RMHS marching band!
Above, 8th grade band students at Band Day on 10/20.
CHORUS!
All the 6th grade chorus students have sung individually in their goal-setting meetings with Mrs. DiMuzio. It’s been such a joy to get to hear each person's unique voice and hear how it contributes to our ensembles. In addition, they have been learning how to work together as a unified group as they prepare new songs and vocal exercises.
Parkappella, Parker’s a cappella chorus, has been meeting on Tuesday afternoons since the beginning of October after late September auditions. They are currently preparing a wide variety of songs for the Festival of Trees and our winter concerts.
Parker Choral Guest Artist Series Features Two Outstanding Musicians Thus Far!
Emily Marvosh, professional contralto, kicked off the 23-24 Parker Choral Guest Artist Series on Tuesday, October 10. Ms. Marvosh performs at venues throughout the US and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, Vienna's Stefansdom, and Prague's Smetana Hall. She is also a frequent soloist with the Handle and Haydn Society.
At Parker, Ms. Marvosh coached both the 7th and 8th grade choruses and will return in January for a 2nd visit. These visits, along with 4 others throughout the year, were funded by a grant through the Reading Education Foundation to provide excellent vocal and choral instruction from experts in their respective music professions.
Mr. Paul Stiller coaches Parker singers in a cappella and vocal percussion
Paul Stiller, founding member/producer/arranger/vocal percussionist for the Boston-based a cappella quintet Vox One, visited the 8th grade chorus and Parker’s a cappella group (Parkappella) on 10/24. Mr. Stiller is also a professor of Ear Training at Berklee College of Music, as well as an active adjudicator and clinician throughout the US and Japan. While at Parker, Mr. Stiller demonstrated various beatboxing techniques, coached the students on their a cappella repertoire, and answered questions about his musical background and career. He will return again in April for a second visit with the groups. These visits, along with four others throughout the year, were funded by a grant from the Reading Education Foundation to provide excellent vocal and choral instruction from experts in their respective music professions.
General Music
7th graders began the year by watching portions of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, followed by an analysis of rap artists’ Will.i.am and Common’s rap by the same name. These activities served as a springboard for the students to write an essay about their own individual dream & then begin to develop poetry/lyrics to it. And this is not their only way of creating: they've also begun their music composition journey by creating their own pieces in Google Chrome Music Lab, as well as a couple other music composition sites.
The 7th graders also just finished their “Nature in Music” unit and are now heading on to “Fear and Death in Music”. They’re learning about several different pieces that depict these themes, and everyone is playing some of the main motifs on the keyboards. If you’re around a keyboard, ask your 7th grader to play a major/minor chord, the main theme of The Moldau, or the beginning of the film score for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
6th grade students have read, sung, composed, and drummed many rhythm patterns (both individually and in groups). In addition, they studied The Star Spangled Banner, which included singing it, learning its history, and analyzing various performances. We've just begun our musical theatre unit (including acting and improv), right in time for…(see below!)
The 2024 Parker Spring Musical -- Shrek The Musical, Jr.!
Northeastern District Music Festival Auditions
“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning."
― Plato
The Music Teachers Are Happy to Be Working With You!
jennifer.dimuzio@reading.k12.ma.us
Mr. Andrew Norton, Band Director
andrew.norton@reading.k12.ma.us
Email: jennifer.dimuzio@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: https://parker.reading.k12.ma.us/
Phone: 781-944-1236