Music Notes

Rehearsal Notes 1/25

We had a wonderful rehearsal today!  Students worked on "Didn't My Lord" for the first portion refining our articulation and working on making every note it's correct value. We had some difficulty singing with our two part sections but spent quite a while practicing and correcting the inaccurate notes and I feel the students have a solid sound in their minds to work toward. 

Our second selection "The Song That Nature Sings" went well also but needs work on phrasing and sequence.  The melody is sung the same three times so we are working on our word memorization and trying to make each repetition something new and unique. 

Your students are amazing and I'm so thankful to be able to spend every Wednesday with them.  Next week we have a special guest clinician.  Mrs. Emily Canon, choral director at McClure Middle School, will be joining us for rehearsal.  She will be listening to our performance for festival then working with the students to help make our LGPE experience the best it can be.  We are thrilled that she can join us and I'll let you know the comments she makes on our pieces. 

Don't forget to make sure to secure a chorus uniform - navy pants/skirt, white shirt/blouse, dark shoes, girls - white opaque tights.  We will need these for our upcoming performance at LGPE.

Rehearsal Notes 1/18

Our students are busy preparing for our KSU performance coming up on February 10th.  Please note the following sent to us from KSU...If any parents need to purchase more tickets they can do so at www.ksuowls.com and then go to tickets.  Once they go to the 2/10 Mercer game they will need to put in the promo code "group" to receive the special rate of a $5 general admission ticket.  Thank you so much to KSU for their support of Bullard's chorus program!

Today we also worked on "The Song That Nature Sings" and the spiritual "Didn't My Lord".  Our diction and long phrasing are the focus of the first piece.  We are "chewing" some of our ending sounds so we are working very hard to articulate each sound.  In "Didn't My Lord" we are stressing the alliteration of the "D" sound to help the piece with it's intensity.  It is coming along quite nicely.  We discussed the musical terms "cadence", "tenuto", and "legato".  We are building up our music vocabulary.

HOMEWORK:

• Solidify lyrics and phrasing in "The Song That Nature Sings"
• Crisp consonants and pick ups to phrases need work in "Didn't My Lord"
• Memory work on "Like a Mighty Stream"
• "National Anthem" pronunciation of words and "through" not "to" :-)

We were so excited to have Mrs. Prator and Mrs. Hardin drop by to visit and hear us sing today.  They were very encouraging and we were so thrilled to have them hear us perform.   Thank you!

 

Updates

Here are a few important updates to my previous post about the National Anthem KSU performance...

Download Bullard Elementary Chorus Performance

Welcome Back!

I hope all students had a wonderful and restful Winter break.  I'm looking forward to seeing our students tomorrow and getting back into our routine.  Chorus students will resume their rehearsals this Wednesday, January 11th.

Our next performance will be coming up on Friday, February 10th at 6:00.  We will be singing the National Anthem at the Kennesaw State Owls Men's Basketball game vs. Mercer University.  Please check the calender link above for further details.  The performance will be at 7:00 pm. Students should arrive by 6:00 pm wearing their chorus t-shirt and jeans. Students are admitted free and Bullard parents are $5.00.  We are so excited to be sharing this performance with our community. 

We have confirmation of our Large Group Performance Evaluation for Thursday, February 16th at 12:45 pm.  Please check our calendar at the top of the page for other details.  The adjudication will take place at Johnson's Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta.  I will need 5 parent chaperones to attend and ride along with us.  If you are interested in helping with this field trip please e-mail me.  Please remember that this performance requires our formal concert uniform (white shirt/blouse, navy blue pants/skirt, dark shoes, white opaque tights for girls).  Please let me know immediately if you are having difficulty locating this uniforms.  We have several gently used uniforms from years past in various sizes that are available to those who request one.   

Thank you!

Bullard students ROCK!  I was treated to an amazing performance by both our Bullard Chorus and the students of Bullard Elementary this morning.  The performance and sing-a-long were wonderful and I am so proud of every student.  I am also appreciative of the cards, gifts and kind words I have received this season.  It means a great deal to me to have your support.   

Thank you also to Mrs. Milani, Mrs. Jones, our custodians and the entire Specialist staff who helped make this performance so successful.  What a pleasure it is to work with you. 

Next chorus rehearsal....January 11th.  See you then!

Have a restful and fun holiday!

Performance Notes 12/22

We had a wonderful rehearsal today to prepare for our concert tomorrow.  I am overwhelmed by your generosity during this season.  I enjoy working with your children so much!  Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. 

We have our final concert tomorrow (12/22) as part of our school-wide sing-a-long.  Students should wear their chorus t-shirt and jeans.  We will be performing the same repertoire that you have heard this season at NorthStar, Barnes and Noble, and Chick-fil-a.  This will be our gift to the students and staff at Bullard.  While I know you would enjoy coming, we would like to make this final day of school before the holidays as much of a routine as possible so we are asking that parents not attend.  We do appreciate your support and I'm sure you understand.  Thanks so much.

Please check our calendar for 2012 at the top of this page and know that rehearsals will begin again the first Wednesday we are back at school (1/11/12).  We will then have only a few weeks to rehearse for our performances at Kennesaw State University and for LGPE (more info. on these to follow).

I hope you all have a restful break and a wonderful holiday season!  Thank you again for everything you do to support our music program at Bullard. 

 

Performance Notes 12/15

Chorus students from Bullard sang to a packed house at Chick-fil-a night on Thursday evening.  The students did an amazing job and I am so thankful for the support we received from our parents and community.  I know this season is so busy and I want to say how much I appreciate our parents allowing their children to be part of this program.  We made a fun memory and I'm so glad I was able to be part of that experience. 

Our final holiday performance will take place next Thursday, 12/22, in Bullard's gym.  Our chorus students will perform their concert twice and lead in a sing-a-long for the school.  We are so excited to share what we have learned with our peers and are looking forward to this performance.  Please wear your chorus tee shirt and jeans to school next Thursday.

Thank you again and have a safe and happy holiday season!

Rehearsal Notes 12/14

Thank you so much for the turn-out we had at Barnes and Noble last week.  The sounds of our amazing chorus filled the store and I was thrilled with the performance. 

Today in rehearsal we discussed "Boos" and "Bravos" from our performance and made some lyric and melodic corrections.  We should be set and ready for our performance tomorrow night (12/15) at Chick-fil-a.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone by 6:20 for our performance starting at 6:30.  Please check my calendar link for address and directions. 

Students are well on their way to learning their Large Group Performance Evaluation pieces and we have "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel" just about memorized.  Please continue to encourage your child to work on our LGPE pieces as well as our combined concert song "Like a Mighty Stream" that we will be performing with McClure at our spring concert.

Please make sure to have your child's chorus uniform ready for our 2012 performances.  Girls - white blouse, navy skirt, white opaque tights and dark shoes.  Boys - white shirt, navy pants, dark shoes.  If you are having difficulty locating these items please let me know.  We have several gently used uniforms available for the asking if you let me know. 

Sharing Music 12/7

Miss Mabary's 4th grade class performed the Hanukkah song "Burn Little Candles" today.  This folk piece was arranged by Delles and Kriske.  The students sang this song and layerd instrumentation using tambourines, xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels.  We addressed the standards: singing a song in a minor tonality and performing contrasting instrumental parts. 

Download Burn Little Candle

 

Performance Notes 12/3

Congratulations Bullard Chorus on an amazing performance today for"Christmas At NorthStar".  Thank you to both students and parents for attending and being part of this first performance.  Our audience was so complementary of the variety of repertoire and the beautiful sound that the students produced.  Thank you to our singers, soloists, and instrumentalists.  You were wonderful!  A special thanks to Mrs. Milani, Mrs. Jones and the parents who helped us with this performance. 

Now on to next week...this Friday night, December 9th,  we will be performing at 7:00pm for Bullard Night at Barnes and Noble (The Avenue at West Cobb) 3625 Dallas Highway Marietta, GA 30064.  Students should wear their chorus t-shirts and jeans.  We will meet at 6:40 and will perform inside in the children's section.   I'm looking forward to sharing our music with the community. 

See you at rehearsal this Wednesday!