Stewart Orff Ensemble / Stewart Choir / Fun With Music / More Highlights /
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Rutendo (Stewart Orff Ensemble) Walt Hampton
Oh Music, Sweet Music (Combined Choirs) Lowell Mason
The Seventh Grade Orff Ensemble
Caballeria Real Jos Wuytack, arranged by Brent Holl
Thump Walt Hampton
Benedicamus Domine Jerry Estes
Sing, Sing, Sing Louis Prima, arranged by Philip Kern
The Eighth Grade Stewart Choir
Song for the Unsung Hero Pamela Martin and Joseph M. Martin
I am a Small Part of the World Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse
Blue Skies Roger Emerson
The Stewart Honors Choir
A Great Big Sea Lori-Anne Dolloff
Jessie Trainum, violin
Song for the Mira Allister MacGillivray, arranged by Stuart Calvert
Sarah Melton, flute
Singabahambayo / N’kosi Sikelel’ I Afrika arranged by Cheryl Lavender
Feel Good L. Craig Tyson and Leonard Scott
Eighth Grade Orff Ensemble
Spinning Song Albert Elmenreich, arranged by Brent Holl
In the Mood Glenn Miller, arranged by Brent Holl
Meara, Meara Walt Hampton
7th and 8th Grade Stewart Choir and Honors Choir
Festival Sanctus John Leavitt
Rutendo is one of our favorite Walt Hampton Zimbabwean marimba songs. It is more stately and moderate in tempo than the more typical marimba songs. Oh Music, Sweet Music, sung by the combined choir, is a canon written by the first public music teacher in America and a hero to music teachers everywhere, Lowell Mason.
The Seventh Grade Choir sings Benedicamus Domine in Latin. It highlights a joyful spirit and an energetic accompaniment from Ms. McGuire. Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima, the drummer in the Benny Goodman big band, brought down the house at Carnegie Hall in 1933 and has been a popular jazz standard ever since. These songs were part of the program for the All County workshop recently held on April 8 where they sang these songs along with along with three others.
The Seventh Grade Orff Ensemble follows with a concert piece and a marimba song. Caballeria Real highlights the timbre of the Orff instruments as the melody is passed back and forth in the ensemble. Thump is a favorite marimba song, especially written for beginning marimba bands. As with most pieces in this style, it’s loud and fast and exciting and the students play it very well because they enjoy it so much!
I am a Small Part of the World is an inspirational song and features several student soloists. Blue Skies is an energetic jazz tune that’s just fun to sing. Song for the Unsung Hero is about all those who make sacrifices yet are not honored or thanked for their efforts. This song includes the famous anthem, “My Country ‘tis of Thee.” You are all invited to stand and sing this with us when directed.
The Stewart Honors Choir, now in it’s third semester, takes you on a trip around the world in song. First we go to Nova Scotia for, A Great Big Sea, featuring guest soloist on violin, Jessie Trainum and Heather Mason on musical spoons. Next comes Song for the Mira featuring Sarah Melton on flute and some wonderful student soloists. This tune was written about an actual town in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Across the sea to the continent of Africa and the folk songs Singabahambayo and N’kosi Sikelel’ I Afrika feature stirring three-part harmony. The choir brings us home with a gospel favorite Feel Good.
The Eighth Grade Orff Ensemble first plays a transcription of one of the most famous piano pieces ever written for beginning students. Most of you will recognize Spinning Song but not ever played like this! In the Mood was the greatest hit song of the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the 30’s and 40’s. It makes you want to get up and dance! The ensemble finishes up with a Zimbabwean marimba classic, Meara, Meara. This is a typically loud, fast and exciting marimba song.
The Combined choirs finish the concert with Festival Sanctus, an anthem of hope that tells us there is joy and peace all around us if we simply keep our eyes and ears open and our spirits high. Be happy!
The Stewart Orff Ensemble is a general music class at SMS. The students are not required to have any previous musical training or experience. The only requirement is a strong desire to learn about music using the Orff style. Students study all of the elements of music through “hands on” experiences with the Orff instruments, unpitched percussion, and recorders. All of the pieces played this morning have served as educational tools first introduced to explain, highlight or learn a musical concept.
The Stewart Choir is a performance class with emphasis on the basics of choral singing. The choristers are trying to achieve the five points of the choral "Star;" Posture, Diction, Breath, Tone, and Sparkle. Many activities and songs help the choir to learn how to improve all of these techniques. The choir also works hard to learn the basics of musical notation by studying Music Theory one day each week. An important element in the Music Theory curriculum is the use of Solfege. The students learn to sing, at sight, melodies using hand signals the tone syllables, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti and do. The study of Theory and Sight Singing helps choristers learn music faster understand the written language of music.
The Stewart Honors Choir is auditioned each semester and includes talented singers from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades from S. G. Stewart Middle School in Fort Defiance, Virginia. The choir meets once per week for 90 minutes to learn a repertoire of music that reflects the best children's choir music available. Folk songs, classical songs, art songs, and jazz and pop standards are selected that match the interest and abilities of the choristers.
The Stewart Honors Choir is a performance-based choir. Choristers are expected to concentrate, show self-discipline, sing with correct technique, and show their love for music at every rehearsal and concert. Choristers learn advanced techniques for sight singing, diction, and tone quality. Choristers learn to sing at sight musical examples in class as well as the music in the octavos that are performed. Choristers use Solfege and the Curwin hand signs to practice sight singing melodies, and tone syllables and number counting to sight-read rhythms.
Brent Holl, 2005
Stewart Orff Ensemble / Stewart Choir | Fun With Music / More Highlights /
updated 5/1/06