Music Program

~ Updated for 2023/24 School Year ~

All grades have regular music lessons, K-1 twice per quarter and grades 2-8 weekly. Lessons are set at the teaching level for each class.  Lessons consist of singing, history of music and/or study of an instrument or composer. The students, when ready, are taught to read music.  They will be fluent in this if students attend to the end of the 8th grade.  

Every student learns how to sing, this includes proper breathing techniques, voice production and aural perception in relation to vocal sound production. Voice is utilized and practiced each lesson with pieces chosen in the first half of the year for the Christmas concert alongside some pieces that are sung at the Friday mass. 

A wide variety of musical styles are taught in order that the widest musical experience can be achieved for each student. The same is true for exposing students to as many different instruments as possible and if the instruments are available students can experience these through hands-on activities.

A number of extra programs are available to students, some held during normal class hours, some during lunch times.

Choir is held once a week and has two focuses, the first is to lead the school mass which is held on Fridays, the second is to expand the musical horizons of the students vocally, and have fun doing so. Students will have achieved a level of singing through class lessons in order to join the choir if they wish to do so.

Recorder Orchestra is held once a week. Students require their own recorder. They are taught how to play the basic recorder with room for expansion to larger versions of the recorder as they progress.  

Other small groups can be formed when students show interest, such as chamber groups, and pop & jazz groups. 

Facilities

Contained within our music facilities are two specialist labs, keyboard and xylophone. The music department also has a variety of instruments that can be utilized by students for various groups including but not limited to chamber groups, pop & jazz groups, and drumming groups.  Alongside the labs and classroom areas the attached church is readily available for practice for events such as concerts. Both classroom and church have well maintained pianos available for such practices.

Saint Ann School Music Teacher, Stephanie McManis

~ CLICK HERE for Ms. McManis Bio ~