African Praise Noel

Sixth Grade Winter Concert – December 20, 2012

Choose one Introduction that you wish to memorize. Sign on the line in front of that introduction. We will let you know the date for the auditions within the next week after we see how many students sign up. These are on line as well.

1. ______Welcome –

Good Evening. We are pleased to welcome you to the 2012 6th Grade winter concert. The choir you see entering is comprised of students from 3 different teams and 4 separate choir classes which meet everyday. Our presentation tonight will consist of a demonstration of our warm ups, theorystudy, style and history information, and singing of our literature.

2. ______Warmup 1- Posture Rap –

We begin each hour with our Posture Rap. It describes the 7 steps necessary for correct SINGING posture. This posture helps us have good breath support and look great. We must maintain this posture as we sing even in rehearsal. Mrs. Silverio and Mrs. Roland explained why this is necessary, by having us memorize the following pearl of wisdom from the great Greek philosopher, Aristotle.

ALL SAY “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” We are developing only good habits in choir which we hope will help us in many parts of our lives now and in the future.

3. ______Warmup 2 – SIRENS –

One of our goals in choir is the development of confidence and leadership skills. Often we are asked to come in front of the class and lead warm ups. Most students love doing it. Sirens are designed to warm up the entire range of the voice (from highest to lowest) quickly. Sometimes we do this using sound effects, like the following: They are really fun.

4.______Warmup - Intros

4. We are striving in choir to become musicians as well as singers by studying the elements of music and the meanings of all those words in Italian written in our music scores. We do this by performing visual, auditory, vocal, and kinesthetic (that’s a big word for movement) exercises that teach us the meanings of each element.

5.______Warmups 3 & 4 Articulation and Dynamics

We will perform 2 of those for you tonight. Articulatio (which is the manner in which notes are performed) and Dynamics (the loudness and softness of notes or phrases). Both give music interest and give meaning to the text (that’s the words).

6.______Warmups 5 – SCALES

As we strive to become musicians, we are learning to read rhythms and notes. To sight sing, you must memorize the sound of the pitches and transfer that from your brain to your mouth. These are the solfege syllables and Kodaly/Curwin Hand signals that we perform each day.

7.______Warmups 6 – INTERVALS

The second step is to memorize the sounds of the distance between each note – called an interval. We will demonstrate the Perfect and Major intervals. Later we will learn the minor intervals 8.______Warmsup 7 – RHYTHM –

Notes not only tell us what pitches to sing, but also how long to hold each of those pitches. Therefore, we must learn to read the duration of each note at the same time as we read the pitch and the words. Sound difficult??? It is! And it takes a lot of practice. We have started learning to read rhythms by doing exercises, and by performing them in class like this.

9.______Warm up 8 – VOWELS –

One of the things that sets vocal music apart from instrumental music is the use of text or words. Along with correct articulation, we must have correct pronunciation of words in all the languages in which we sing. Singing with good mouth position and pure tone will help us blend our voices together.

10______Warm up 9 - Many Mumbling Mice

The most open of the vowel songs, and one that creates many problems for singers is the English I sound. It is really a diphong comprised of two Latin vowels sounds, Ah and ee. You must open your mouth and sing on the Ah and only put the ee at the very end. This fun warmup is just full of them.

11.______Warmup 10 – CONSONANTS(Diction) –

Having good diction also means we must sing consonants strongly so the audience can understand all of the words. Beginning and ending consonants must be sung together - crisply and clearly. The following warm up is very fun, and helps us achieve that.

LITERATURE 12.______Celtic Gloria

Our opening piece of musical literature, Celtic Gloria, arranged by Kirby Shaw, is a medieval-style setting of a traditional Latin text from the Ordinary of the Mass. The soprano and alto sing the verses in rounds, which creates the beautiful and haunting harmonies. The baritone chimes in to lend emphasis to certain phrases. This arrangement features drum, tambourine and flute sound.

13.______Do Di Li

Do Di Li is a traditional Israeli folk song arranged by Ward Norman. The chorus is sung in the original Hebrew “Dodi li va'ani lo Haro'eh bashoshanim” It translates as “My beloved is mine and I am his, The shepherd [grazing his flock] among the lilies.” The additional English verses are by Joyce Merman.

14.______Rhythm of the Rain

Our next song, Rhythm of the Rain was written by St. Louis composer, Jerry Estes. It combines three partner songs – one sung in each voice part, to tone paint and sounds of a rain storm. It also features several instruments which add to the fun.

Listen to the rhythm of the rain…

15.______The Chariot Spiritual

The Chariot Spiritual is a traditional African-American spiritual, arranged by Donald Moore. This song features our gentlemen. The early African-Americans knew they were going to heaven, so they were ready for the chariot to come and take them. This was their release from earthly bondage. Reference to the chariot is found in many of the early spirituals, such as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and The Chariot’s Comin.

16.______Wintersong

Wintersong, by Audrey Snyder, features the ladies of 6th Grade Choir. The text is based on a poem called “Song” by the English poet Emily Bronte. Emily and her sisters Charlotte and Anne published their poetry and novels under mens’ names, as women in the early 19th century were only expected to sew, cook, and clean house. Emily died a year before the publishing of her famous novel “Wuthering Heights”, never knowing that she and her sisters came to be considered among the world’s most famous writers.

17. ______I Bought Me a Cat

I Bought Me a Cat is a humerous children’s folk song, arranged by the famous composer, Aaron Copland. The comical animal sounds are so fun to perform. We hope you like it as much as we like to sing it.

18. ______I Woulda Coulda Shoulda Been So Good This Year.

Our final song this evening, I Woulda Coulda Shoulda Been So Good This Year, is a jazzy novelty Christmas song by Stephen L Lawrence. The title pretty much says it all - don’t ya think?

CLOSING –

19.______

Thank you. Tonight’s concert is a culmination of 4 months in the classroom. We hope that it has helped you learn about what we do everyday as we work together to learn about the fantastic art of singing by working to do it well. 20.______

Thank you parents, for the support you give us every day - thanks to our teachers and administrators who understand the value of music in our curriculum. We appreciate you spending your evening listening to us make music for you.

The Choir students will be dismissed to leave with you now. Have a safe trip home.