Every student at Lewis & Clark Montessori has the opportunity to participate in music education beyond their classroom including general music, choir, band, orchestra, and MAC creative expressions. The LCMCS music staff provides an avenue to help build community through music by evoking enthusiastic participation of all students, primary through adolescent.
General Music: Once a week each class from primary through older elementary participates in a 30-minute music lesson in the auditorium with Kami. Children engage their head voice for tuneful singing and move expressively while practicing beat, meter, and form to classical music. They are folk dancing, playing the ukulele, and more!
Recently, Kami provided opportunities during Explore Art for students and community members to engage in folk dancing. If you were there you witnessed the enthusiastic response to music as a member of a community folk dance experience. We will be expanding on this wonderful but rare community spirit by hosting a Family Folk Dance Night on February 20, 2020. Students will bring family members to school where they will be taught folk dances that the students have learned in music classes. This multigenerational experience builds an appreciation of the process of music-making where students can share what they have learned about beat, pattern, collaboration, leadership, and team-building skills.
Choir: The LCMCS Elementary Choir and MAC Choir are taught by Allison. Recently, the 2018-2019 Lewis and Clark Montessori Choir was invited to perform at the High Scorer’s Concert given by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). The MAC choir gave a fantastic performance at Coffee House and the all-school assembly. The elementary choir is performing as part of the winter concert on Thursday, December 19 at 6:00 pm.
Band and Orchestra: Two days a week the Older Elementary and MAC students make music in the school’s band with Kami and orchestra with Anastasiya. Instruction is done to encourage proper posture and tone development. Students are reading music notation, practicing sight-reading,and learning basic music theory and effective practice habits. Band and Orchestra are performing in the winter concert on Thursday, December 19, at 6:00 pm.
Creative Expressions: Our MAC students participate by choice in different creative expressions throughout the year as part of their academic cycle. Kami and Allison have taught several creative expression classes such as music and the brain, songwriting, rock band, ukulele, and musical theatre.
