Colonial Elementary School trombone players with Band Director Eric Wilson

The music curriculum instills a lifelong understanding and appreciation of music, teaches individual and ensemble music performance skills, motivates students to achieve excellence and promotes teamwork and cooperation through comprehensive and thorough curricular and extra-curricular programs that enrich and enhance the students’ lives.

General Music

The kindergarten through eighth grade general music curriculum provides students the opportunity to experience, perform and create a varied repertoire of music. Teachers promote a life-long enjoyment of music through activities that include singing, playing instruments, moving, listening, reading/notating and creating/improvising. Through sequential lessons, students learn the elements of music including rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, form and expression. In addition, children also discover how to make connections with music across the elementary curriculum.

Choral and Instrumental Music

The instrumental and choral curriculum encourages students to read and perform music while singing or playing band and orchestra instruments. Students perform a wide variety of repertoire from various cultures and historical time periods, as well as popular American music. The performance experiences enrich the students’ lives in unique and powerful ways and teach crucial life skills such as discipline, confidence and leadership.

Philosophy of Music Education

It is the educational philosophy of the Colonial School District music department to provide each student with an opportunity to experience music representing diverse ethnicities, races, religions and cultures. Music has always been both a reflection of humankind’s actual experience of life and of our ideal vision of individual and community life. Our goal is to teach students a range of repertoire from different styles and time periods, both historical and contemporary. We believe that it is in sharing this richness that we gain deeper understanding of the arts. In an effort to provide balance in our programs, a variety of musical selections are included in the curriculum and in each concert. Participation in the performance of the repertoire does not necessarily suggest a belief by each performer in the philosophy of the music. However, student participation is part of our school-wide commitment to live harmoniously in a world of differences.

Making connections in music class

In general music class, elementary through middle school students learn about pitch, rhythm and other music concepts -- but that's not all they're learning in the music room. Through integration and highlighting the natural connections music makes to other subject areas, music teachers reinforce lessons from the children's regular classroom, as well.

By studying the form of songs, students at Ridge Park Elementary School also gain a better understanding of patterns in what they read.

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