Preparing Ourselves for Lent and More Music Happenings!!!

January started off with some flurries, and turned into a snow storm of musical fun:) Students and choirs sang for weekly masses, Annie Jr. auditions, and now Kindergarten-3rd grade is getting ready to attend a Lollipop concert on February 13th at  Victory Theatre. Afterwards, we will be attending the Children’s Museum.
Annie Jr.
I want to say thank you to all that auditioned for roles in Annie Jr., and to hopefully add a few words of encouragement.  We had almost 40 students audition for the musical this year and not everyone saw their name on the list where they wanted. There are always going to be cuts made and I know it can hurt, but please continue auditioning and volunteering to be part of theatre, both in and out of Holy Redeemer. Your time will come, and it will be worth the wait.

• I have uploaded all rehearsal tracks and accompaniments to Google Classroom for grades 6-8. Please continue practicing and working on your music! The rehearsal schedule is out, so please make sure to that in a handy place, or  check with your 6th, 7th, or 8th grader to make sure you have it.  
  
• Save the date- start telling your friends and family about coming to our Fine Arts Night on May 10th!
  
• Junior high parents, I could use some help with finding props. Please stay tuned for a separate email- and if you are willing to help with the musical, please contact me.
  

Choir
Our 3-5 choir is working really hard at preparing the music for Catholic Schools Week and our 6-8 choir is working to share their singing in praise for our Ash Wednesday Mass on February 14. If you are able, we would love to see you at our weekly masses to worship with us.
Looking ahead -Music in Our Schools Month is MARCH!!!
We are also planning to take 4th and 5th Grade to the Victory Theatre for a separate concert that the Philharmonic presents. Afterwards, we will also be attending the Children’s Museum.
There will be several other exciting things going on during music, but one that I am excited to share is that my friend, Monte Skelton will be coming back to junior high music classes for one day to share some of his gifts with the students the day before Spring Break.
Recorders
4th Grade will be getting ready to start their recorder journey in one week! Parents, I know you can hardly wait to hear the glorious sounds of “toots” and “tweets” from our lovely recorder students. I will also be sending home information about practicing and songs that we will be learning in class.

Keyboards
One of my favorite parts of music for Holy Redeemer is our Keyboard room for junior high. I am super excited that the students are learning church hymns, music from our Yamaha songbook, and learning to play vocal lines for the “Annie” songs.
Percussion/Mallets
We have started working with mallet instruments and are grateful to Mater Dei for allowing Holy Redeemer to borrow some of their bell sets so our 6th grade music students can have access to mallet instruments.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates from the music room in March’s edition!!
Parents and students, if I don’t say this enough- thank you so much for your continued support of the Fine Arts!!