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Post date: Apr 09, 2011 3:40:46 PM
The Swallowtail Fiddlers recently recorded an new CD and DVD! Be sure to purchase yours for $10 at the True Colors Talent Show on Friday, April 15 at 6:00pm in the Emerson gym. This is a service learning project. All proceeds will go to Team Alexis.
The Bar Harbor Show Stoppers! competed in the Maine Vocal Jazz Festival on April 2, 2011. In the Middle School Division II, the Show Stoppers! placed 2nd! The Outstanding Performance for instrumentalists was awarded to our all student pit. Our Marian the Librarian received the outstanding female vocalist award. There should also be an award for our set dads, costumer mothers, hair stylists and make up artists . Show Choir is truly teamwork.
Congratulations everyone!
The Bar Harbor Show Stoppers! performance at the District VI Jazz Festival was stupendous! The 36 member ensemble earned a #1 rating, which qualifies them to perform in the State Jazz Competition for show choirs. The State event will be on Saturday, April 2nd at the Ellsworth High School at 10:30am in the Ellsworth HS GYMNASIUM. Congratulations to all our soloists, pit members, and singers and dancers. Thank you to all who made our show a huge success!
Enjoy the District performance of the Show Stoppers! on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmDJFBvpvEA
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In the photo above, one of our performers paints the finishing touches on the set to get ready for the Show Stoppers! rendition of The Music Man. The gorgeous costumes are sewn and the set is painted! The first performance will be Tuesday, March 1 at 1:40 for K-4 (parents are welcome to attend too!). Be sure and see the Show Stoppers! at the District VI Festival on Friday, March 4 at 6:30 at the Ellsworth High School! Come and cheer for our performers!
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The Swallowtail Fiddlers performed for the residences of Sonogee during their Valentine's Day party. This group is the good-deed-doers of Conners Emerson with community service. A good time was had by all!
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Please click at left on TEMPO to learn more about a new music opportunity!
Help set the TEMPO!
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The Conners Winter Concert, on December 9, set the stage for the holiday season! There is nothing more lovely than the sound of children's voices. The students in grades 2-4 performed splendidly. The string orchestra was great. It is amazing how well the beginner band played since they only had their first lessons in October. The second graders in class violin are progressing quite nicely too. The Show Stoppers! provided a delectable bake sale. It was a delightful evening of music performed by the Conners musicians. Congratulations to all.
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1) Create a comfortable practice area. Music stands are suggested and a hard chair for proper playing posture.
2) The best evening to practice is on lesson day because skills learned are still fresh in the mind.
3) Set aside a designated time to practice, for example, after dinner.
4) Rather than setting a time limit of, say 20 minutes, have your child play a piece 5 times. Every time he/she plays it, it will improve. The student may finish practicing in 10 minutes but it was quality time. If you set a time limit, the child may dilly dally and not get through the piece once so specify a number of times. This worked great with my own children.
5) Aim for 3 or more days per week to practice.
6) Remind your child to play in front of a mirror in order to check correct position of fingers, hands, arms, embouchure (mouth). Remember, no puffing checks for the wind players!
7) When starting your practice sessions, alternate beginning at the top of the page one day with beginning at the bottom of the page the next day.
8) Have a "play" date with friends. It's fun making music together.
9) Look for repeated measures or patterns with the music. For example, the first 4 measures of "Good King Wenceslas" is the same as the last 4 measures so once you know half the piece, you know it all!
10) Isolate trouble spots and play that measure over and over again. Once mastered, then start at the beginning and play it within the piece.
11) Be an audience once in a while for your child's practice session.
12) Children love to perform and will practice longer if someone is listening!
The more you play, the better you will get. The better you get, the more you will play. The more you play, the better . . . you get the idea! Playing an instrument is a life-long skill that provides much enjoyment.
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Thank you all, for making the Lip Sync/Talent Show a HUGE success! The student creativity in the acts is amazing. This show allows for the shy-est of students to step out of their comfort zone and perform. Everyone enters on "the same page." All of the acts from Cotton Eyed Joe to Thriller were quite entertaining! Thank you, parents, for all your behind the scenes support that you offer to your child.
The food tables were a work of art! No wonder it was a sell out! What a beautiful display of sweets. A cozy, welcoming eatery was created. Thank you!
Special thanks go to Molly and Grace who helped Madame Millar with the CDs and our lovely hostesses, Sara, Emily, and Olivia who kept the performance running smoothly and offered words of encouragement to the performers before stepping out on stage. Thank you to Carolyn G. for welcoming people at the admissions table.
With your help, we made an amazing $1637.71. Wow!!! Proceeds will go towards costumes, set, equipment, and more for the Show Stoppers! Good work everyone! Congratulations!
The theme for this school year's general music classes is "Planet Rock." Students will learn songs about planets, stars, and musically "visit" new places on our own planet earth.
We can all be STARS!
* S Service, Leadership, Citizenship
* T Technology Readiness
* A Academic Development
* R Resiliency, Health and Wellness
* S Social and Character Development
"There is geometry in the humming of the strings.
There is music in the spacing of the spheres."
Pythagorus
6th Century BC
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Music Dates 2010-2011
Monday, September 20, 6:30 - NK Music Instrument Night, MDI HS cafeteria
Friday, October 15, 6:00 - Lip Sync/Talent Show
Thursday, December 9, 6:00 - Conners Winter Concert (new time!)
Tuesday, March 1, 1:40 - Show Stoppers! performance for K-4
Friday, March 4 - District VI Jazz Festival for show choir/band, Ellsworth
Tuesday, March 29, 2:00 - Show Stoppers! + MDI HS show choir for 5-8
Thursday, March 31, 6:00 - Show Choir Extravaganza, MDI High School
Saturday, April 2 - State Vocal Jazz Competition, Ellsworth
Friday, April 8, after school - Swallowtail Fiddlers make 3rd CD
Friday, April 15 - Talent Show for Team Alexis
Friday, April 29 - Swallowtail Fiddlers open Drama Club performance
Thursday, May 5, 6:00 - Conners K-2 Spring Concert (new time!)
Wednesday, May 11, 6:00 - Conners 3-4 Spring Concert (new time!)
Wednesday, May 25 - 4th Annual String Festival, MDI HS
Tuesday, June 7 evening - District Recital (formerly Island Solo/Ensemble
Recital, Pemetic
*Please note that the winter and spring concerts are at 6:00pm rather than the 6:30pm time in previous years.
(updated March 2011)
Please check back for additions and changes.
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Welcome to the Show Stoppers! Our new show for the 2010-2011 school year is The Music Man. The members of the Show Stoppers! learn to sing in parts plus learn some dance steps and stage techniques. Being a team player is required and good rehearsal attendance is expected. Participating in fund raisers makes the show choir possible. Lots of work goes into designing and building the staging and sewing the costumes. Hair and make-up is a must for the shows. There are lots of opportunities for parental involvement! The show will be performed five times: a K-4 school performance, District Jazz Festival, a 5-8 performance, the MDI Show Choir Extravaganza at the HS, and the State Vocal Jazz Competition. Last year, Districts was held at Ellsworth HS and States was in Houlton so be prepared to travel. This year, both Districts and States will be held in Ellsworth! The show choir pit rehearses Monday mornings at 7:30, vocalists rehears Tuesday mornings at 7:30 + Friday afternoons at the MDI HS dance studio. A third rehearsal for all is added in February on Monday mornings at 7:30. Show choir is lots of fun!
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The Bar Harbor Show Stoppers! received a #1 rating at the State Vocal Jazz Competition on April 10 in Houlton. Eight show choirs in Division II competed and only four received a #1 rating. The show choir pit received the rhythm section award! Our six individual soloists also received a #1 rating. Congratulations to our 25 singers/dancers and 4 pit members in grades 4-8!
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The Bar Harbor Show Stoppers!, Conners Emerson's very first show choir, performed at the MMEA District VI Jazz Festival on February 26. We are very pleased to announce that we received a #1 rating and will be competing at the MMEA State Competition in Houlton on April 10!
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Nora's composition, Borealis, received a strong review in the recent MMEA's (Maine Music Educators Association) composition competition. Nora received a detailed letter praising and critiquing her work from Dan Sonenberg, Assistant Professor and Resident Composer at the University of Southern Maine. He was impressed that Nora composed such a mature piece for her age and he feels that she truely captured the airy and light feeling in her music, inspired by the beauty of Mount Desert Island. Dr. Sonenberg also commended her on her "syncopated conversation between all the instruments, leading to a cadence that is rhythmically and tonally just right."
Nora has been invited to participate in the All Young Composers Festival event on Friday, May 21 at the MMEA All-State Conference at the University of Maine Orono where her piece will be performed by live musicians for the music educators of Maine.
Congratulations Nora!