Hello Parents and students!
As we start the Spring semester, I want to quickly acknowledge our accomplishments of semester 1.
First, for both choruses (6th grade and Advanced) the year starts out a bit apprehensive, not knowing what to expect from the efforts from the students and how much music fundamentals to teach them.
Fortunately, the summer was spent finding pieces that will later be instrumental in determining our efforts for the year.
6th graders started out as a very large class, "45" with students of varying skills and the advanced slightly larger with a task of becoming cohesive and producing some good music.
While 6th graders were making slow and steady progress, the advanced students were tackling some songs in different languages as well as learning some ear training and music scale structure. This will lead to a need to master something called the chromatic scale, something very necessary in a particular Japanese song they are learning for the Spring.
When the TUSD festival came along, it was decided that we would finally participate due to the current low COVID infection rate.
Choruses throughout the district had their participation greatly affected by the pandemic and many were down to less than 50%. Mansfeld didn't have that large a drop, in fact, each year when we returned back to school showed a steady growth. My fear was that the festival would show many very small groups which can have an overall negative district outlook. Luckily, all the groups showed growth for this school year!
When we performed, we were noticed by many of the directors as an exemplary group. After, we were asked to perform at a Governing board meeting on November 28, and now at the Superintendent's concert on April 3, 2024.
In the midst of all this, the 6th graders were making progress in their tone matching and working together to prepare for their fall concert and to show an understanding of how their breathing and respiratory system works to create nice sounds.
For this spring, the 6th graders are preparing to take a formal singing test in February as well as the Spring concert on March 21, 2024. They will share the stage with Beginning Guitar and Beginning Ukulele.
For the advanced chorus, there are tentative plans for a collaborative concert with Tucson High in March, two events in April and two in May, two of those events will need a couple chaperones if any of you parents are interested.
This semester will go by quickly and we'll be welcoming summer soon! Please contact me if there are any questions with fundraising options (we always need to plan for those) or questions in general! (thomas.levario@tusd1.org or send me a text! My number is in the chorus handbook!)
