About Us
Choir At Rocky Top MS:
Choir is offered for 6th graders for a semester and for 7th & 8th graders for a full year.
6th grade choir focuses of the basics of singing, how the voice works, why and how it changes during adolescence and using their singing voice in a healthy way. We will study music from a variety of genres and cultures and do a performance at the end of their semester.
7th grade choir continues what was covered in 6th grade while increasing the difficulty of music, singing in 2-3 parts. We will sing music in many different languages and styles. 2-3 performances per year are required with a possible contest participation.
7th grade choir sings for nursing homes on Valentine's day annually.
8th grade choir is an upper level choir meant for students who are serious about singing. We will singing challenging music in 3 parts with a diversity of cultures, historical periods and genres. 3 or more performances per year are required including participation in contest. (sometimes an overnight trip)
The 8th Grade Choir sang in the Choirs of America Festival for top choirs in Carnegie Hall in April 2018 & 2019.
Honor Choir is an auditioned choir that meets before school and/or after school. To be in this choir members MUST be in either band, orchestra or choir OR have special permission of the director. An additional fee for music and costume is required.
The honor choir also sang in Carnegie Hall in 2018 and performed at the Colo. Music Educator's Conference in 2019 and the Women In the Middle Festival at UNC in 2020.
Mrs. Dunninger is an accomplished singer and teacher having taught choral music, K thru college, for over 29 years in NH, OR, ND and CO. She holds a B.M. Education with distinction from the University of Maine and an M.M. in choral conducting from the University of Oregon where she conducted the Women’s Choir and studied conducting and sang with Helmut Rilling in the Oregon Bach Festival. Her choirs & orchestras consistently receive Superior ratings at contests. She has sung with many choirs including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Robert Shaw Carnegie Hall choral workshops, Boulder Bach Festival, St. Martin's Chamber Choir, The Durango Women’s Choir and Durango Choral Society, and the Varna Music Festival in Europe. As a soprano soloist she has performed with the Durango Bach Festival, annual Durango Messiah Sing-a-long, the San Juan Symphony, Music in the Mountains & Animas Music Festivals and the Colorado Recorder Ensemble. She currently sings in Kantorei in Denver and is a member of the American Choral Directors assoc.,The CO Music Educators assoc., D.A.R. Indian Peaks Chapter and DZ Boulder Alumnae assoc.
Mrs. Dunninger does NOT drink Starbucks and loves teaching the students at Rocky Top!
