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Music Unites Us!
Music Unites Us!
"We can't always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it." -Author Unknown
Here at St. Ann School, we believe every child deserves a quality music education. Music classes teach children to use their singing voices appropriately, develop their sense of beat and tonality, and enable them to hear, experience and appreciate the music in the world around them.
In primary grades, the focus of music class is experiential, teaching students to be "tuneful, beatful, and artful" with emphasis on pitch exploration, movement exploration, listening and responding to music, and creating music with purpose.
In upper elementary grades, the focus is on singing, reading and writing music, and continuing to make music, particularly through use of the recorder.
Middle school music students experience music through singing, listening, making music, and studying music history and musical genres, taking a cross-curricular approach that includes listening, critiquing and writing about music and musicians.
All students also learn the basics of folk dancing, which teaches or reinforces basic concepts of rhythm, repetition, sequencing, patterning, predictability, musical cues and counting. It also brings another multicultural aspect to our classes, exposing students to dances, cultures and sometimes languages from around the world and throughout history.
Chorus is open to all students in grades 3-8 and performs two school concerts during the year, as well as special performances at local nursing homes, bookstores, and community Christmas caroling. Our Chorus has repeatedly been invited to sing the National Anthem at Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and Phantoms home games.
Liturgy Choir serves our school and church community by providing leadership and guidance in musical worship as part of every school Mass. These select singers and instrumentalists are diligent in their preparation of numerous hymns and worship music throughout the school year.
Meet the Teacher
Mrs. Ariel Scholz is in her 20th year of teaching and her 10th year at St. Ann School. She teaches Kindergarten through 8th grade general music and directs the school Chorus and Liturgy Choir. She is also the Musical Director of the spring musical. Mrs. Scholz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Penn State University and a Master of Education in Instructional Technology from Kutztown University. She is an active member of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the International Double Reed Society (IDRS), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and the Philadelphia Area Orff Schulwerk Association (PAOSA). Mrs. Scholz is an Army Veteran, having spent four years on active duty as a member of the 76th Army Band, stationed in Mannheim, Germany. Prior to joining the faculty at St. Ann's, Mrs. Scholz taught elementary and middle school orchestra in the East Penn School District, which she left in order to start a family. Her daughters are St. Ann School alumni and attend Emmaus HS, and her son is in PreK here this year. She also maintains a private studio, teaching woodwinds and strings, plays bassoon and contrabassoon in the Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra and subs with the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, and she sings soprano with the Allentown Symphony Chorus. She is a freelance musician, frequently heard playing in pit orchestras for several local school and community theatre productions.
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