Music
School Year 2022-2023
Holiday Lessons
One highlight of the Holiday season is creating a live soundtrack for The Star Tree, a delightful Holiday story book with a long history in the Claxton music program. This book, which tells the story of a little old man who helps his neighbors discover old Holiday traditions from simpler times-gone-by, was found by Mr. Butler in the Claxton music room when he started teaching here in 2007. It still had notes in it from long-time Claxton music teacher Deborah Sizemore, who taught music at Claxton from 1990 - 2005. Just like the main character of the story, Mr. Butler is "happy to share the simple pleasures of Holidays long ago."
Students across the grades also enjoyed ringing hand bells along with Holiday favorites. The colored hand bells help us develop hand-eye coordination and learn about pitch and melody, important musical skills and concepts. They also allow for engagement for all learners, despite musical ability level.
Music Lesson Show & Tell!
Claxton students have an open invitation to bring instruments from home to show and tell what they can play and what they know about them! Here are some photos of Claxton musicians showing their stuff this school year.
Click on picture to view a video of Claxton 5th grade drummers performing at LEAF this fall!
Giving Tree Music & LEAF Drum Building Residency
Thanks to support from our amazing Claxton PTO and our local East Asheville Home Depo, our annual tradition of having 5th graders build their own ashiko hand drums and performing with them at the Lake Eden Arts festival continued this fall. See more on our CLX Specialist Residencies page.
Here on my webpage, you will find important communications about the music program and posts on our recent music lessons. I hope you will check in often and explore other parts of my website where you can find fun on-line music resources and visit memories of past school years.
But more about me . . . .
I began teaching music at Claxton Elementary in 2007. I grew up in Raleigh, N.C. and graduated high school in Morehead City, N.C., where my family moved when I was a junior in high school. I ran for the hills to attend Western Carolina University for my undergraduate degrees in Spanish and Music, where I graduated in 1993. After making a go as a professional guitarist in my 20's, in 1998 I returned to school for a Masters of Science in Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
I first discovered my love of teaching by giving guitar lessons in my late teens and early twenties and began my professional career as a classroom teacher in Knox Co. Schools, Tennessee, as a high school Spanish teacher. After stints in the San Francisco Bay area and Miami, Florida, where I taught as a Spanish, music, and grade-level class teacher in Waldorf Schools, I moved back to western N.C. in 2006 and began teaching in Asheville City Schools.
I love all things musical, but especially love the great "classic rock" era of the late 1960's and early '70's. It was the music of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and the like that inspired me to pick up guitar and start my journey as a musician. Over the years, I have performed as a solo guitarist and singer/songwriter, as the member of countless bands, and as a wedding musician. I am so grateful to share my love of music with my students and feel very fortunate to be a music teacher in such a musical city as Asheville. My wife and I love attending concerts, gardening, hiking, spending time with friends and family, or hanging out with our fat orange kitty-cat, Barnaby Jones.
Mr. Barnaby Jones
The Maestro!
The Chinese Lion