Use the "Curriculum" drop down menu above to see the syllabi for specific classes

Curriculum

Concert Ensembles

Concert band is the cornerstone of a quality band program and is our primary mode of learning. Concert band provides students with a balanced, comprehensive study of music where they will develop and hone skills in the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. Instruction is designed so that students are enabled to connect, examine, imagine, define, try, extend, refine, and integrate music study and its learning benefits into other subject areas. Students work from the same collection of fundamental development exercises on a daily basis, differentiated as developmentally appropriate, to advance their individual musicianship. Each class also works through developmentally-appropriate repertoire, connecting individual technical development to its application in music performance. Student development is tracked through a variety of individual and group formative and summative assessments.

Percussion

Student percussionists at Lakeside High School follow a similarly designed curriculum to their wind instrument peers, but the nature of percussion requires modifications to allow for the development of well-rounded musicians. We aim to have each student develop proficiency across all of the primary percussion instruments (snare, mallets, and timpani) while also establishing a fundamental understanding of orchestral techniques on crash cymbals, concert bass drum, tambourine, triangle, and other auxiliary instruments. Each class also works through developmentally-appropriate repertoire, connecting individual technical development to its application in music performance. Student development is tracked through a variety of individual and group formative and summative assessments.

Jazz Lab Band

The Jazz Lab Band class starts from the same individual fundamental development expected of each student in the Lakeside Band Program. The curriculum for the Jazz class takes student through the musical form and construction of the music as well as the historical significance of each movement in music. Students will learn about stylistic periods in the history and development of jazz music. Students will complete introductory-level formal analyses of the repertoire selected. The curriculum also includes a focus on the development of emerging improvisation skills through the study of scales, modes, and harmonic function.

Marching Band

Marching band is a crucial component in our curriculum. Because of its visibility and activity, it is the "front porch" of our program. The marching band curriculum is simply an extension of our concert band musical curriculum, but with the addition of visual and movement skills as well as a character development component. The visual and movement component of marching band combines elements of and influences from traditional military marching, modern corps-style movement, and dance into a competitive performance product. Student cognitive development is taken one step further by participation in marching band as this visual and movement component is connected with the musical component, creating a complex web of simultaneous demand as students connect abstract with concrete. Participation in this co-curricular activity, though not compulsory, is strongly encouraged for every student to reap the full benefits of a quality high school band program. Students are offered invaluable opportunities for musical, academic, and personal growth throughout the marching season. Due to the co-curricular nature of the activity, students who are unable to participate in marching band will have to complete alternate assignments that correlate with the marching band curriculum as it fits within the context of our concert ensemble curriculum.

Leadership

Student leadership is one the most crucial components of our program's success and continued ability to develop the young people involved. Students interested in leadership positions are invited to attend after-school leadership seminars. Any student who desires to be a member of the leadership team may join the Serve Team. All titled leadership positions are selected through a collaborative effort between the directors and the students to best serve the needs of the program.

Leadership development meetings and discussions include a multi-faceted curriculum Materials are pulled from within the band world as well as beyond; materials recently used for study include Leading with the Heart by Mike Krzyzewski (Former Head Basketball Coach, Duke University), Sam's Rules for Building a Business by Sam Walton (Founder of Walmart, Inc.) and The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander (family therapist and executive coach) and Benjamin Zander (Conductor, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra). We have also been fortunate to have our students participate in on-campus workshops with guest speakers like Dr. David Vandewalker (Former Director of Bands, Harrison High School (GA); Executive Director, Servant Leadership Association for Music).

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