Embedded Files
Center School Music is on Instagram @center_school_music
June 13th, 2025
Congratulations Fourth-Grade Students! Excellent performance at your fourth-grade finale. Best of luck at Parker!
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
May 19th, 2025
Monday, May 19th, 2025 was Massachusetts Day for Music Education and Center School Fourth-Grade students performed at the State House in Boston as part of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Hill Day. Center School was selected as one of 9 school to perform at this event. "Each group brought energy, purpose, and the clear message that arts education in Massachusetts is not a luxury, it is a human right” - Anthony Beatrice, MMEA President.
Bravo to our students for their excellent performance! Center School and Chelmsford were represented very well!
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
March & April 2025
Congratulations to our Center School Fourth-Grade Singers for participating in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association All-State Treble Chorus and Northeastern District Treble Chorus! The All-State Chorus was conducted by Jim Papoulis, and the District Chorus was conducted by Eric Williamson. As always, Center School was represented very well!
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
April 2024
On Friday, April 5th, Jim Papoulis visited Center School to work with our fourth-grade musicians! It was a great honor and privilege to bring him to Center School. A huge shoutout to our accompanists, Olivia Yu, a third-grade student, and Kati Pessin!
Thank you, Center School PTO, for making it possible! Below are Mr. Papoulis' bio and videos from his visit.
Mr. Papoulis has made significant contributions to choral music by revitalizing the choral repertoire with songs whose roots are classical and world, with voicing that incorporates lead vocalists with choirs, vocal percussion, and world rhythms. His choral work often is sung from the perspective of the singer, and is constantly inspired by the work he does through the foundation for small voices. He firmly believes that music can heal, educate, celebrate, and empower the lives of children.
Through the Foundation for Small Voices, he has conducted songwriting workshops with choirs from the United States, China, Japan, Tanzania, Mexico, Kenya, Newfoundland, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Haiti, England, Norway, Canada, Spain, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, Turkey, Brazil, France, Ireland, Bosnia, Jordan, Australia, Holland, Dubai, and Greece. He has worked with choirs and ensembles on all continents and from all walks of life, and has also worked with: Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Beyonce, the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Boys Choir, London Symphony, Beijing Children's Choir, Faith Hill, Natalie Cole, Snoop Dogg, Imagine Dragons, Tokyo String Quartet, Moscow Philharmonic, Portland Symphony, New World Symphony
His music has been featured at:
2019 Carifesta Port of Spain, TRINIDAD
GIVE US HOPE on permanent exhibit at the 911 Museum in New York
9.11 10th Anniversary Concerts throughout the world, including New York, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing, London, Oslo, Paris, Shanghai, Rio, Rome, Salzburg, St. Petersburg, Dubai, Delhi, Oslo, Paris
BEIJING OLYMPICS
2008 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
POPE VISIT televised nationally at YANKEE STADIUM
WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
March 2024
On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Maggie Dwyer, Evy Joudrey, Madison Sees, and Grace Noel participated in The American Choral Director’s Association Eastern Division Elementary Honor Choir in Providence, RI. These four students spent countless hours preparing for this prestigious choir at home and with me during their lunch at school.
They practiced from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM on Thursday and Friday and performed on Saturday with just over 100 students from 11 states. They were four of eight students representing Massachusetts! The choir had the opportunity to learn from internationally-known conductor Sophia Miller. Sophia “has prepared choruses for national and international radio and television appearances, recording sessions, collaborative performances with such artists as Meredith Monk, the Kronos Quartet and the Stephen Petronio Company, and for performances not only in New York City, but also in major venues throughout North America, Asia, Europe, and South America. Through these trips, she has been part of a dedicated team whose vision strives to lead young people to different parts of the world, sharing music at the highest level of artistic excellence while immersing themselves in their surrounding cultures as musical ambassadors of peace and hope”.
Jim Papoulis, a composer and educator, made an appearance to work with the chorus. I teach many of his pieces and am excited to bring him to Center School to work with fourth-grade students in April! In addition to composing music and working with children’s choirs, he has also collaborated with Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Beyonce, the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Boys Choir, London Symphony, Beijing Children's Choir, Faith Hill, Natalie Cole, Snoop Dogg, Imagine Dragons, just to name a few.
The ACDA Elementary Choir performed the world premiere of Space Hurricane by Francisco J. Núñez. Mr. Núñez also made an appearance on Friday to speak with the choir about the creation of this piece and help them bring it to life. Bringing a new piece of art into the world is always special.
Having students participate in this choir was a great honor and privilege. I am grateful for the opportunity and support everyone in the Center School Community has provided me and our students. Congratulations, Evy, Maggie, Grace, and Madison. If you see them, please congratulate them and thank them for representing Center School well.
Please find an excerpt from their rehearsal below.
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
May 2023
Please email me to request translations: mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Hello Center Community,
Congratulations to the eight fourth-grade students who participated in the MMEA All-State Treble Chorus on April 29th in Shrewsbury!
Upcoming Events
Family Sing-Along Night: May 31st, 2023, at 6:00 PM in the Center School Gym
Students and their families are invited to make music together as a community! We will sing through the songs students have learned this year. This event is for everyone in the Center community!
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
April 2023
Please email me to request translations: mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Congratulations to the five fourth-grade students who participated in the MMEA Northeastern District Treble Chorus. Center school was represented well. Please find their performance below!
Upcoming Events
Family Sing-Along Night: May 31st, 2023 at 6:00 PM in the Center School Gym
Students and their families are invited to make music together as a community! We will sing through the songs students have learned this year. This event is for everyone in the Center community!
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
March 2022
Please email me to request translations: mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Hello Center Community,
On March 19th, 22 fourth-grade students performed at Chelmsford High School as part of the annual 4th-12th grade Chelmsford ChoralFest. Please find the full performance below.
Upcoming Events
Family Sing-Along Night: May 10th at 6:30 PM in the Gym
Students and their families are invited to make music together as a community! We will sing the songs students have learned this year. This event is for everyone in the Center community!
Center School Arts and Culture Night: June 2nd, starting at 4:30 PM
There are four aspects of the evening: musical performances, a visual art gallery, cultural presentations, and the book fair. More details will be shared soon, but please mark your calendars for June 2nd!
Best,
Mr. McGillicuddy
January 2022
Please email me to request translations: mcgillicuddyc@chelmsford.k12.ma.us
Hello Center Community,
Fourth-grade students have been learning the violin. They went from never having touched the violin at the beginning of December to now plucking an open-string song! Please see 4S playing "The Open String Song" below. A huge thank you to the volunteers that help keep the violins in tune for the students!
Third-grade students have been learning the recorder. With recorder, we have taken a deeper dive into music literacy. Students have been composing their own songs and then learning to play their music on the recorder. Please know that you can find our recorder book here. It contains the content students have been learning and videos of me reviewing proper technique and songs.
Second-grade and first-grade students have been engaging with music through singing, rhythm activities, movement activities, and learning songs on the piano. Most students in first and second grade have learned the famous “Ode to Joy” melody from Beethoven’s 9th symphony. Please know that you can find our piano book here. It contains everything we work on in school. I am thrilled to hear that students practice the piano at home!
Kindergarten students have been settling into school well. Students have demonstrated great singing voices! They have also connected to music through rhythm and movement activities. Kindergarteners have also been learning about instruments in the orchestra.
Congratulations to fourth-graders Lena, Riya, and Madison for being selected to represent Center School in the Northeastern District Treble Chorus! This district chorus is made up of fourth through sixth-grade students from schools in the Massachusetts Music Education Association (MMEA) Northeastern District. The treble chorus concert will be on April 2nd. Thank you Chelmsford Friends of Music for covering their registration fee.
Don't forget to follow Center School Music on Twitter: https://twitter.com/C_McGillicuddy
As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.
In Music,
Mr. McGillicuddy
September 2021: Welcome Back!!!
Hello Center School Musicians!
Welcome back! I hope you had an awesome summer. I look forward to making music with all of you in the Music Room this year!
Mr. McGillicuddy
July 2021: Conversational Solfege - Professional Development
I am excited to include John Feierabend's 'Conversational Solfege' in the curriculum this year!
June 2021: Center School Music is on Twitter
Twitter is now another way to keep up with everything music-related at Center! Follow us: @c_mcgillicuddy
June 2021: Chelmsford Celebration of the Arts
Congratulations to all involved in the district-wide arts celebration! The Center School Fourth-Grade Chorus is included!
May 2021: Fourth-Grade Chorus Performance
Congratulations on an outstanding performance by the fourth-grade chorus!
April 2021: CPS - "Best Community for Music Education"
Congratulations to the Chelmsford Public Schools for being designated as a "Best Community for Music Education" by the NAMM Foundation!
February 2021: Thank You CFoM!
Thank you Chelmsford Friends of Music for a grant to purchase two more pianos!
Everyone at Center appreciates your support of our music program!
January 2021: Pianos Have Arrived!
The first five pianos have been delivered to the Center Music Room! A huge thank you to Dr. Whittlesey, CPS Director of Fine Arts.
January 2021: Pianos at Center!
Hello All,
I am proud to announce that starting next school year, we will include piano instruction as part of the Music Education curriculum! I am applying for grants and searching for funding from various sources to purchase 10 Casio Digital Pianos.
Sincerely,
Page updated
Report abuse