Mr. Lazaro's Instrumental Music Homepage

Class overview

The instrumental music program is a valued and integral part of the Winston S. Churchill School’s curriculum. Studying a musical instrument is both rewarding and fun, having an impact on your child’s development that will last a lifetime. Participating in instrumental music develops responsibility, self-discipline, concentration, confidence, and much more. It also fosters social skills and the ability to work as a team while cultivating creativity and a lifelong appreciation of music.

Lessons are given on a weekly basis through a rotational pull-out system. Every student receives one lesson per week on their specific instrument. Lesson groups consist of a small group of students. Each child is assigned a lesson day and lesson group number. For example, "Monday - Group #1". This means that this group of students will always have their lesson on Monday and their group will always be "Group #1". Lessons are also rotated on a weekly basis. For example, if “Monday – Group #1” meets at 9:00am-9:30am this week, they will meet at 9:30am-10:00am next week, 10:00am-10:30am the following week and so on. This eliminates any long period of missed work in their core academic classes. I will also allow for students to attend extra help hours or other lesson groups for instances when a student is unable to miss their core academic class. Some examples of these instances include when a student has a test/quiz, review session, or if a student needs extra attention in a specific subject. Although I want my students to make strides towards greatness in the field of instrumental music, their core academic class performance will always take priority.

Instrument distribution will happen at the beginning of the school year. “The Music Shop” is the instrument service chosen by the Fairfield School District that offers a rental plan as a convenience to you. However, you may acquire an instrument, new or used, from any source. If you decide to purchase an instrument, I'd strongly recommend that you contact me as I can tell you what to go for/what to avoid (and there is definitely a lot to avoid!). We also have a limited supply of used school-owned instruments that students can borrow for free. These will be distributed on a first come first serve basis.

Our first year students will be in the beginning instrumental music program. For the first half of the year they will only be participating in their weekly pull-out lessons. Starting in January, beginning students will start having before-school large ensemble rehearsals. They will have only one performance in the year which will be expected to be in May. 

Students going into fifth grade will be put into the Concert Band or Concert Orchestra. These ensembles will meet/rehearse once a week starting in September and we will have several performance opportunities throughout the school year. This includes two seasonal concerts, community events, festivals, and competitions. In the past, both our concert band and string orchestra have received superior ratings at the annual High Note Festivals, Stony Brook Elementary Music Festivals, and the Music at the Parks competition at Six Flags. I intend to continue this goal of excellence that is part of the Winston S. Churchill School’s tradition.

4TH GRADE MOVE UP POLICY: For ambitious first 4th grade students, it is possible to move into the 5th/6th Grade Concert Band or 5th/6th Concert Orchestra within the first year. Students who do this will be allowed to participate in the Spring 5th/6th Instrumental Music Concert. Students who qualify may possibly be eligible for the 5th/6th Grade field trip opportunities. For a student to qualify for this promotion:

• Band students will have to reach exercise #50 in the EE book

• Orchestra student: TBA!

Students should also be able to fluently perform any exercise prior to the above exercises in their book. They must also demonstrate a strong sense of rhythm, being able to perform the rhythms accurately no matter the BPM.  The above requirements must be demonstrated through an audition that must be scheduled with me prior to 1/15/2024.

INSTRUMENT CHANGE POLICY: For students wanting to change their instrument, they will have to complete a full year of instrumental music on the instrument they originally started on. After making one switch, students will no longer be allowed to switch their instrument during their time at Churchill (this includes switch backs).