Music
Programming
The Music Program of French Shore Academy is a continual "work in progress". It strives to remain exciting and educationally beneficial to all students as they develop musical skill in a variety of areas. All students are required to participate in the music program from Kindergarten to Grade 9. At the Senior High level students can select music as part of their programming to continue musical development while satisfying mandatory Fine Arts credits toward graduation.
Kindergarten - Grade 6
The Primary/Elementary portion of the program utilizes a combination of classroom, choral and instrumental music. Instrumentation at this level includes Orff Instruments, Drums, Recorder, and the Fiddle.
Intermediate Music - Grades 7, 8 & 9
At the Intermediate level, the program builds upon knowledge and skill gained during Primary/Elementary years.
Grade 7 - Students continue to gain musical understands and emply their knowledge to the Ukulele.
Grade 8 - Musical development continues with a focus on the Guitar as the instrument of aplication.
The Concert Band Setting is employed at the Grade 9 level. Through a careful selection process, students are assigned to one of the following instruments: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Guitar, or Percussion. Upon completing Grade 9 students have the opportunity to continue their study by participating in the Senior Music Program.
Intermediate Traditional Music - Fiddle (Grades 7-9)
In addition to the required music program at the Intermediate level some students continue developing their fiddle skills as a member of the Intermediate Fiddle class. This class utilizes traditional Newfoundland music as its repertoire.
Senior High Music (Fine Arts Graduation Credit Opportunities)
At the high school level students continue to develop instrumental skill in the concert band setting by enrolling in Ensemble Performance 1105, 2015, or 3015. Each course provides 1 credit toward Fine Arts graduation credits.
Applied Music 2206 is offered every second year. In this course students have the opportunity to study the acoustic guitar and experiment with the electric bass and drum set. This course provides 2 credits toward Fine Arts graduation credits.
Annual Performances
Primary/Elementary & Junior/Senior Music Classes
Traditionally, the Music Program stages 4 concerts each year: k-6 Christmas, 7-12 Christmas, k-6 Spring and 7-12 Spring. Along with these standard events, smaller performances are sometimes added throughout the school year as opportunity arises.
Fiddlers Cafe
This event generally takes place early June of each school year. Throughouth the evening the French Shore Fiddlers perform a variety of traditional fiddle tunes while the audience enjoy sweets, coffee and tea. Fiddlers Cafe is a limited ticket event for adult enjoyment. Stay tuned for the 2024 performance date.