Performance Electives

Junior Band

        Students in Junior Band will continue to develop their instrumental technique and expand their abilities. Students in Junior Band will be offered an opportunity to participate in the NYSSMA Solo Festival and participate in the Jr. High All-County Band. Students should be capable of performing at a NYSSMA level 1 or have the permission of the instructor. Students are expected to reach a performance level of NYSSMA Level 2 by the end of 8th grade.

Senior Band

        Senior Band is the culminating experience in the instrumental curriculum. Students in Senior Band will be offered an opportunity to participate in the NYSSMA Solo Festival and participate in the Sr. High All-County Band and Area All-State. Students should be capable of performing at a NYSSMA level 2 or have the permission of the instructor. Students are expected to reach NYSSMA level 3 by their Junior Year and level 4 by graduation.

Stage Band

        Stage Band (A.K.A. Jazz Band) has evolved into a small student driven performance ensemble where students select, arrange, and perform music from a variety of genres. Students must have the permission of the instructor to join.

Junior Chorus

        Students in Junior Chorus will continue to develop their singing technique and expand their abilities to include sight singing and singing in 3-4 part harmony. Students will also be given the opportunity to arrange music selected by the choir for performance at concerts. Students in Junior Chorus will be offered an opportunity to participate in the NYSSMA Solo Festival and participate in the Jr. High All-County Chorus.

Senior Chorus

        Students in Senior Chorus will continue to develop their singing technique and expand their abilities to include multi-part sight singing and singing in 3-6 part harmony. Every student in Senior chorus is given one voice lesson per cycle. Students will also be given the opportunity to arrange music selected by the choir for performance at concerts. Students in Senior Chorus will be offered an opportunity to participate in the NYSSMA Solo Festival and be eligible for county and state music festivals based on their solo performance.

Select Chorus

Students in Select Chorus must be active participants in either Junior or Senior Chorus (allowances may be made if the student cannot participate due to scheduling conflicts.) Students in Select Chorus work as a group to choose and arrange music from various genres and various time periods. Students in this group can expect to sing in 3-8 part harmony and all music is selected as a group with input from the director. This group will take performance opportunities outside of school as they become available.

Music Knowledge Electives

Music Theory I                                                                        (limit: 15 students)

This is an introductory music theory course. It is designed to provide students enough knowledge and skills to successfully complete a college music program audition process.

• music notation

• rhythm and time signatures

• construction of scales, keys, and intervals formation of chords harmony diatonic triads, combined with the introduction of non-harmonic tones aural skills (melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictation) analysis of basic musical forms 

Music Theory II                                         (prerequisite: Music Theory I, limit: 10 students)

This advanced music theory course is designed for students who are planning to pursue a college major or minor in music. While not as in depth as a college curriculum this course will provide a good background and understanding of many of the concepts students will encounter.

• expanded diatonic and chromatic harmony

• advanced aural skills (melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic dictation)

• sight-singing

• score reading and analysis

• transposition

• basic serialism and twelve-tone concepts

• introduction to jazz and blues harmonies and scales

Technology in Music (TiM)                        (limit: 12 students)

Technology in Music provides students hands-on training in live and studio sound applications. This project based course introduces students to current audio production technologies.

• basic sound theory

• live sound systems

• recording techniques

• mixing

• mastering

History of American Music

The structure of this course will be based on a timeline of American history that focuses on the cultural events of an era and the resultant musical output. Students will follow the course of history in reverse, from today to the jazz era. Then we will move to the opposite end of the timeline from African drumming to slavery in the United States and up to the jazz era. Jazz represents a definitively American genre of music and will thus serve as the focus of our culminating project.

Musical Theatre   

The structure of this course will be based on the elements of musical theatre: Story, Scene Design, Costume Design, Music and Choreography. Students will study each element through the lens of children’s literature. Working collaboratively, students will analyze and develop each element within a story. As a culminating experience, students will create a new story and then turn that story into a  mini-musical to be performed for a select group of elementary students.

Songwriting

The structure of this course will be based on the elements of songwriting: chord structure, melodic development and composition of lyrics. Students will spend time working with each of these three aspects individually before being asked to put them together in composition. Students will write 3-5 songs as time permits and will travel to SLU to record those at North Country Public Radio.

Acting 

Students will develop individual and ensemble acting skills through theater games, monologues, duos and small-group scenes. Students will have the chance to work with theater majors from a local college in a workshop setting and to put on small performances in class. We will explore comedy, tragedy, musical theater, classical theater, modern theater and write our own scenes if time permits.

History of Rock & Roll

This course follows the birth and development of Rock & Roll focusing on four main ideas that created and continue to shape this American genre: R&R as a product and contributor to culture, the importance of storytelling, the development of technology, and the importance and innovation of the performance aspects of the musicians and bands. This is a media driven course where we will explore the music through recordings, videos, readings, and discussions.