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Spring Concert: Tuesday May 7 at 6:30FALL CONCERT: TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13 AT 6:30PM

Summit Families,

It’s time for our Spring Concert once again. Our musicians have worked very hard over the past several weeks, and I’m sure everyone will have a great time.

Here are some important things you may wish to know about the concert:

The concert will begin at 6:30 on Tuesday, May 7th. All-Stars will be able to have a sound check if we arrive at 5:15. Middle School musicians that play an instrument will need to arrive in time to tune at 6:00. All other students may arrive no later than 6:15.

Concert dress is a red Summit uniform polo and khaki pants. No jeans or shorts, please. Ladies may wear khaki capris if they would like. If a musician chooses to wear a dress (either the one-piece red uniform dress or a khaki skirt with their red Summit polo), please wear white tights or white leggings underneath. The short-sleeve red Summit polo is recommended as the lights on stage are very warm. All-Stars may wear nice jeans and a Summit Spirit Wear shirt of their choice.

Musician safety is always important to us, especially while we are off campus. It is important that you are with your musician until you bring them to their teacher.

Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 5th Grade parents may check musicians in with their teachers in the reserved rows (on the left side of the audience) and then find a comfortable place to enjoy the concert. We ask that musicians remain with their parents until their classroom teachers arrive. After their numbers, musicians will remain seated with their class until the end of the concert.

3rd and 4th Grade parents may check musicians in with their teachers in the reserved rows on the right side of the audience and then find a comfortable place to enjoy the concert. We ask that musicians remain with their parents until their classroom teachers arrive. After their numbers, these musicians will remain seated with their class.

Middle School parents may check musicians in with their classroom teachers in the reserved rows on the left side of the audience and then find a comfortable place to enjoy the concert. We ask that musicians remain with their parents until their classroom teachers arrive.

All-Stars will spend the entire concert onstage or backstage.

We ask that musicians with instruments wait a moment for things to clear before picking them up.

Our concert will be held at The Gillioz, located at 325 Park Central E, Springfield, MO 65806.

Parking is abundant downtown, but you may have to take a further spot as the concert approaches. We always recommend carpooling and arriving early.

The concert will begin promptly at 6:30 and will last about an hour and a half.

It is understandable that a musician may be ill or need to be absent or leave early due to a previous commitment. Please RSVP your teacher and Mr. Keech via email with any regrets.

Footage of our previous concerts can be found here on YouTube or on the Summit Music Blog.  Be sure to subscribe, and feel free to share videos from the concert with me; I’d love to be able to share them in our concert playlist.

Thanks for all that you do to make our school great!

Shawn Keech
SKeech@TheSummitPrep.Org

What We Do In Music

Handbells

From time to time, Summit musicians enjoy playing handbells. Playing with handbells provides opportunities for:

  • Understanding that each pitch has a name, pitches can be naturals or accidentals, accidentals have more than one name (a sharp name and a flat name)
  • Performing with others requires taking turns and being focused even when it isn’t your turn yet.
  • Observing that not all pitches are used with the same frequency within a piece. Also, sometimes there are more than one pitch with the same name (a high A and a low A for example).
  • Practical experience with what we refer to as the “Handbell Strategy” among older students: if you are not prepared to play all of a piece, pick parts you can do and play those correctly. Lots of people playing just a few notes each can make great music!
  • Occasionally adding other single-pitch or novel instruments (steel drum, Boomwhackers); joining in with single notes or a few as students become more comfortable with the instrument.

Our handbell experiences are modified across ages to best fit student development. Younger students play with only a few naturals only, reinforcing letter names and turn taking. Elementary students perform with pitch names written out for more complicated songs and are introduced to standard notation with fewer pitches. Older students continue using pitch names and also perform using standard notation, experiencing faster tempos, chords, and more complicated music forms.

Cultivating life long learners is a core mission of the Summit, and we aim to prepare Summit musicians to be participants in and creators of music, no matter what their chosen vocation. Performing with handbells is one of many ways that musicians can enjoy music for a lifetime!

 

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Community Opportunity, Compositions & Songwriting

Community Opportunity: COMP Project

The University of Missouri has an annual statewide competition (the Creating Original Music Project) that recognizes Missouri students (K-12) who compose original works in a variety of musical styles.

Students that enjoy creating new music can view details and register online at: https://newmusic.missouri.edu/comp

The deadline for this year’s entries is January 13th. If you have an entry for this year, be sure to contact me as soon as possible!

Summit musicians have placed in the competition in the past. (in 2018, 2014, 2013, and 2011). Here are a few of their entries & performances:

 

 

Community Opportunity

Community Opportunity: Strings Project

The Springfield community has many opportunities for young musicians who would like to explore music in a more formal way beyond the Summit.

Musicians interested in orchestral string instruments (violin, viola, cello) may wish to consider the Missouri State Music Department String Project.

The String Project will have informational meetings/registration for new students on Monday, January 28. Interested sudents in grades 1-4 and their families are invited to attend.

For more information, visit their website at: https://www.missouristate.edu/music/stringproject.aspx#enroll

Community Opportunity

Community Opportunity: Children’s Chorus of Springfield

The Springfield community has many opportunities for young musicians who would like to explore music in a more formal way beyond the Summit.

Vocal and choral music enthusiasts between the ages of 8-13 may wish to consider the Children’s Chorus of Springfield.

A free rehearsal will be held January 3 from 6-7:30. Auditions are by appointment January 5th, with rehearsals being held on Thursdays from 6-7:30.

For more information, visit their website at: https://www.childrenschorusofspringfield.com/

What We Do In Music

Karaoke!

From time to time, Summit musicians do some karaoke. Karaoke gives our musicians an opportunity to explore:

  • Microphones: how are they used, what different types exist and how they are applied, how microphones work, how are they built.
  • Singing: singing with smaller groups, matching pitch and rhythm, singing in popular music styles, experience with singing unison, descant, doubling at the octave.
  • Stage Presence: building comfort with using a microphone, performing in and for small groups of peers.
  • Repertoire: building familiarity with a larger body of songs

Our karaoke experiences are modified across ages to best fit student development. Younger students sing shorter, easily memorized songs with lyrics on screen to reinforce pre-literacy skills and sight words. Elementary students sing songs with lyrics on-screen and the original artists singing along (often drawn from previous concert performances of our older musicians). Older students add songs that are true karaoke: only student voices singing along with background tracks.

Cultivating life long learners is a core mission of the Summit, and we aim to prepare Summit musicians to be participants in and creators of music, no matter what their chosen vocation. Singing alone and with others is one of many ways that musicians can enjoy music for a lifetime!

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Here are some musicians you may recognize from previous years!

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