What an awesome concert!

This is a picture of the 6th grade orchestra playing We Will Rock You. They truly ROCKED!

Don't Stop Believing! Choir Videos

Choir! Click on these links and practice as you sing along with these students!
Dont Stop Believing
True Colors

6th grade orchestra selections!

Musicians! 

Go onto these websites and listen to the music that we are studying! 


Two Winter Sketches arranged by Brian Balmages
http://jwpepper.com/10091954.item

We Will Rock you arranged by Paul Lavender
http://jwpepper.com/10033659.item

Foundation Academy Charter School Lower Middle School Chant Off

Lower middle school present their team's chant to the community last Wednesday September 7. 

Which team do you think had the best chant? 

Tekad

Fueza

Kutamani

Ushri

Mood- We expereince through music

Title: Adagio for Strings

Music can take you on a journey. Music allows you to experience emotions and feelings through melodies and musical expressions.

Listen to this piece of music and describe the mood of the piece in as many word or phrases as you can.

Instruments of the orchestra

To review what we have been learning in class, check out these websites and read more about each instrument and the orchestra.
http://www.sfskids.org/templates/splash.asp
http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentlist.aspx

Back to school night!

Parents, family, and friends,

Join us Thursday September 1 at 6:00-7:00 for BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT and hear about what is going on this year, meet your child's teachers, and hear the exciting news for the past year as well!

Attention Parents!

Dear Parents and Guardians:

          Welcome to a new season of music-making! We have a very busy and exciting year ahead of us. This letter contains information regarding important aspects of our classroom and program. Please carefully read through this letter because there is a great deal of important information enclosed.

Before I give you a short preview of some of the subjects that will be covered during the course of this year, let me first introduce myself. My name is Ms. Emily DiUglio and I will be your child’s General Music and Orchestra teacher.

The music curriculum at Foundation Academy is based upon the New Jersey Standards of Music Education and the National Standards of Music Education which encompasses expectations for student learning and achievement.  Based on these standards your child this year will grow greatly as a musician and student.

This year, general music will also contain a string instrumental based curriculum. This means that every student will be involved in the Foundation Academy Chart School Orchestra. All 6^th grade students are expected to performing in the Winter Concert (date TBA) and all 5^th and 6^th grade will be expected to perform in the Spring Concert (date TBA). Students are to wear white on the top and black on the bottom. No sneakers, jeans, tight pants, or skirts shorter than their knees will be allowed. These performances, along with other performances, will serve as a significant portion of their grade in music, students will be expected to practice for at least 30 minutes every week to ensure that appropriate progress is made when participating in orchestra class. These performances will be much more successful and enjoyable for your student if they have prepared themselves adequately. Each student will be receiving a practice log every week that will need to be signed by a parent to ensure that this routine is being established. If students do not take their instruments home, students are expected to schedule a time with Ms. DiUglio to come in before school, after school, or during lunch to practice.

My expectations for all of the students are the same. They must follow the rules, participation in class, and be consistent with their homework and practice log. I also expect all of my students to follows the school rules and follow the classroom procedures. I want each students to grow into a great musician which will lead to tremendous emotional, personal, and individual growth. I expect my students to demonstrate the CORE values and to represent the Foundation Academy community with great pride.

The grading policy that I will be using in my classroom is as followed:

1.     Test                                                   30%

2.     Performances/Concert/ Jury              20%

3.     Major Assignments/ Projects            20%

4.     Classwork/Participation                             10%

5.     Homework/Practice Logs                            10%

6.     Quizzes                                             10%

My classroom is located on the third floor of the Foundation Academy building off of the commons, entitled the Julliard Room. Feel free to contact me at anytime during the course of the year to discuss any questions that you made have regarding your child’s education.  My contact information at the school is as follows: phone number is (609) 468-1772 which I can be reached at any time until 9 PM and my email address is ediuglio@foundationacademy.org.

In closing, I am very excited about our upcoming year at Foundation Academy Charter School. I look to meeting and communicating with you often regarding your child’s progress. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Stay connected with the music program and upcoming event by following us on www.facsmusic.blogspot.com and twitter http://twitter.com/#!/FACSmusicians.

Sincerely,

Ms. Emily Elizabeth DiUglio

We're on TWITTER!!!

Come follow F.A.C.S. musicians on twitter and see what all of our musically gifted students are doing in the classrooms and what new endeavors we are taking on this year. This is going to be a very exciting year for the music program so stay updated!

http://twitter.com/#!/FACSmusicians

Reasons why we do what we do!

Foundation Academy Honors Chamber Orchestra

We are proud to announce that Foundation Academy Charter School will be holding auditions for the Honors Chamber Orchestra September 5-9. This orchestra is an auditioned orchestra that is opened to all FACS students in the 7^th and 8^th grade. We will allow 6^th grade student to audition for the Chamber Orchestra at the beginning of the 2^nd quarter.

This orchestra will rehearse two Saturdays every month from 9-12 in the commons. This group will have opportunities to perform at off campus venues and within the school at special events. This group will have its own orginal set of music to perform in attention to their grade level music that you will be studying in class.

Auditions will be held before, during, and after school during the week of September 5-9. You must sign up for an audition time and be present during your assigned time. Anyone who misses their audition time must wait for the next audition term to audition. Auditions will be held at the beginning of each quarter.

Audition requirements:

·         Perform 36 measures of any piece of music previously studied

·         Scale-You will be asked to perform two of the following one octave scales; D, G, A, C, F major

·         Sigh read a short piece of music. (This will be given out a week prior to the audition)

5th grade rockin' out!

Mozart Seranade into Fiddler's Hoedown

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Devyn Rush's information

I told the choir I would post this!
www.devynrush.blogspot.com
www.youtube.com/devynrushmusic
www.devynrush.com
www.twitter.com/devynrush

6th grade orchestra crushing those strings!

Fireworks by Katy Perry! 

Mambo Amable

Entry of the Tumblers by Elliot Del Borgo

Jamaican Spice

Rolling In The Deep by Adele

The Choir singing Rolling In The Deep by Adele. We were so lucky to have Devyn Rush, an American Idol semi-finalist, sing with us! Devyn is such an amazing girl and has a great future ahead of her! 

Successful concert!

What a great night of music and excitement. The students did such a great job and I was blown away by their professionalism and concentration throughout the night. The 5th grader orchestra has come so far from the beginning of this year and have now started to evolve into true musicians. I was moved by the choir's performance and so impressed by the great deal of emotion and passion as they sang their music. Thank you Devyn Rush for taking time out of your schedule to come and sing Rolling In The Deep with us. You were amazing and we love getting to know you better with every visit! Also, I wanted to thank the great musicians Lisa and Justin Pope for accompanying the choir on the guitar. The 6th grader orchestra continues to surprise me as I think back to their perform last spring and see how much they have grown and developed since that time. The 7th and 8th graders performance last night was nothing less than amazing. Their string rendition of All of the Lights by Kanye West and Thriller by Michael Jackson both surpassed my expectations.

Thank you students for being dedicated to your instruments and I encourage you to continue to study and develop your passion for music over the summer by signing up for a camp or taking a private lesson at your local music store.

Spring Concert June 16!

The Spring concert is fast approaching.  Our Spring Concert is taking place on June 16 at 7:00 PM at the Yvonne Theater on Rider University The concert will consist of the 7^th and 8^th grade Philharmonia string orchestra, the 6^th grade Sinfonietta Orchestra, 5^th grade orchestra, and the Foundation Academy Choir.  This concert will feature repertoire ranging from the Telemann Sinfonia to Katy Perry’s Fireworks and Cold plays Viva La Vida. The students have progressed significantly in the past few months and are proud to perform this exciting music.  We hope that you are able to attend this special night of music. Come support our students!!!

The Mystery of the Orchestra music!!!!!

The concert season is fast approaching and not only doing musicians need to be prepared in playing their music but they have to also have an understanding of the composer and the musical elements that they are playing. Today you are going to research and study each composer that you are playing. You are to find four facts about the composer and facts about the music that you are playing. Use the internet and your music as a reference as you investigate the music that you are playing. What information and fun facts can you discover about each musician and composition!

Google search the composer/arranger and the title of the piece. 6th grade: Look at the March 1 post on the concert music

5th grade: Fiddlers Hoedown http://www.jwpepper.com/2433084.item

Mozart Seranade-what is a seranade?

Somewhere over the Rainbow- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Rainbow

Go Tell Aunt Rhody http://www.quiltersmuse.com/go_tell_aunt_rhody.htm

Jazz musician and history project

Research one jazz musician

You and your partner are to choose a musician to research. Read about musician, and answer the following questions in your response:

• What is the name of the musician you selected?
• When and where was he or she born?
• What was his or her childhood like?
• What instrument did he play? How did she choose it?
• Where did she or he first perform for an audience?
• What is his or her most famous composition or performance? (list at least 3)
• What was happening in American during this time in history?

Stump them questions:

Directions: You are to create questions that you think your classmates won’t be able to answer about your musician. Make sure to give the correct answer as well.

Use the jazz links to help find information about your musician!

Louis Armstrong (male)

Duke Ellington ( male)

Ella Fitzgerald  (female)

Billie Holiday (female)

Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Two months and they are already 

ROCK STARS!!!

Fiddlers Hoedown

I am so proud of all of the 5th grade students. They have only been studying on their instruments for about 2 months and have been so dedicated and been working so hard that they have been able to get to this playing level already! Great job Justicia and Naili

Central New Jersey Honors Orchestras

What a great day! 9 talented 6th graders were nominated and selected to play in the Central New Jersey Honors Orchestra. They did such a fanatic job today in the concert and really worked hard to beautifully prepare all of their music. Great job Jaelyn, Alex, Sidney, Shavaugh, Jairo, Alex, Tyasia, Makelsey, and Michelle!

Choir "Ill Stand By you" City Hall

Musical Treasure Hunt

Treasure Hunt

Treasure Hunt                        

1.       What are the four songs that the 6^th grade orchestra is playing? (blog)

2.       Choose one Broadway musical. State what theater does this show take place in? (Broadway.com)

3.       What year did Jersey Boys win the Tony for Best Musical? (Boradway.com/Jersey Boys/ Overview)

4.       Jersey Boys tells the story of how _____________________________________________________________ went from being unknown New Jersey kids to international pop superstars. (Broadway.com/Jersey Boys)

5.       The show wicked follows ____________________________________ star Elphaba from birth to college and through the life-changing events which eventually label her “wicked,” introducing spoiled rich girl Glinda, local prince and heartthrob Fiyero and even the Wizard of Oz himself, a troubled man very unlike the one you may remember. (Broadway.com/Wicked/Story)

6.       The untold musical story of ____________________________________  Wicked Witch of the West and __________________ the Good... before Dorothy dropped in. (Broadway.com/Wicked/overnview)

7.       Who is the concertmaster, first chair first violin player, of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra? (BSO.com meet the orchestra)

8.       Who is the principle conduct of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra?

9.       List two composers and their years from the following countries (Classicsforkids.com, composer by country)

10.   List two instruments from each instrument family. (DSOkids.com, Listen, By instrument)

11.   John Williams wrote music for a specific type of music. What did he write music for? Give two examples of his music. (DSOkids.com/ listen/by composer)

12.   In a modern orchestra seating arrangement, what instruments sit in the back left section of the orchestra? (DSOkids.coms/visit the symphony/ orchestra seating chart)

13.   What instruments sit in the front of the orchestra, closes to the orchestra? Why do you think they sit in the front of the orchestra? (DSOkids.coms/visit the symphony/ orchestra seating chart)

14.   What instrument did Miles Davis play? (Jazz Biography)

15.   Where was Louis Armstrong born? (Jazz Biography)

16.   Name the title of three pieces that Louis Armstrong perform/wrote.

1._______________________________________________

2._______________________________________________

3.______________________________________________

Fill in the blank

17.   They developed many different ways of getting their secret messages across in the lyrics. Slaves also sang soulful songs called "________________" to express their religious beliefs, feelings and desire for freedom. Spirituals and work songs are part of the foundation of the American art form, known as jazz. (PBSkids Jazz/ Timeline/1700)

18.   The African American composer __________________________________ combined European compositional styles with the rhythmic and melodic music that came from the black community. This became known as "___________________." (PBSkids Jazz/ Timeline/1800)

19.   African American musicians merged European traditions with the blues, ragtime, marching band music and many other elements to create a new style of music known as "______________________." (PBSkids Jazz/ Timeline/1800)

20.   During 1939-1945, many jazz musicians were drafted to fight in ____________________. Big dance bands had difficulties finding musicians.

 

Central NJ Honors Elementary Orchestra

Congratulation to the 8 students who have been selected to participate in the 2011 Central New Jersey Orchestra. More photos and videos will follow but please listen to the music clips that you can find on these websites to help learn the musical pieces.

Jamacian Spice
 http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Jamaican-Spice-for-String-Orchestra/17704017

Cripple Creek
http://www.alfred-music.com/player/AlfredStrings1993/4342/player.html?osCsid=b7fb9a3a8e93439688a80d1260ea2d6e

Entry of the Tumblers -"listen to the music"
http://www.jwpepper.com/2465748.item

City Hall

Check out the NJ.com article on the concert! http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/03/foundation_academy_charter_sch.html

Last night, March 25, 2011, the Choir and 25 students from the 7th and 8th grade Orchestra performed a beautiful concert at City Hall. The concert feature wonderful songs such as Walking on Sunshine, I Gotta Feel, and OMG.
Great job musicians!!!

"Mozart Serenade" 5th Grade Orchestra Naili

"If you're out there" John Legend

We're getting ready for the Spring Concert!

Choir

Dear Foundation Academy Parents/Guardians:

I am excited to announce that the Choir and String Orchestra have been asked to perform at City Hall on Friday March 25, 2011 at 7:00 PM. Students are expected to wear the traditional concert attire of black on the bottom white on the top.

Listed below are the additional and future choir rehearsals that will be taken place in preparation for the concert:

• Tuesday March 15 (4-5)
• Wednesday March 16 (4-5)
• Friday March 18 (4-4:45)
• Tuesday March 22 (4-5)
• Wednesday March 23 (4-5:30) students need to be picked up from City Hall
• Friday March 25 (4- end of concert) students need to be picked up from City Hall, dinner provided

We do need parent assistance in transporting students from Foundation Academy to City hall both Wednesday March 23 and Friday March 25.

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you next Friday March 25, 2011, for our First Concert at City Hall!

Choir, please listen to and practice the following pieces for the concert:

Voices- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2lraY1u2zA&feature=player_embedded

Walking on Sunshine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWwW6jJy2o8

Ill Stand by you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ65FvokArM

Composer Project

Due date for the composer project is Thursday March 17. Listening and analyzing the composer's music must take place outside of the classroom! Sign up for lunch work time to listen and work on this project.

Composer Concert Project

Both the 5th and 6th grade students are given a new project to demonstrate their knowledge of and dedication to music and the composers that they are studying. This is a tier project so that students can chose their own grade.

5th grade choose from Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven

6th grade choose from Berlin, Gershwin, and Bernstein



Tier 1- everyone must complete an Advertisement/essay. The requirements are listed below. If you choose to complete ONLY tier 1, the highest grade you can receive is a B.

Tier 2- To potentially earn an A-, you are to complete the essay and create a poster using the requirements listed below.

Tier 3- To potentially earn an A, you are to complete the essay, poster, and present your findings to the class by writing an oral presentation and answering questions from the teacher and students.

Poster

You are to create a poster that is an advertisement to come see Berlin, Gershwin, or Bernstein perform a concert of their greatest hits.

The poster must include:

·         When the performance will be taking place.

·         Where the performance will be taking place

·         The title of the pieces that will be performed (each poster must have at least 3 pieces which will be included in the concert)

·         The instruments and/or singers who will be performing the pieces of music

·         A brief description of the composer/ 4 facts

·         A picture of the composer (optional)

Advertisement/Essay

You are to write a radio advertisement to advertise for your composer’s concert. Your advertisement must include all information that is posted on your concert poster plus, a brief description of each piece that will be performed, and original slogan to will conviction patrons to spend their money to come and hear this concert. When describing each piece of music, you must describe the mood, tempo, and dynamics of the piece. This advertisement must be written out and presented along with the poster. 

Presentation

You are to present your poster and facts to the class. During this time you will read your advertisement to the class and explain to the class the concert and describe the music that you have chosen. You are also to be ready to answer any questions that the class and/or Ms DiUglio has in regards to your poster and/or presentation.

 Use the Links (posted on the left) to help you find and research information about each composer and their musical pieces.

Voilin and Viola players! Bow hand exercises

Voilin and Viola players, check out this website to see tips and suggustions on a good bow hand! http://www.ehow.com/video_4946498_violin-bow-hand-exercise.html

Spring Concert reportior for the 6th grade!

Its official! We have decided on all of the Spring Concert reportior for the 6th grade. Keep practicing! Please ask your child or students ask you parents to perform some of that music you have been working on so hard.

*Mambo Amable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416jQrw-tWQ

*Entry of the Tumblers
http://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/search

*Fireworks

*Jamician Spice
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Jamaican-Spice-for-String-Orchestra/17704017
Go to these websited to "listen" and hear a recording of each piece to help you practice and learn your music.