Music

The Upper School music program is designed to broaden students’ understanding of the social impact of music as well as to provide more opportunities to create and learn a variety of music genres. The HMJDS music curriculum has been aligned with The National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts and the Fine Arts Curriculum Standards (FACS) as endorsed by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA).

Fifth Grade

In addition to expanding vocal music opportunities students in fifth grade study Jewish-American composers and musicians. Musicians studied may include Irving Berlin who wrote a great deal of music for many Broadway classics and conductors/composers Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. These three Jewish-American composers influenced much of today’s contemporary classical music and contributed to our cultural legacy. The fifth grade curriculum at the Day School includes instruction on the recorder for those students not in band and will take place during the second and third trimester. This recorder was quite popular during the Renaissance and will enrich our ability to play melodies. Students continue to refine their composition skills and use more advance techniques while playing Orff instruments.

Units of study include:

  • Vocal Music
  • Music Literacy
  • Playing Instruments: Non-Pitched Percussion Instruments, Pitched Percussion Instruments, Pitched Melodic Instruments (Recorder)
  • Music Listening and History

“We so value our partnership with MacPhail Center for Music. It’s nationally-recognized instrumental music program provides a supportive and creative environment, and offers individuals the opportunity for musical development as part of a community.” – HMJDS Faculty

Sixth Grade

As our students expand their study of diverse musical genres, sixth graders start to learn to view music as an instrument for social change as well as driving force in shaping the contemporary musical world. In sixth grade students discover how music has geographical ties along with artist biographies from these cities. We also study the vocal techniques used in vocal jazz and how jazz transformed over a 100 year period in the United States. We also learn twelve songs from contemporary and classic Broadway shows. The students expand their ability to play more complex rhythms and melodies as well as layered harmony parts on the Orff instruments.

Units of study include:

  • Vocal Music-Vocal Jazz Unit
  • Broadway Unit Songs
  • Music Literacy
  • Playing Instruments
  • United States Musical Cities and Styles

Additional Course Offerings and 7-8 Programs

Our community partnership is a mutually beneficial relationship between MacPhail Center for Music and the Day School in that MacPhail provides additional music education programming. MacPhail has developed an innovative program tailored to fit the resources and needs of our partnership. The Day School partnership, which was established in 1998, has been designed to work in tandem with our existing music program.

Students in seventh and eighth grades may be offered additional music course offerings in instrumental music, guitar, or digital music dependent on student interest and instructor availability. Music course offerings for 7th and 8th graders change from year to year.

Programs supported by MacPhail include:

  • Playing Instruments and Technique
  • Music Literacy