Summer Music Camp Opportunities!

Middlebury Community Music Center is offering several week-long summer camp offerings, and some are geared toward 7-12 year olds! I believe they have a waitlist at this point for most of them, but it may be something to look into. Here are the flyers that have been posted:

  

BUNNIES! A Hopping New Musical... A HUGE Success!

Union Memorial School students performed their whole school musical on April 19 and April 20, 2023. These performances were so special because they were the first ones we have been able to do since before Covid. The last performance done was Feb. 2020 "On With the Snow", and NO CURRENT UMS STUDENTS WERE IN THAT SHOW!!!  So EVERYONE up there on the stage was having a "first" performance, and I could not be more proud as their music educator. Wow. Such fun. I am including below just a couple quick stage shots before the performance actually began. I invited the audience to come close to the stage, take pics, hoot and holler. Then I asked everyone to take their seats so we can begin. The audience was well-behaved but there were a few screaming babies in the crowd on Thursday night! Vocalizations at an early age give this music teacher a preview into future UMS Champs! I hope everyone enjoyed the performances!

 

BUNNIES! A Hopping New Musical

It's time for a whole-school musical!  That's right. After THREE LONG YEARS, Union Memorial School students are at the beginning stages of preparing for a musical. We will have two performances of John Jacobson's "BUNNIES! A Hopping New Musical" on April 19 and April 20, 2023.  Half the school will perform on Weds. the 19th and the other half of the school will perform on Thurs. the 20th. Here is the list of classes who will perform and on what night:

Weds. April 19, 2023, 6:30 pm @ Colchester High School in the Performing Arts Center:

Mrs. Hill's Kindergarten, Mrs. Helfrich's Kindergarten, Mrs. Kelly's First Grade, Mrs. Haddock's First Grade, Ms. Collins' Second Grade, Mrs. Thibault's Second Grade

Thurs. April 20, 2023, 6:30 pm @ Colchester High School in the Performing Arts Center:

Mrs. Anderson's Kindergarten, Mrs. Morse's Kindergarten, Mrs. Bassett's First Grade, Mrs. Hughes' First Grade, Mrs. Barnett's Second Grade, Mrs. Davis' Second Grade

Mark your calendars now! These shows are not to be missed!!  

We are off to a great start for the 2022-2023 school year!  I am so excited to see students EVERY week ALL YEAR LONG!  The pandemic threw many challenges at our music program. Imagine... No singing (but humming was ok). No sharing of instruments (but all students were provided with personal instrument kits to use during class). No public performances (but virtual recordings were ok). I am very happy to put all this behind now and get back to a new normal. Many lessons were learned from the pandemic. Students are resilient, and they are wasting no time discovering (and rediscovering) how to develop the music-makers they already are. 

This music blog will share highlights of student learning, so please check back here often to see how music is experienced at Union Memorial School. And please plan ahead to attend our whole school performances on April 19 and 20, 2023. Stay tuned!