Welcome
Welcome to our K-12 Performing Arts Department!
A Performing Arts education shapes the way our students understand themselves and the world around them. It allows for deep engagement with learning. It nurtures skills that are critical to future success, including: creativity, curiosity, determination, and motivation. The Katonah-Lewisboro K-12 Performing Arts Department offers exceptional learning opportunities for students at every age, and we look forward to sharing them with you throughout the year!
Elementary Music
Music in Grades K-5 is designed to actively engage students in the processes that constitute creation and performance in music, while developing an enthusiasm for music and an understanding of musical concepts. Our general music classes offer students the opportunity to enhance their musical knowledge through listening, creating, moving, reading and writing music, and singing and playing various instruments.
When KLSD students become 4th graders they are offered the exciting opportunity to learn a band or string instrument. The Katonah-Lewisboro School District provides students with quality beginning band and string instruction, along with the opportunity to perform as part of an ensemble. Students acquire the skills and techniques of playing a band or strings instrument through small group instruction and ensemble rehearsal. 4th grade instrumentalists participate in small group instruction once a week for 30 minutes. When instrumental students reach 5th grade, they continue with their weekly 30-minute small group instruction in addition to a 40-minute full band/orchestra ensemble rehearsal. In addition, students in 4th and 5th grade have the opportunity to participate in chorus before school. All participating chorus, band and orchestra students showcase the skills they have acquired through their weekly lessons and/or rehearsals in a Winter and Spring concert , where they are able to perform for their families and friends!
Middle School Music
Students may continue their opportunity to play in the band or orchestra at the middle school in grades 6, 7, and 8 as part of the regular school day. We currently have a 6th grade band and orchestra, and a combined 7th and 8th grade band and orchestra. All of these ensembles meet in sections during the school day. Each trimester, students will work to learn new scales, practice technical exercises, learn a solo on their instrument, and learn about music theory and how it relates to their instruments. We also offer smaller group lessons, which serve as the basis for instruction on our students’ individual instruments. Participation in the Elementary and Intermediate All County Ensembles as well as the NYSSMA Festival in the spring is very much encouraged. Students participate in a winter and spring concert each year. In addition to these playing opportunities, we offer an after school Jazz Band that is made up of all three grades at the middle school. This is a classic big-band group where students are encouraged to foster their love of Jazz music, and they perform at various MS events throughout the year.
Students may also continue their opportunity to sing in the chorus at the middle school in grades 6, 7 and 8 as part of the regular school day. Students learn to build skills in note-reading in treble and bass clefs, singing with a supported tone, breathing properly and using their breath to sing long phrases, matching pitches, singing in harmony, and listening to different genres of music. Throughout each trimester, students improve their sight reading skills, focus on acquiring proper rehearsal and performance skills, following the conductor, understanding the poetry of music, and learning how to convey the message of music to the audience. By the time students are in 8th grade, they have solidified basic skills and are learning to refine their dynamics, musical phrasing, and musical expression by connecting to emotional expression. They continue to improve their focus, concentration, and ability to collaborate with each other, the accompanist and the conductor while singing in different languages.
6th through 8th grade students may choose to participate in a Discovering Music class if they are not enrolled in an ensemble. Discovering Music focuses on various units of study including music history, music theory, piano, guitar, ukulele, and composition activities. Discovering Music takes place in a Mac Music Lab featuring GarageBand and Finale music making software programs.
High School Performing Arts
When KLSD students reach the high school, the vision of the General Music program is to broaden the arts education opportunities of students, to offer musical experiences beyond those of the traditional performance ensembles, and to provide students with real-world applications of technologies currently in use in the music industry. Music is an art form based on creating, performing and responding, where one’s enjoyment increases exponentially with one’s understanding. We offer a 4 year sequence is Music with the following courses: Music History and Theory, Intro to Music Technology, Advanced Music Technology, and Über Music Technology. All classes take place in our state-of-the-art music lab that includes Logic, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Finale, and several other music software programs, in addition to our very own sound booth and recording studio.
Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in several ensembles including: Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, and our Vocal Jazz Ensemble. These ensembles meet every day throughout the year and there is a lesson component available for those students wishing to receive individualized instruction. We also feature two Jazz Bands that meet after school once a week. All students participate regularly in school concerts throughout the year, in addition to optional performance opportunities such as NYSSMA Solo, All-County, Area All-State, and All-State Festivals.
Our Theatre program offers unique learning opportunities to explore individual creativity, artistic expression and a more in-depth understanding of past and present cultures in our diverse world community. Students may participate in a 4 year acting sequence by enrolling in the following courses: Intro to Theatre I, Intro to Theatre II, Advanced Acting, and The Actor's Studio.
A comprehensive Performing Arts education enables students to make more informed meaningful choices, develop their artistic abilities through self-discipline and focus, and provides a vehicle to increase their confidence in learning across the entire curriculum. We believe that all students should have a comprehensive, balanced, sequential curriculum of in-school instruction in music and theatre education in accordance with national, state and local standards. An education in the Arts will develop life-long learning abilities and the skills necessary to improve the quality of life in our 21st Century world.
K-12 PA Program Pictures!
K-12 PA In the News...
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K-12 Performing Arts
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Middle School Chorus Fun!
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JJHS Advanced Acting
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JJHS at Jazz at Lincoln Center
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JJHS Symphonic Orchestra
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JJHS The Cast of The Revenge of the Space Pandas!
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JJMS Winter Choral Concert
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JJMS The Cast of Julius Caesar!
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JJ for Seniors String Quartet
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JJHS Wind Ensemble
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JJHS Music Technology
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JJHS The Cast of You Can't Take It With You!
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JJHS Chorale Sings the National Anthem
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JJHS The Cast of Spelling Bee!
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Elementary Band!
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JJMS The Cast of Mary Poppins!
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John Jay Theatre Workshop Cast and Crew Photos!
Placeholder 20-21 PA Dates
Resources
- ArtsAlive
- Music History and Theory
- Music Technology, Adv. Music Tech and Über Music Tech
- Life Skills General Music
- Concert Band
- Symphonic Band
- Wind Ensemble
- 6th Grade Band
- 7th and 8th Grade Band
- 6th Grade Chorus
- 7th and 8th Grade Chorus
- 6th-8th Grade Orchestra
- 6th - 8th Grade Discovering Music
- IMES K-5 Music