The young performers prepared for the big moment. Some wriggled, grinned or leaned into friends. Others smiled nervously or waved quickly to family in the audience. A few stood rigid with nerves or anticipation. The music was about to begin.
The Manchester Elementary Middle School Winter Concert brought together an audience of more than 300 on a brisk March evening. All grades at the K-8 school participated in choral numbers under the direction of MEMS unified arts instructor Marci Wheeler. Instrumentalists, conducted by music teacher Hannah Yarwood, played together as the 5th-6th and 7th-8th grade bands.
“These kids have worked hard all year preparing for this night,” says MEMS Principal Harrison Shulman. “It’s great that they get to show what they can do live on stage."
The 4th grade singers opened the show with a rousing statement of intention in their rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Principal Schulman picked up an acoustic guitar and accompanied 3rd and 4th graders as they sang “Scarborough Fair.” Ultimately the stage filled up with all K-4 students as they joined together performing all nine verses of “Rattlin Bog.”
The 5th & 6th grade chorus opened with the Appalachian spiritual “Bright Morning Stars,” and the 7th & 8th graders closed with Bruno Mars,’ “When I was Your Man.”
“This concert showcased the students’ interest in singing and music in general at MEMS,” says Wheeler. “From the fundamentals in the early grades, including memorizing lyrics, acting out songs with movement, and singing in a group to students who demonstrate harmony and more expressiveness as they advance into middle school. I was so happy to see the hard work in the classroom coupled with their enthusiasm for music performance on the stage.”
The two MEMS bands also showed maturity in performance. “All these kids are doing incredibly hard work,” says Yarwood. “Not only do they have individual skills to develop, but then they have to use those skills while listening and responding to each other as an ensemble. They are learning and growing and tonight we get to hear the product of everything we’ve worked for so far this year. I’m so proud of how far they’ve come together!”
The younger band troupe of 5th and 6th graders started with some fundamentals and then stepped up to close their set with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The older 7th and 8th graders brought the audience to its feet with the “Star Spangled Banner.” They closed by delighting the crowd, especially their fellow students, with music about a legendary sea monster in a piece called, “To Conquer the Kraken.”
Freddie Mercury, Bruno Mars, Irish folk songs, English ballads, Beethoven and a legendary creature from the North Sea — the universality and variability of music continues.
(Photo above: These fourth graders show some stage swagger as they proclaim, "We will rock you.")
Members of the 7th & 8th Grade Chorus perform their rendition of "When I was Your Man," by Bruno Mars.
The horn section of the 5th & 6th Grade Band plays Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
The MEMS 7th & 8th Grade Band gets ready to play under the direction of music teacher Hannah Yarwood.
MEMS singers fill the gymnasium with the sound of music as they sing "Scarborough Fair.".