Greenwich Country Day School - Spire Yearbook (Greenwich, CT)

Page 71 text:

Sibyl Sanford and Alice Hieatt play the Minuet from Schubert's Fifth Symphony. Seventh Grade-M A Musical Group Wayne Kernochan and Jerry Harrison play. Seventh Grade Combo: Peter Scherman, guitarg Brett Hall, saxg Peter Brooks, pianog Stephen Brittain, trumpetg George Hagar, drumsg Bayne Chadsey, piano, not shown. 63

Page 70 text:

E i Seated: Elaine Bell, Mrs. George Gray, Mrs. Charles E. Funk, Jr., Mrs. Alfred L. Lorenz, Mrs. Girvan Milligan. Standing: Dale S. Bartholomew, Mrs. Robert A. Eck, Eugene M. Rankin, Dorothy Shaffner, Richard E. Anderson. Not Pictured: Nicholas Zumbro. Pianists- mezzo sharp or f1at ? To meet the ever-increasing enrollment, three new teachers joined the piano department this year: Mrs. Eck, really a former member of the music department who returned, Mr. Anderson, a recent student in Vienna, and Mr. Zumbro, a part time teacher and graduate of the Julliard School of Music. Although some of the students proved to be really sharp , others were what a musician would call flat , or in other words, mezz0 lazy. But sharp , flat or mezzo'i the teachers put everything they had into teaching their students the difference between major and minor. As the year progressed, the students who had memorized pieces played for the morning assem- blies and occasionally there was a duet. In Feb- ruary came the mid-year exams, and all the piano 62 students were in a frenzy because they had to be tested by a teacher other than their own. But like everything else this too passed. Woebegone! A few days after their return from spring vacation the piano students had to prepare for the recitals to take place in May. To top it off there were six recitals because of the large number of stu- dents taking piano lessons at school. The six re- citals came, and, as usual, they went smoothly as ever, thanks to Mr. Bartholomew's and all the other teachers' coolness of mind during this time. A great aid to this successful year was the ad- dition of two new piano studios in the Upper School, which increased the number to five. But the greatest aid of all was the patience and under- standing of the music faculty with the students of the school.

Page 72 text:

Dorothea Thompson Middle School Anxious Progress chart motivates music Under the supervision of Miss Thompson, a new outline for music study, known as the Pro- gress Chart, was introduced into the Middle School. A large staff was posted on the wall of the Middle School music room, and each line was separately labeled: effort, consideration and at- tention, note values and melodic dictation, rhyth- mic diction, key and tune signatures, and sight reading. As each class successfully completed the requirements on the different lines, the home- room teacher's name was added. This provided competition, great enthusiasm and quick incentive to learn the fundamentals of music. The primary and lower school participated in a program including melodic dictation fscale linesy, the writing of scales, the study and recog- nition of rhythms, reading from the board, note singing, and creative rhythms. The first exhibition of these new approaches to music was the annual Christmas sings which took place in the week before Christmas. The four and five year olds' program included solos, duets, and quartets, as did grades one and two. A trio composed of Ann Gibson, Gay Wilson, and Michelle Sutter, all second graders, partici- pated in the Upper School sing, pertly singing That's What I Want for Christmas . The Mid- dle School sing was more of a group endeavor, with the fifth grade chorus singing, While By My Sheepv, and grade three and four joining in Noel, Sing We Now . In accordance with GCDS' wish to give stu- dents every chance to display their musical tal- ents, voluntary soloists, quartets, or groups were given the opportunity to perform every Tuesday and Thursday at chapel. The response to this new idea was enthusiastic throughout both Low- er and Middle School. Both groups were busy perfecting their spring programs throughout the spring term. They were, when finally produced, centered on Around the World in Eighty Days, a theme similar to that of the previous year.