At Yinghua we are excited to host the Minnesota Boy Choir on Wednesday, May 9th as a part of their spring tour.  Two of our 5th graders sing with the travelling group so it will be extra fun to support their hard work and dedication.  Opportunities to sing with the Boy Choir are available to boys ages 7-18.  For more information about the organization see the link below.

Minnesota Boy Choir

I recently watched a very moving news piece about a classical orchestra that has sprung up in the middle of the Democratic Republic of Congo.   Although there seems to be controversy over whether these dedicated musicians should be focusing on music from their own culture rather than European traditions, there is no doubt that their dedication to music is inspiring and uplifting.  Neither poverty, war, nor a 90 minute walking commute stop these music lovers from getting to orchestra practice. 

Joy in the Congo: A Musical Miracle

March is Music In Our Schools Month!

We are celebrating at Yinghua by having our own music marathon day.  On Thursday, March 22, there will be live musical performances all day long from 8:30am until students are dismissed.  And there are so many ways to get involved!

Students can sign up during their music class to participate in solos or small group performances throughout the day.  All student participants will receive a free March Music Madness t shirt.

Family and staff members can also perform in solos and small groups throughout the day.  Or, for those of you a bit more shy, you may join the parent/staff ensemble in playing the school song during the morning assembly.  All instruments/voices/levels are encouraged to sign up!

Anyone is welcome to purchase a March Music Madness T Shirt for $5 and all are encouraged to wear their shirts on that day.

If you are interested in signing up to perform, or if you would like to order a t shirt for yourself or your child, please email me, Ms. Henning, by Friday, March 9. 

And, of course, all of our community members are welcome to come by any time during the day to listen to the fabulous music!  Stop by on your way to work, during your lunch break, or spend the whole day celebrating Music In Our Schools Month! 

I hope to see you Thursday, March 22!

I was directed to a fantastic video recently.  3 University of Minnesota student athletes share their experiences as musicians and how music has shaped their lives athletically, academically, socially, and emotionally.  As a music lover and gopher fan, this completely made my day!  Follow the link below to check it out for yourself.

Musical Gophers

Here at Yinghua Academy students in grades 3 and up use recorders as a learning tool during music class.  Yinghua orders high quality German fingering recorders for our students.  We will be starting our fall order soon so see below for more information.

3rd grade:  Recorders are new for 3rd grade.  All 3rd grade students should bring a check made out to Yinghua Academy for $6.  The check can be dropped off in the office before Friday, October 28.  Recorders will be ordered end of October and distributed to students mid November

4th-8th grade:  These students likely purchased a recorder in previous years that they can use during music class.  In the event that a student’s recorder has been lost or damaged, a $6 check may be brought to school for a new recorder.  The school keeps a small inventory of recorders ready so these students may be able to take home a new recorder the same day.

A new study was recently published by Sylvain Moreno that supports the link between music ecucation and verbal intelligence.  4-6 year olds were given one month of formal musical training and the study showed that verbal skills were greatly increased as a result.  Brain activity showed the transfer of one intelligence to another.

This article also references another study showing a link between higher reading skills and music training in 2nd graders.

Check it out!

http://www.miller-mccune.com/education/music-training-enhances-childrens-verbal-intelligence-36701/

Recently an article in the Salt Lake City Tribune focused on the work of evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi.  Changizi believes that the neurobiology of apes and humans is almost the same.

He suggests what really makes us different from the animals are language and music.

Whether you agree or not, I think we all can find the significance in language and music as a part of education!

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment/52577350-81/music-apes-language-auditory.html.csp

Check out this short article from MPR News about a recently finalized exchange between Minnesota and China.  It’s so exciting when music can make our world seem a little bit smaller!

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/state-of-the-arts/archive/2011/08/chinese-students-to-study-hip-hop-at-mcnally-smith.shtml

Monday morning of this week I entered my classroom around 7:45am as usual.  To my surprise, on my chair was a plastic bag full of bamboo and wooden dowels.  I am honestly not sure where it came from or who left it there, but I was pleased with the challenge in front of me.  After about 20 minutes of piecing the dowels together and some light internet searching the wooden tangle looked like this:

An Angklung!

This is a traditional instrument from Indonesia.  It’s played by gently shaking each individual piece.  Anklungs can be mounted on a rack to be played by one person or shared among many like a bell choir.  This instrument has a beautiful natural wood sound and can often be found with the traditional Indonesian ensemble: Gamelon.  What fun to have an Angklung in my classroom!

Unfortunately, I’m still unclear how it ended up here.  If this instrument belongs to you or you know anything more about it please contact me.

Happy Angklunging!

Yinghua Academy 2nd graders are currently enjoying a three-part violin residency.  Students in these classes are learning parts of the violin, the proper way to hold the instrument, and basic playing skills.  This has been a fantastic way to introduce our students to instrumental playing.  Thank you, Ms. Julia from MacPhail, for your hard work and time!