The AC Blog

Register for Vocal and Instrumental Solo Festivals

Posted on October 18th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

Students who sing or play a woodwind, brass, percussion, or string instrument will have an opportunity to perform in one of the upcoming MCSMA solo festivals. Students were informed of these opportunities in September. The dates and locations are as follows:

• Vocal Solo Festival (Grades 6-12): January 4th and 5th at Brighton High School
  • Turn in Registration Form and fees to Ms. Sanguinetti or Ms. Meldrum by Monday, October 22nd.
• Senior High (Grades 9-12) Instrumental Festival: January 11th and 12th at Fairport Minerva-Deland School
  • Turn in Registration Form and fees to Mr. Constanzo by Tuesday, November 13th.
• Junior High (Grades 7-8) Instrumental Festival: January 18th and 19th at Brighton Twelve Corners Middle School
  • Turn in Registration Form and fees to Mr. Constanzo by Tuesday, November 13th.
• Elementary (Grades 4-6) Instrumental Festival: January 25th-26th at Pittsford Barker Road Middle School.
  • Turn in Registration Form and fees to Mr. Constanzo by Tuesday, November 13th.

Checks should be made out to Allendale Columbia School, with the memo “Solo Fest”.

About Solo Festivals

As a member school in the Monroe County School Music Association (MCSMA) and the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), Allendale Columbia School supports student participation in all of the county and state level solo and performance festivals each year. These festivals offer valuable performance opportunities for vocal students as well as students of orchestral string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments.

Students have the opportunity to prepare a solo piece with the help of their teachers, perform for a trained adjudicator, and receive feedback. It’s a great opportunity for students who show a strong interest in music, and we encourage any vocal or instrumental student to participate. Music selections are chosen from the NYSSMA manual, with the advice of a teacher and input from the student.

Any questions about solo festivals can be directed to any of the music teachers at AC.

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Donate Your Rock Band Instruments

Posted on October 5th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

by Rachael Sanguinetti

Are you past the rock star stage of your life, or upgrading your instruments? Allendale Columbia School seeks donations of the following instruments, in good working condition, for use by the new Middle School elective, “Rock Band”:

• Electric guitars
• Acoustic guitars
• Bass guitars
• Drum set
• Keyboards

This new course allows students of all levels and abilities to learn modern band instruments and play in small ensembles. Any donations can be left at the Welcome Desk or brought to the music building. Please contact Rachael Sanguinetti at rsanguinetti@allendalecolumbia.org with questions. To receive a letter for tax deductibility for the donation, donors should also fill out this In-Kind Donation Form to accompany the donation or send it to the Development Office.

The Intro to Rock Band elective is for any Middle School students who has ever wanted to be a real-life rock star and explore playing popular music. The class begins with learning skills on guitar (both acoustic and electric), bass, drum set, vocals, and piano before forming small groups in class. Song selections for bands are chosen by the band members, and public performance is not required. Along the way, students explore many styles and decades of music including classics from long before you were born all the way through the bands that are popular today. Students will also be invited to compose and arrange their own songs with the help of band mates. Takeaways from this course include a basic understanding of multiple popular instruments, an understanding of the voice and how it’s used in popular music, a basic understanding of the recent history of popular music and how it has contributed to the music we hear today, and resources for further exploration and learning of popular music.

Rachael Sanguinetti Rachael is in her third year teaching music at AC. A recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music with majors in Music Education and Musical Arts with a minor in Psychology and an Arts Leadership Certificate, she's working toward a masters degree at Ithaca College. She brings experience teaching kindergarten-8th grade music in Rochester, 6th-8th grade general music and choir at Burger Middle School, and 2-3 year olds as part of the Eastman Community School Early Childhood Music Program.

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2nd Graders Create “Noun Town” Music Video

Posted on May 29th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

by Jennifer Truong, Lynn Grossman, and AC Second Graders

In studying parts of speech, second grade students at Allendale Columbia School imagined a fictional town where nouns, verbs, and adjectives come to life. We combined our love of music and singing with our “Noun Town” creation to write a song and make a music video. Throughout this project, we were reading and writing and learning about music form, beats, rhythm, song writing, rhyming words, syllables, story boarding, common nouns, proper nouns, verbs, adjectives, population, 3-digit numbers, symmetry, ROYGBIV (the colors of the rainbow), teamwork, creativity, green screen effects, editing, parodies, and more! We even got to experience what it’s like to be a recording musician!

You can watch the Facebook Live video of the premiere from May 29th here:

Do you want to know more about the making of “Noun Town”? View the slides and photos here:

Jennifer Truong Jenn, awarded with AC's Virginia and Fred Gordon Chair in Elementary Education, has been teaching for almost 15 years and is entering her seventh year at Allendale Columbia. She has attended and facilitated several professional development courses to improve her pedagogy and influence the pedagogy of colleagues, understand how a young child’s brain learns best, and implement best practices in diverse classroom settings in the Rochester area, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Reading, both from the State University of New York College at Geneseo.

Lynn Grossman Lynn Grossman specializes in elementary general and instrumental music education. She studied bassoon performance and music education at the Eastman School of Music where she earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, and she taught K-2 music in the East Irondequoit School District for eight years. Lynn is the President of the New York Chapter of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (NY-GIML), which provides professional learning opportunities to music educators. She has co-presented her work in the US and the UK and is co-author of a chapter in Envisioning Music Teacher Education (Rowman and Littlefield). She enjoys professional collaboration and research in music education and enjoys teaching music to AC’s Pre-Primary and Lower School students!

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Learn Some Secrets Behind Strawberry Breakfast

Posted on May 10th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

by Gabriel Costanzo

Did you ever wonder why certain dances were included in the Strawberry Breakfast at Allendale Columbia? What are their origins? What’s the story behind this tradition? A few secrets will be revealed by Mitzie Collins, Rochester musician and parent of three former AC students.

Collins is a well known musician in Western New York, and she will be joining the AC musicians accompanying the Maypole Dance and Sword Dance at this year’s Strawberry Breakfast. This Monday, May 14th, at 12:05 p.m., Ms. Collins will give a presentation about these traditions to those musicians and dancers.  The presentation will be in the Curtis Performance Center.

 

Gabriel Costanzo As an instrumental music teacher at Allendale Columbia School, Gabe teaches 4th Grade Band, 5th Grade Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Music Theory. He held the David M. Pynchon Chair in the Visual and Performing Arts from 2008 - 2013 and is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He earned bachelor's degrees in Music Education and Music Composition from SUNY College at Fredonia and a master's degree in Music Composition from Bowling Green State University. You can also find him on horn and vocals for the local band The Buddhahood.

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Spring Band and Chorus Concert Featured April 30th

Posted on April 27th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

Get ready for some fabulous music on Monday, April 30th, at the Allendale Columbia Spring Band and Chorus Concert. The concert features songs from the Concert Band, Middle School Chorus, Wind Ensemble, Upper School Chorus, and the combined Concert Band and Wind Ensemble. The repertoire includes a good variety of musical genres.

The evening performance starts at 7:00 p.m., and student performers are expected to arrive by 6:30 p.m., dressed in concert attire.

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Registrations Due for Students to Perform at Lower School Solo Night

Posted on April 27th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

Students are invited to perform a vocal or instrumental solo or duet for the audience. Any level of performance is welcome! If students are in need of an accompanist, one can be provided. Students should arrive no later than 6:45.

Please join us after the performance for a celebratory ice cream social!

Please submit registration forms to Ms. Sanguinetti or Ms. Grossman by Monday, April 30th.

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AC Jazz Ensemble and Select Chorus Team Up with Spectrum Creative Arts for “Together We ROC!”

Posted on April 27th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

by Gabe Costanzo

When music therapist Molly Phillips approached us a couple of years ago and brought up the possibility of having our students collaborate with some of the students in the music ensembles at Spectrum Creative Arts, we really didn’t know what that kind of team effort would look like. After a couple of meetings and brainstorming sessions, we found a way to merge that idea with one of our goals, which was to get our students out in front of public audiences as a way to show off their talents and give them a real and authentic performance experience.

This year, instead of having an in-house “spring concert” performance for Jazz Ensemble and Select Chorus, our ensembles are going to perform “Together We ROC!” on Saturday afternoon, May 5th, at a public venue. Lovin’ Cup Bistro & Brews, for those who have not visited the venue yet, is a music-friendly venue with great food at Park Point, on the campus of RIT. Doors open at 1:00 p.m., with a suggested $5 donation; the show runs 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Here is the listing on the Lovin’ Cup events calendar for May 5th:

Crossroads and Chrome, two inclusive ensembles from Spectrum Creative Arts, are teaming up with students in the Select Choir and Jazz Ensemble at Allendale Columbia for an awesome afternoon of music at Lovin’ Cup! Come enjoy some delicious food and great tunes!

Spectrum Creative Arts strives to provide the highest quality music, art, and theatre instruction services, along with a host of creative arts therapies, for members of the Rochester community. They pride themselves on utilizing a person-centered, strength-based approach with all of our services, and seek to inspire and empower all of their students through engagement in the arts.

On May 17th, the partnership with Spectrum Creative Arts continues as their class “Prep for Performance” performs at AC during Assembly Block at 9:25 a.m. At Spectrum Creative Arts, the class “Prep for Performance” teaches students with IDDs (intellectual and developmental disabilities) the basics of music performance. The students in this class will perform in collaboration with AC students in Jazz Ensemble and Select Chorus.

 

Gabriel Costanzo As an instrumental music teacher at Allendale Columbia School, Gabe teaches 4th Grade Band, 5th Grade Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Music Theory. He held the David M. Pynchon Chair in the Visual and Performing Arts from 2008 - 2013 and is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He earned bachelor's degrees in Music Education and Music Composition from SUNY College at Fredonia and a master's degree in Music Composition from Bowling Green State University. You can also find him on horn and vocals for the local band The Buddhahood.

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AC Facilities’ Miller Helps Studio Music Production Class Study Mic Techniques

Posted on March 23rd, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School

by Gabe Costanzo 

Studio Music Production students tested various microphone arrangements in a study of stereo mic techniques Thursday morning. In order to do so, they needed a test subject. That’s where AC Facilities Manager Mark Miller came in. Mark has a long history of playing string instruments and singing in country, bluegrass, and folk outfits.

For the Studio Music Production class, he picked and sang while the class adjusted microphone positions and recorded him using “spaced pair,” “X/Y coincident,” and “ORTF” mic arrangements. Later, the class evaluated the sounds of each recording to better understand the techniques they are learning to use. Mr. Miller was a great subject, and the class enjoyed hearing him perform and capturing his sound on recordings.

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