Music

Minor year course. 1 credit. 2 class meetings per week. Graded on a pass/fail basis.

Wind Orchestra is comprised of all woodwind (flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, etc.), brass (trumpet, trombone, french horn, tuba, etc.), and percussion (timpani, bass drum, mallets, etc.) instrumentalists of the Upper School. The Wind Orchestra performs works from various musical periods while focusing on the vast repertoire for symphonic bands.

The Upper School String Orchestra is comprised of string players. Musical skills are refined by the preparation and performance of challenging repertoire ranging from Baroque through Romantic. The String Orchestra and the Wind Orchestra both perform at all major concerts during the year.

Lower Voices Glee Club (14700-1)/Upper Voices Glee Club (14700-2)

Minor year course. 1 credit. 2 class meetings per week. Graded on a pass/fail basis.

The mission of the Pingry School Glee Clubs is to experience the joy of making music together. Main goals include training singers to “use their voices with versatility, ease, endurance, and without discomfort in the throat” (from How to Train Singers, 2nd Edition). Vocal techniques are developed through awareness of proper posture, breath management, resonance, all while being free of tension in the body and vocal tract. In addition, stage presence is developed through consistent concert opportunities. Through consistent practice and encounters with varied and substantive repertoire, our students develop their individual potential and self-reliance, all within an atmosphere of trust and support. We strongly believe that through encounters with beautiful music, our students learn to be creators of something beautiful and ultimately become responsible and compassionate citizens. Repertoire in recent years have included selections from both the Western Classical and World traditions.

Minor year course. 1 credit. 4 class meetings per cycle. Prerequisites: Membership in good standing in the Wind Ensemble and permission of the director.

A class for moderate to advanced players comprising a band of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, bass, drums, and guitar. The main emphasis in Jazz Ensemble is on ensemble interpretation and performance. Through rehearsal, performance, and study of various arrangements from the jazz repertoire, the student will learn the musical vocabulary necessary to play swing and to improvise. The Ensemble performs for school events and concerts as well as for community and civic engagement events in and out of school. Previous work in theory is helpful. This is a graded course.

Minor year course. 1 credit. 4 class meetings per cycle. Prerequisites: Membership in good standing in the Glee Club (1 credit) and permission of the director.

In this ensemble, students work with equally motivated peers to achieve excellence in the performance of choral music. A wide variety of literature is studied with the aim of learning many styles of music: classical, traditional, folk, world, jazz, musical theater, and popular a cappella music. Through intensive rehearsals and performances, students develop and refine their vocal abilities, sight-singing skills and sense of ensemble. Students in Buttondowns/Balladeers are expected to perform mostly unaccompanied repertoire at the highest artistic level possible. Students in Buttondowns/Balladeers use scheduled class time to rehearse music for the Pingry Glee Club (1 credit). These are graded courses that result in a combined 3 credits. Audition is required.

Major year course. 3 credits. 4 class meetings per cycle. Forms V-VI. Prerequisites: Basic familiarity with the fundamentals of music notation and permission of instructor.

The goal of this course is to develop a student’s ability to listen and understand the processes of music that are heard or read in a score. At the conclusion of the course the student will be expected to take the Advanced Placement Music examination given by the College Board.

Departmental approval is required.