Composing!

Music students are still composing great works in the music room. Pretty soon you should be able to hear some new music.Yvonne Fisher gives some pointers to Francesco.

Recorder Inspiration

For our Grade 4 and 5 students learning to play recorder, please check out this great performance of Michala Petri, playing the Devil's Trill Sonata by Tartini. Written in 1713, it is still one of the most difficult and beautiful recorder sonatas, even today. Tartini Devil's Sonata for Recorder and Lute. Performers, Michala Petri and Lars Hannibal

New Middle School Music Teacher: Introducing Ms. Tiffany Herring

We are sad to see Ms. Carolina Johnson leave AMBRIT this year, but we know she will be successful in her next adventure. Carolina, thank you for all your hard work and dedication.

The Music Department would like to welcome Ms. Tiffany Herring as the new Middle School Music Teacher. Ms. Herring has many years of experience as an Operatic Vocalist, Music Teacher, and Director. She has performed in many countries including South America, North Africa, and in Europe. She has a Performance Diploma from the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana, and received a Bachelors in Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.  The Music Department is thrilled to have Ms. Herring. She is a great addition to AMBRIT and to the Music Department. 

Miss Johansson Leaves

We will greatly miss our wonderful, talented Miss Carolina Johansson, who is leaving Ambrit to take a position in Sweden as producer of children's theater. Carolina teachers Grades 4-8, conducted Middle School Choir and Honor Choir, and also directed the annual St. Lucia Carol Ceremony in Rome. Students traveled with Miss Johansson to London, Valencia, and Madrid. She will continue singing concerts and working with young people as she produces operettas, and designs sets and costumes for the performances, something Carolina enjoys a great deal. Many Ambrit students and colleagues will have fond memories form dance festivals and concerts they have performed with Miss Johansson, and we know that she will be taking warm memories of her Italian experiences with her.

 

EC Halloween Sing Along

The Early Childhood Halloween Sing Along was a success! The event started with a costume parade where EC students showed off their scary and spooky costumes. Then stutents sang a variety of Halloween songs and the parents joined in too! Thank you parents and friends for your cooperation and participation. What a great way to kick off the Autumn season! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Piano and Friends Recital November 24, 2011

The Piano and Friends Recital will be Thursday, November 24, at 19:00 in the Ambrit Theater. This annual concert is performed by professional musicians, many of whom teach music at the school. Our program this year promises to be beautiful and entertaining, from Baroque music to 20th Century. Students who are learning to play an instrument will also enjoy this concert, and should attend with their parents.

The program includes: Bach Brandenburg Concerto N. 3, Faure' Elegie for 'Cello and Piano, Bernstein Clarinet Solo, Franck Violin Sonata, and several other short pieces. The duration will be one hour and 15 minutes.

A Music Trip to Cyprus!

Arabic-European Choral Festival

Many of us have taken advantage of the wonderful professional development opportunities offered to teachers at Ambrit. In September I was fortunate to attend the first world Arabic-European Choral Festival in Limassol, Cyprus, which was funded entirely by Europa Cantat and the European Union, and hosted by Epilogi Choral Crossroads. It was an event I will never forget, because I heard world-class, inspiring choirs from Hungary, Estonia, Jordan, Lebannon, Serbia, Egypt and Greece, and our hosts from Cyprus were not only prize-winning singers, but superb hosts. We had very hot weather, but the activities were very cool! Meeting and speaking with the conductors of all these choirs was so interesting. I attended discussions on Arabic music and the challenges of the language and style when related to our European concept of choral singing. I picked up some great new music for my Ambrit choirs and for the MAIS Honor Choir, and shared some music I have with conductors from other countries. I was a panel member for the discussion of women in the world of conducting. Ten choirs sang for a packed house on the first two nights, and we were in heaven listening to the various styles and all the interesting music they had to offer, some of it very different from our own. The final night was a concert in the Kourion Roman amphitheater, where all choirs sang individually, and, jointly, a song called We Are Bridges,  by Steve Dobrogosz, commissioned by the Cyprus Epilog committee. Please see the video link to get a flavor of the event, scrolling down to the song on the composer's website.

This trip not only gave me loads of new music, new friends and colleagues, and a beautiful experience in Cyprus, but it also inspired me and reminded me that trips like this for our own students are such an important educational experience in growing up. I was indeed sorry when the Festival came to an end, and lucky to be one of the participants.