Welcome to
Mrs. Brigid (Kathleen) Powell
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Email: brigidpowell@agiasophiaacademy.org
The characteristics of a good musician can be summarized as follows:
A Well-Trained Ear,
A Well-Trained Mind,
A Well-Trained Heart,
A Well-Trained Hand.
All four must develop together, in constant equilibrium. As soon as one lags behind or rushes ahead, there is something wrong.
--Zoltan Kodaly
We believe music is CORE to fully educating the person; therefore, all full-time students receive concentrated music instruction 3 days per week, 30 minutes each session.
As the students are all in the first stage of the Trivium, music class concentrates on the 'grammar' of music. Classes include dance/movement, theory, history, and application through writing and playing instruments. Students acquire these skills using art songs, classical music, Orthodox music, and American Folk Songs.
We believe, as Zoltan Kodaly believed:
1. Music is necessary for the development of the total man.
2. Music is the birthright of every child, not just the musically gifted.
3. Music and culture are preserved through music study; therefore, children are to become musically literate by reading and writing the music of their own culture.
4. By becoming immersed in the elements of music, students become discerning listeners.
The Kodaly approach to music education is child-centered and taught in a logical, sequential manner, training musicianship and providing an understanding of the world of music through the experience of singing and the use of instruments, including the keyboard, various percussion instruments and the Baroque recorder.
We use the highest quality folk, art, and Orthodox music utilizing a participatory approach where children sing and play simultaneously. This allows the student to make music a part of their physical memory. The elements are presented in a step-by-step sequence in a way that is meaningful to the child, progressing from the known to the unknown. Concepts are prepared and presented physically, aurally and visually. After presentation, the students practice elements in a variety of contexts to ensure mastery.
Through the Kodaly approach, the ear is trained to hear both pitch and rhythm; the mind is trained to examine, explore, and analyze music presented and to cause cooperation between the ear and the voice reproducing pitch tunefully; the heart is trained to recognize beauty using the finest music available; the hand is trained to physically represent pitch and rhythm, causing the student to further internalize and externally represent the specific musical information.
The Curwen Hand Signs used for the Solf�ge note names.
To read more about our curriculum, please click here.
MUSIC INFORMANCES:
