April 8, 2020: Week 4, Volume 3

4/8/2020

Current Assignment(s)

Students should be working on the Remote Learning Assignment for the week of April 6 (due Monday, 4/13).
Details can be found in Google Classroom.

Updates

- Click here for parent information about the current Remote Learning Assignment (sent 4/6/2020)

- Click here for an update about the Virginia Trip (sent 4/3/2020)

Featured Resource:
Free Online Lessons

Fall River Arts Academy is offering free online lessons via Facebook Live! Voice Lessons are scheduled for TODAY, Wednesday April 8 from 1:00-1:30pm and again on Wednesday April 22 from 1:00-1:30pm. There are also many other free online events coming up, including lessons for guitar, ukulele, piano, drums, as well as online mini-concerts.

Click here for more information.

Weekly Feature: Unique Ensembles

Accordion Bands

Accordion Bands have a long history in the United States. This article from 1940 describes an event that brought 1,500 Accordion players together for The Los Angeles Fiesta Day (click here for more).

In the 1950s, it was common for children to participate in "Accordion Schools," where they took group lessons and even competed in accordion festivals. Click here to read first-hand accounts from people who experienced these Accordion Schools.

Though ensemble accordion playing may not be as common today, it hasn't totally disappeared. From the Guinness World Records website:

"The largest accordion ensemble consists of 2,260 participants and was achieved by Shenzhen Bao'an District People's Government, China Accordion Association of Chinese Musicians and Shenzhen Accordion Association (all China) in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, on 24 July 2017.

The accordion ensemble lasted for 6 minutes and 5 seconds."

B-block Recommendations

During Monday's Zoom Class with B-block Concert Chorus, we spent some time talking about the Virtual Choir project that you're all currently working on. Some of the singers also shared virtual choir videos that they've particularly enjoyed - take a look at their recommendations!

"You Will Be Found"
from Dear Evan Hansen

(recorded in 2017, including singers from 31 countries around the world)

While not strictly a Virtual Choir video, John Krasinski's "Some Good News" episode 2 includes a Zoom Virtual Choir with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton. Watch the whole episode, or skip to 11:30 for the beginning of the song.