Music

The music program at Burke’s involves every girl, encouraging the development of her inherent musicianship and love of music. Burke’s understands the vital role music plays in the growth of the whole child: its contributions to the intellectual, emotional, social and physical realms of learning. Through active “hands-on” music-making, each girl is given a wide variety of experiences in which to learn about, appreciate and prepare for a life-long involvement in the performing arts, as both performer and appreciative, knowledgeable audience.

Music is part of the fabric of everyday life at Burke’s. Music often is integrated with classroom themes and subject areas. Whole school events and assemblies are times for singing and dancing, drawing the community together. Music is used to welcome the year, celebrate events, honor passages in time; spontaneous singing is often heard as you walk the school grounds.

Each Lower School class has music twice a week in the cozy and delightful Burke’s music room. Just entering the room is a treat: seeing shelves filled with instruments from around the world, specially designed “Orff” instruments, choral risers, and, of course, the Burke’s Chinese Lions! During any given music session there are a variety of activities—a circle dance might be followed by a singing game, which may then lead into a music reading activity at the staff board. The girls might explore a poem brought from their classroom by creating a movement piece or choosing instruments to illustrate it. Another day they may accompany a song with body percussion and then transfer the rhythm to xylophone.

The strands of activity styles and curricular standards are woven together over the course of the year. The teacher’s art is in balancing and building a “spiral curriculum” that strengthens, refines and introduces new skills and understandings through the years. This “spiral curriculum” draws from a variety of music pedagogies, including the Orff and Kodaly approaches. Music is chosen and classes designed in alignment with the National Standards for Music. Materials used to develop musical skills also strengthen fine and gross motor skills, visual and auditory memory, and intellectual and creative understandings. Each student contributes according to her own ability in a supportive and nurturing environment where the rewards include a growing confidence in one’s individual skills and the pleasure of making music with others.

Music in Community
In addition to weekly classes, music is infused into many of Burke’s traditions throughout the school year. At weekly assemblies the girls enter and leave singing. Songs are chosen to augment a topic of the assembly, to celebrate the time of year, or just for the joy and beauty of the song. The repertoire ranges in genre from the classics of the American musical, to traditional rounds, camp songs, and folk and art songs from around the world.