Student Performances

I believe that building community partnerships is important for a thriving music program. Students need a community supporting their music learning and encouraging them.  This section features extracurricular performing groups from both the elementary and high school.

At the elementary level, I started a music club that performs on buckets and an upper grades chorus that represent our school out in the community and at events. For a brief time, I also directed a kazoo band at a third school in the district. 

At the high school level, I direct several ensembles that regularly perform in the public including Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Show Choir, and I am the musical director of the annual drama production. 

 

Past Performance Highlights:

In 2022, the Music Club performed as part of a pre-show for a performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. 

In 2023, the Garnet Tiger Chorus sang the national anthem at a Shorebirds minor league baseball game. 

In 2023, the Garnet Tiger Band “marched” in the Chestertown Tea Party Parade.

For Halloween 2023, the KCHS Brigade of Blue marching band included members of the Kent County Middle School first time. 

In April of 2024, the KCHS Brigade of Blue traveled to Boston to compete in a national competition against groups from all over the country.

 

BSO Pre-Show

In 2022, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra came to Chestertown to perform an outdoor concert by the river. The Garnet Tiger Music Club was invited perform an opening act before the concert. Rehearsals took place over the summer as part of the Kent County Public Schools Summer Accleration Academy. We had five rehearsals to prepare for the performance. 

Kent County High School - FAME!

In this photo, we are working on the vocal parts at the end of “I Sing the Body Eletric” from the musical “Fame!”

One of the challenges of working with the musical production is that most of the students have no formal experience singing. There has not been a chorus at the feeder middle school for several years, and chorus is not offered regularly at the high school. This is the only experience many of them have with singing as a group. 

This was my second year as musical director for the annual drama production.

Garnet Tiger Chorus

In 2023, the culminating activity of the Garnet Tiger Chorus was singing the national anthem at a Shorebirds minor league baseball game. These types of opportunities are a great way to encourage students to practice and prepare. Performing in front of a large, friendly crowd builds confidence and pride.

Kent County High School Seasonal Sensations Concert

Though this is my first year directing the high school music program, I continued the groups holiday concert tradition. We partnered with the school’s Culinary Arts career pathway teacher and students to present a dinner concert. 

Brigade of Blue Marching Band

The marching band is a student led groups, with the drum major at the top of the student organizational structure. With my direction, students select music, design a field show, and teach and practice all aspects of the performance. In addition to the musical aspects of the group, students learn teamwork, time and task management, critical thinking and decision making. I am fortunate to work with an amazing group of highly motivated young people who take pride in their creativity. and performance. 

Performance Videos

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Pre-Show –
August 6, 2022
Tiger Music Club

On August 6, 2022, the Garnet Tiger Music Club and Rock Hall Crabby Bucket Band performed as part of the pre-show for a performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Students participated as part of Kent County Public Schools Summer Acceleration Academy.

Dickens of a Christmas
December 2, 2022
Tiger Music Club

H. H. Garnet Elementary Tiger Music Club was invited to perform at the Dickens of A Christmas Festival in downtown Chestertown. It was a perfect setting for our grant-funded, light-up drumsticks! Rehearsals took place before school once per week.

Note that as I gained more experience and the students gained more experience we were able to increase the complexity of the routine. 

 

Chestertown Tea Party –
May 27, 2023
Garnet Tiger Band

Every year during Memorial Day Weekend, our town gathers to celebrate the fictional dumping of British Tea in the Chester River during the American Revolution. The event kicks off with a parade through town. In 2022, the Garnet Tiger Band walked the parade route and played music for the crowd.

I began these students as beginners in early 2022, meeting for 45 minutes weekly as a full ensemble. For both the strings and the winds I took a sound before sight approach to learning, focusing on tone production and overall confidence before transitioning to notation. 

Chestertown Tea Party –
May 27, 2023
Tiger Chorus

This is a performance at the Tea Party featuring the Tiger Chorus. Each year, I include a piece in our repertoire that we perform using American Sign Language.

The Tiger Chorus was started in January of 2023 as part of the Garnet Community School initiative of the Maryland Blueprint for Education.

 

Tiger Chorus
Holiday Program
December 7, 2023

In the second year of the Tiger Chorus, I worked with. thegroup to increase the level. of difficulty. We used scores to help learn the music.

The first piece is “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Lowell Prescott based on the poem by Robert Frost.

The second piece is “Ugly Sweater” by John Riggio and features independent parts and some two-part harmony.

Video courtesty of Mirelle Kraus.

Tournament of Bands
October 21, 2023
Marching Band

This performance marks the KCHS Brigade of Blue’s first Tournament of Bands competition in more than 20 years. The students indicated a strong desire to compete. The field show was written by the student leadership team led by our Drum Major over the course of a month during the summer. The students volunteered to come to extra practices to get ready for competition and I determined that it would be possible for them to compete. 

We competed against larger and more experienced groups. We competed against groups with professionally commissioned music and field shows. We came in last place, but I think we had more fun than anyone there! 

Boston Competition –
April 5, 2024 –
Jazz Band

This is a performance by the high school Jazz Band from our trip to Boston. The piece is “Pass the Hot Sauce” by Brad Ciechomski. This piece was selected by the student Jazz Captain. The student leader is responsible for warming up the group and has the opportunity to recommend music for the group. 

Elemenatary Performing Groups

  • Garnet Tiger Bucket Band
  • Garnet Tiger Chorus
  • Rock Hall Elementary Kazoo Band

Secondary Performing Groups

  • Concert Band
  • Marching Band
  • Jazz Band
  • Small Ensembles
  • KCHS Drama – Director of Music
  • Show Choir

Adult Performing Groups

  • Eastern Shore Wind Ensemble – Director
  • Centreville United Methodist Church – Choir Director
Email

jodi@flutehoot.net