[ Curriculum Statements ]

 MUSIC STATEMENT
CROSSROADS ACADEMY
March, 2002

Philosophy: Music education at Crossroads Academy shall plant the seeds for a lifelong love of music, enabling the students to be musically literate as performers and audience.

 Guiding Principles: The music program at Crossroads covers three areas of music: theory, history, and performance. In music theory, students in the lower school become familiar with all the elements of music. They gain proficiency in reading notes, rhythmic patterns, and musical symbols. In middle school, more in-depth theory is introduced as students learn about scales and primary chords. This is reinforced through ear training. In music history in the lower school, students become familiar with musical masterpieces and gain understanding of where these works belong in the context of history. Students also practice the skill of listening to music, and they gain insight into the structure of the pieces through musical analysis. The music history curriculum in middle school is chronological, beginning with a review of the Middle Ages and Renaissance and ending with the Modern period. In performance, students acquire musical skills through participation in chorus in both lower and middle school. They play rhythm and mallet instruments, recorders, and orchestra or band instruments (optional). Students also have many opportunities to integrate musical skills into the bigger picture of drama performances.