Above: “Do you wanna go outside and play? Do you wanna have a very happy day? Do you wanna run, have a lot of fun? What do you say?” Second grader Kendall Kern stole the show with her intro solo for “Do you Wanna Go and Play?” sung by her class and the third graders.
Egg shakers (rice in plastic eggs), rhythm sticks, hand bells, xylophones, glockenspiels, recorders, claves, shakers and boom whackers…
Accompanying themselves with a variety of sound makers, elementary students performed their first spring concert last Thursday in a packed new gym.
“We featured a lot of instruments,” said director Lacee Johnson.
The kindergarteners opened the show with the fun song “I know a Chicken.” From there, they gesticulated “Ants in Our Pants.” They closed with “Skinnamarink (think Jimmy Durante).”
First graders sang “Follow my Rhythms,” where they clashed wooden “rhythm” sticks. Bobbing up and down, they echoed in “Ham and Eggs,” and concluded with a clapping song, “Mr. Golden Sun.”
Second and third graders combined to perform “Do you wanna go and play with me?” with second grader Kendall Kern opening the tune with a solo.
From there, it was the distinctly Great White North “Canoe Round,” (Canadian folk songs “My Paddle’s Keen and Bright” and “Land of the Silver Birch”). Johnson arranged the medley.
Heading to warmer climates, the group concluded with “Jamaican Farewell,” a traditional Jamaican folk style tune about the beauties of the Caribbean islands (think Harry Belafonte). Like during the song before it, a side group played hollow tubes called “boom whackers.”
“They are a great teaching tool,” Johnson said.
Based on “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”, the fourth and fifth graders opened with “Big, Bad B-A-G,” which showcased recorders and xylophones. Then it was a shift to Latin style with “Hola B-A-G,” which featured claves and shakers.”
Next was the round “A Ram Sam-Sam.” The group concluded with “It’s in My Desk,” a silly song about all the things in a really messy desk.
A side group of sixth graders played handbells as they opened their set with the moody native American song “Evening Rise.” Using no track behind them, next they performed the rhythmic folk song “Rocky Mountain,” which featured a xylophone group. They followed with “The Train’s off the Track” where they used both the wooden xylophones and glockenspiels. The latter is similar to a xylophone but with metal chimes.
The group concluded the concert with a silly version of “This Ol’ Man.”
“Kick knack paddy whack!”
The groups, which meet just once a week, started preparing for the concert in March.
Under the direction of Erik Hermanson and featuring Kevin Johnson (CHS 2014 and spouse of Lacee Johnson) on the tenor sax, Blue Folder Jazz performed between sets.
Link to elementary spring concert video
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
First grade
First grade
First grade
First grade
Second and third grades
Second and third grades
Second and third grades
Second and third grades
Third graders with “Boom Whackers.” Each one is designed for a distinct note.
Second graders with Boom Whackers.
Second and third grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Fourth and fifth grades
Sixth grade
Sixth grade
Sixth grade
Sixth grade
Sixth graders with their glockenspiels and xylophones.
Accompanying Blue Folder Jazz with his tenor sax, Kevin Johnson, husband of Lacee Johnson, got into the performance.
Blue Folder Jazz
Blue Folder Jazz