A Musical Update from General Music Teacher, Jonathon Wenzel:

Lower school students have reached an exciting milestone: they have begun composing their very first original musical pieces. This achievement builds on several weeks of preparation, during which students studied the traditional Jewish hymn Maoz Tzur. By transposing the melody into solfege and notating it on the musical staff, students developed a strong understanding of how written symbols connect to the sounds they sing and hear, which is an essential bridge between calligraphy and musical expression.

With this foundation in place, students stepped confidently into the role of young composers. Using their developing notation skills, they drafted short melodic ideas and then brought them to life on classroom xylophones. This real-time testing allowed them to refine their work by listening carefully, making adjustments, and ensuring their written melodies matched the sounds they intended.

It has been a joy to watch their creativity flourish as they discover that they are not only performers, but authors of music and capable of crafting beautiful, original melodies that are clear on the page and expressive in sound.