What an incredible first semester it has been working as a Music Guide at Abintra! Before heading on maternity leave, I want to take the opportunity to share some of our lessons. LS3/US1 We have been working with movement and music, learning to listen and demonstrate what we hear through movement and notation. The students have been learning Orff-Keetman’s rhythm building bricks connected to different animals, tying together language and rhythm through syllables and notation. We have played on the school’s new pitched percussion instruments (xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels), learning instrument technique and the C-major scale by playing songs with individual parts for the different instruments. US We have been using the new ukuleles regularly, and if you have not had a chance to see the beautiful ukulele-wall installation, feel free to peek into the music room the next time you are on campus.  We have had an open music les...

Early Childhood students have worked all year with our Music Guide in Residence, Kari Buishas. The students recently participated in a lesson with the recorded music, "The Dance of the Dandelion." Below is Kari's description of the lesson and the students' work this year. --- This particular piece of music tells the whole story of the life cycle of the dandelion. The lesson began on the rug in our singing circle. I explained what the music is about to say/describe. First the sun shining, wind blowing and the sound of little seed parachutes descending to the earth. Then the sound of the seedling's struggle as it breaks through the soil. Next it ascends toward the sun and opens as a beautiful yellow flower. Suddenly the sound of shrinking, condensing, and drying up appears. Next we hear little seeds being spit out into the wind...they fall to the same music the score started with. The cycle repeats. We then ventured outside. In the yards by the lowe...

For the past several weeks, the Abintra Upper School Choristers have been rehearsing some fun and challenging songs to present on March 23 at 4:00 PM, kicking off our Spring Family and Friends Day. Our goal is to entertain you and lift your spirits with songs from Rogers and Hammerstein's The King and I , John Lennon, Paul Simon, Violeta Parra, Randy Newman, and Domenico Modugno. We are grateful to have musician and Abintra parent Tony Taliaferro accompanying us on keyboard. We hope to see you on Friday, March 23 at 4:00 PM in the Parent Ed room!

Early Childhood students have the opportunity to experience a music and movement program with Kari Buishas called Musikgarten. Kari has been teaching all levels of Musikgarten  for over seven years.  Her classes are structured with movement in conjunction with music, giving the children the ability to feel and understand many musical concepts.  Through Musikgarten lessons the children learn many concepts, including the difference between a duple meter and a triple meter, stationary movement used with "the stick passing game" where they develop ensemble activity and a sense of connection with music, plus ear training with tonal and rhythm patterns.  At this beginning level, the children are using primarily percussion instruments to make music, with some use of tonal bars. There are many things being taught in these classes that are an integral part of developing true musicianship.  In working with a music ensemble it is important to learn ...

"Most schools prepare you for the next level of school. Abintra prepares you for life." --Adrian Bourgeois, Musician Adrian during a recent interview for SubMerge magazine Meet Adrian, a graduate of the Abintra class of 2002. He attended high school in Sacramento at the Natomas Charter School Performing and Fine Arts Academy, and then spent his college years at UC Santa Cruz. Today, Adrian is devoted to his music. "Music is and always has been the key focus of my life," he said. "I've always seen the creative process as a craftsmanship, and I am most keenly interested in music's ability to unite people, challenge people, and ultimately change people and the culture they make up." While his music career has allowed him to go on tour across the country during the past few years, he now lives in Los Angeles, where he plays in a band called See How They Run . Adrian also just released his second album Pop/Art , a double album he record...