Music at Carolina Day
Understanding and Performance
Building a foundation for a lifetime of musical creativity and enjoyment.
Our music program provides an essential aspect of the balanced curriculum, with all students involved in activities that represent a wide range of musical processes, including moving, speaking, singing, listening, playing notation, creating, and improvising.
Lower/Key Lower School
Creative musical expression begins in Lower School, where students are encouraged to explore and create through a variety of hands-on experiences. Students learn rhythm notation, staff reading, and composition through songs, rhymes, and playing an instrument (including Orff melodic instruments, recorders, and hand chimes). These explorations come together in a rousing annual musical production in the fall and at Grandparents' Day concerts in the spring.
Middle/Key Middle School
Middle School helps students to expand their abilities of applying music theory in hands-on activities ranging from singing to playing guitar, piano, and drums. Students explore classical, world music, Broadway, country, folk, blues, jazz, pop, and rock – learning to communicate composers’ intentions through performance as they engage in analysis of compositions. Middle School presents two concerts each year, giving students the chance to build skills and experience performing on stage or contributing as members of the technical crew. Whether singing, dancing, acting, or playing an instrument, Middle School students learn teamwork, leadership, flexibility, and how to manage deadlines.
Upper School
Students have the opportunity to engage in music on multiple levels from theory and practice to performance—novice to advanced. Instrumental and vocal ensembles give students the opportunity to sharpen their individual vocal and instrumental techniques while practicing and performing in a supportive, collaborative environment. In addition, students have opportunities to perform in Cabarets, Arts Day, musical theatre productions, and at special events on and off campus.