Especially for Young Musicians Wednesday, November 25, 2020
recommended by Jen Sper and Lora Moore, School Choral & Classroom Music Specialists
Song Junction by Anne Barry & Peter Hunt
“Song Junction” features 40 appealing songs plus activities for the elementary music classroom (grades K-2) and singers aged 5-7. It includes new songs by music educators, traditional songs from around the globe, and piano accompaniments for added variety. Grouped into themes such as “All About Animals” and “Tell Me a Story,” the songs come with teaching notes describing the actions, games, stories, and objectives, all carefully calibrated. A versatile collection, “Song Junction” is a welcome resource for practitioners the year round.
First Steps in Global Music by Karen Howard
What better way to discover the world than to sing songs that have captivated the imaginations of children across the continents! In this amazing collection of songs children love to sing, Karen Howard truly opens the door to encountering songs from diverse cultures and experiences, on themes from family, animals, flowers, food, and more. The repertoire in “First Steps in Global Music” is particularly accessible for teachers and children wishing to discover these great songs.
Organized by geographical region, Howard provides the context and guidance – including references to recordings – for these songs to come alive. She further organizes the songs based on First Steps activity categories: Fragment Singing, Simple Songs, Movement for Form and Expression, Movement with the Beat, and Songtales.
Featuring music from: Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe); Oceania (Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand); Asia (China, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia); Middle East (Israel and Lebanon); North America (Quebec, Guatemala, Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti); South America (Brazil, Peru, Chile); Europe (Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Republic of Georgia).
The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by John Feierabend & Taylor Herrington
“The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” is part of a series of captivating picture books, each based on a beloved songtale from the great American folk music tradition and collected by John M. Feierabend.
“The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” is one of the most enduring of children’s folk songtales, with roots dating back to England some 500 years ago and recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, The Smothers Brothers, and many more. Beautiful illustrations by Taylor Herrington evoke a wily fox as he roams a sleepy New England town in search of a meal for his family, with tones and textures that are so vivid you can almost hear the rustle of leaves and see the shimmer of moonlight over the meadows.
Like the other picture books in John M. Feierabend’s First Steps in Music series, “The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” includes a description of the history of the song, the notation of the song, and a link to a free mp3 download of the song, sung by Jill Trinka.
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About the Authors:
Jen Sper has been with Stanton’s since 2006. A former middle school and high school choral director, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music. An active choral singer and accompanist throughout the Central Ohio area, she also enjoys good food, running (to counteract the good food…) and the Muppets.
Lora Moore joined the Stanton’s choral staff in July 2018. A former middle school and high school director of 32 years, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Choral Music from Capital University and a Master’s of Arts in Choral Music from The Ohio State University. Currently she is a church choir director, operates a private voice/piano studio and is active as a clinician and accompanist. During the off hours, Lora enjoys scouting out new day trips in Ohio to balance what her budget allows for her frequent trips to New York City to visit family and take in a Broadway show or two!