By Dr. Katy Nichols, Lower School Music Teacher
The Lower School Spring Concert, Beasley Rocks! was magical. The kids brought down the house with their rock and pop songs, covering songs from Journey, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Queen, ABBA, Sister Sledge, and more!
Before the concert began, several of the fourth-grade boys performed a “Concert Etiquette” rap. One child beatboxed, while the other students rapped over the beatboxing about how to best support the show.
Then, the show officially began. Something different that was fun about this rock show is that the children chose the songs that would play while they walked onto and off of the stage. Third and fourth grades chose Beautiful Things by Benson Boone. When they heard that song, they knew it was their cue to enter the stage. Then, the third and fourth graders sang This is Me from The Greatest Showman, which featured a fourth-grade girls and fourth-grade boys group solo. The children blew me away with their joy-filled singing and choreography. Dancin’ On the Rooftop was another hit with show choir choreography, scat singing, and an epic drum solo played by one of our fourth graders on our new electronic drum kit. Another hit was Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, where the fourth graders used a synthesizer setting while playing chords on the keyboards to the backbeat. Students played the melody on the barred instruments and the recorders. There was an amazing drum solo feature as well on that song and a student who performed the moonwalk!
Our Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarteners sang their hearts out on Yellow Submarine and Dancing Queen/We Are Family. They knew their motions and lyrics well, and everyone gasped in delight when the mirror ball began spinning during Dancing Queen. The crowd sang along on We Are Family, which felt like a beautiful community moment.
First and Second graders boogied down on Don’t Stop Believin’, which also used the disco ball. Several students were show stoppers, acting out being superstars with their guitars. Then, they rocked it out with We Will Rock You. Second graders played the barred instruments to the melody, and some of them drummed the famous drum kit pattern that encouraged the famous stomp, stomp, clap body percussion that the song is famous for.
Third graders did a cover of the song Ho Hey by the Lumineers. They accompanied their singing by playing chords on the ukuleles. Some students also played tambourines and the cajon, which is a box-shaped percussion instrument that gives an acoustic vibe. The students helped arrange the song after we watched the Lumineers music video while preparing in class. It was fun to recreate the song with them. Fourth graders sang along as well. Third and Fourth graders sang in parts to Andy Grammer’s Don’t Give Up On Me. This song was so beautiful that it moved me every time the children sang it. They used their beautiful head voices, held their parts so well, and worked on unifying their vowels to create a more blended sound. It was lovely.
The grand finale was the Beatles Medley comprised of famous hits such as Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds, Here Comes the Sun, All You Need Is Love, and Hey Jude. The entire school sang the medley, and second graders played the chord changes on the barred instruments. Some second graders also played percussion instruments, such as the cymbal and the triangle. Everyone sang the refrain “Nah, Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah nah” while fourth grade highlighted other Beatles song fragments. Then, we invited the audience to join. It was a fun way to cap off the show!
Throughout the show, students had speaking parts to introduce the songs. Many added their own motions to their parts and made the parts their own. Their stage presence and confidence in front of a large audience while speaking into the microphone was wonderful to see and hear!
One of my favorite parts of working on a show is the day after when I get to celebrate with the children during music class. Students have the opportunity to share their favorite moment from the show. It gives me insight into what the children love most about performing, singing, and playing in an ensemble, and what aspects they enjoy as audience members. What I enjoyed about this particular show is how the children celebrated one another by cheering for each other, doing the motions to their classmates’ songs, and even singing along. We all had a fun time making music together, which is what a lower school program is all about!
Along with the fabulous job of the children, we had a middle schooler, Elika Coff, ’30, running the light board for the show. She has a good eye for highlighting the important aspects of the show. She ensures the lights are brought up for the safety of the children when they transition, are brought down to highlight the songs, puts a not-too-bright spotlight on soloists such as the drummer, and ran the mirror ball. She did an excellent job with the show!
Timothy Henderson, Theater Technical Director, delighted the children with the magic of the mirror ball. Many of them had not seen a real disco ball in action before. It was special to have the ball hanging in the Studio for a while during Grandparents and Special Friends Day, and then Timothy moved the mirror ball to Mary Eliot Chapel, which lent a real feel to the disco tunes in the show.
Patrick Huber, Upper School Fine & Performing Arts Teacher, and his design class have collaborated with the Lower School programs for several shows now. The children and I were their clients. I speak to the design class about the theme of the show and what we are looking for in a program design. Then, Mr. Huber’s design students create their own paper programs. The kids love seeing their paper program designs for the show, and then the children vote on the winning design. This year’s winning entry was designed by Taylor Gast, ’27. It had a guitar on the front along with records, and it was a clean and sharp design that was perfect for a lower school rock program.
