Epiphany Cathedral School wishes to thank the Venice Plantation Foundation for their outstanding support and foundation grant money which has enabled the Epiphany Cathedral School music program to reach its yearly scholarship instrument goal and keep us growing and achieving excellence each year.
Music Program
Instrumental Instructional Program
The music department currently offers instrumental lessons on string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments for students K-8. Students may study violin as early as kindergarten and all other instruments as soon as they are size appropriate for the student. Instrumental lessons are, for the most part, private, and given once a week Students are required to adhere to a weekly practice schedule and participate in a performance setting such as weekly Mass, community events, and school concerts as soon as possible.
Epiphany Cathedral Concert Band
Students in grades 6-8 are able to participate in the Epiphany Cathedral Concert Band. This elective meets twice a week. Students learn all aspects of participation in a band such as instrumental seating, instrumental care, band technique, conducting patterns, instrumental blending, sectional rehearsals, repertoire, and ensemble etiquette. Students participate in a variety of performance settings from concert band to small chamber groups
Recorder Ensemble
Students in grades 4-8 may participate in Recorder Ensemble. Recorder Ensemble meets twice a week for rehearsal. Ensemble members learn all aspects of the mastery of the soprano recorder. Once students that have mastered the soprano recorder they may choose to work with the alto and tenor recorder. Students participate weekly in a performance setting at Friday Mass. All ensemble members also attend the weekly dress rehearsal for Friday Mass with choral members and other instrumental ensembles that will be performing at the Mass. Recorder Ensemble members also play in all Epiphany Cathedral School concerts during the year.
Hand Chimes
Hand Chimes Ensemble, a new performance group for 2007/2008, made its debut for the special 9/11 Memorial School Service. Hand Chimes Ensemble will be performing at all Epiphany Cathedral School concerts. Hand Chimes will also perform with Epiphany Cathedral Select Mass Choir regularly on Fridays and will be a featured ensemble for the 2007 Epiphany Cathedral School Choral and Instrumental Christmas Concert. Hand Chimes members will learn all aspects of care and handling of chimes, ensemble setup, and reading of hand chimes music.
Violin Ensemble
Violin Ensemble is made up of all violin students that participate in the violin instrumental lesson program. This ensemble is currently made up of violinist's K-7. Next year it will include eighth grade. Violin Ensemble meets once a week to play common instructional repertoire in a group setting. Students may also perform solo and small group repertoire that they may be preparing for performance situations. Violin Ensemble also has an advanced group that work on more challenging repertoire and performance situations. Violin Ensemble performs at all Epiphany Cathedral School concerts and for Friday School Mass.
Select Mass Choir
Select Mass Choir is made up of auditioned students from grades 3-5. Select Mass Choir Students rehearse once a week with instrumental ensembles for the preparation of music sung for the Friday School Mass. Ensemble members also may sing in small ensembles for prelude music selections. Choir members learn proper vocal care, vocal warm ups, stage presence, and vocal technique.
Opera Elective
Students in Grades 6-8 all participate in a new 2007/2008 music elective for one graded quarter. The music elective, the intensive study of a full length opera, is coordinated with Sarasota Opera's current Main Stage season. All aspects of the selected opera and the art of vocal singing are studied. All students are responsible for knowing plot, characters, all main arias, group chorus selections, libretto, and main vocabulary in the language of the particular opera being studied, vocal fach, and proper behavior as an opera patron. Students are taken as a group to see the studied opera during the Sarasota Opera Main Stage season. Students participate in an individual project on one area of opera that they choose. Live classroom demonstrations of opera aria singing by local opera students and young opera professionals are also part of the program.
Epiphany Cathedral School Student Concert Artist Series
All students that are participating in Epiphany Cathedral School's instrumental programs may perform monthly in a completely student run and directed, community, school, and parish concert series. This concert situation affords student musicians a venue for solo concert playing during the school day. Student instrumentalists, and pianists from the after school piano program, may choose solo works for their instruments to perform at this concert. All Epiphany Cathedral students may participate in all production aspects of these concerts such as stage management, program design and printing, press releases, advertising, ushering, etc....
Outstanding High School and College
Concert Series
New for 2008 this new concert series is focused on giving outstanding High School and College musicians a chance to give a professional solo recital. All students, faculty, staff, and parents of Epiphany Cathedral School and members of our local community will have the opportunity to hear outstanding young High School and College musicians once a month. All concerts will take place in Parish Hall at Epiphany Cathedral and school grounds. The goal of these concerts is to give Epiphany Cathedral School students an opportunity to see, hear, and be inspired by outstanding musicians only a few years older than themselves. The outstanding high school and college concert series artists benefit by having a performance opportunity that would not be readily available to them.
Epiphany Cathedral School Choral and Instrumental Annual Christmas Concert
Each December Epiphany Cathedral School students in grades K-8 present to the community, parents, and parish members a complete choral and instrumental Christmas concert performed in the Cathedral. This concert consists of all grades presenting multi part choral works in several languages, seasonal instrumental selections and instrumental participation with choral works. All ensemble groups, Violin Ensemble, Recorder Ensemble, Hand Chimes, Chamber Ensembles, and the Epiphany Cathedral School Concert Band perform during the evening as well.
