We
believe in education which uses
music to facilitate our understanding of people.
Music is an expression of people.
Through genuine musical experiences – listening, creating, and
performing –we are afforded opportunities that genuinely
make us who we are and allow us to become who we
are capable of becoming.
Philosophy
People have a unique ability. It is the ability to share the meanings of emotions, the ability to share that which makes us who we are. No other life form can do such a thing. We not only have such an ability, we have a need to share that which makes us who we are. This has given rise to a uniquely human form of transport; we call it art. The art of music affects our emotions in a most direct, powerful, and untranslatable fashion. Music transcends language; it goes beyond the limits of words and can affect us in ways that nothing else in the world can. It allows us to grow.There exist countless non-musical benefits through membership in choir as well. Attention to discipline, stage presence, manners, self confidence, work-ethic, cooperation, responsibility, and fostering a desire to improve are but a few.
Goals
To develop each student’s aesthetic potential;
To develop knowledge, understanding, and habits concerning the basic elements of music;
To promote musical literacy by developing skills necessary for music performance;
To promote understanding of the value of choral music as an art;
To satisfy each student’s need for self expression;
To develop and foster the desire and the potential to extend and continue music experiences in social and cultural life beyond high school;
To refine each student’s discriminative abilities; and
To develop independence and initiative in areas such as solo and small ensemble performance.
The Neuqua Valley High School Choral Department is dedicated to empowering students to achieve the following National Standards for Music Education:
Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
Reading and notating music.
Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
Evaluating music and music performances.
Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts
There are many routes to competence in the arts disciplines. Students may work in different arts at different times. Their study may take a variety of approaches. Their abilities may develop at different rates. Competence means the ability to use an array of knowledge and skills. Terms often used to describe these include creation, performance, production, history, culture, perception, analysis, criticism, aesthetics, technology, and appreciation. Competence means capabilities with these elements themselves and an understanding of their interdependence; it also means the ability to combine the content, perspectives, and techniques associated with the various elements to achieve specific artistic and analytical goals. Students work toward comprehensive competence from the very beginning, preparing in the lower grades for deeper and more rigorous work each succeeding year. As a result, the joy of experiencing the arts is enriched and matured by the discipline of learning and the pride of accomplishment. Essentially, the Standards ask that students should know and be able to do the following by the time they have completed secondary school:
- They should be able to communicate at a basic level in the four arts disciplines: dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. This includes knowledge and skills in the use of the basic vocabularies, materials, tools, techniques, and intellectual methods of each arts discipline.
- They should be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form, including the ability to define and solve artistic problems with insight, reason, and technical proficiency.
- They should be able to develop and present basic analyses of works of art from structural, historical, and cultural perspectives, and from combinations of those perspectives. This includes the ability to understand and evaluate work in the various arts disciplines.
- They should have an informed acquaintance with exemplary works of art from a variety of cultures and historical periods, and a basic understanding of historical development in the arts disciplines, across the arts as a whole, and within cultures.
- They should be able to relate various types of arts knowledge and skills within and across the arts disciplines. This includes mixing and matching competencies and understandings in art-making, history and culture, and analysis in any arts-related project.
As a result of developing these capabilities, students can arrive at their own knowledge, beliefs, and values for making personal and artistic decisions. In other terms, they can arrive at a broad-based, well-grounded understanding of the nature, value, and meaning of the arts as a part of their own humanity.
The Neuqua Valley High School Choral Department is dedicated to empowering students to achieve the following Illinois Learning Standards for Fine Arts:
STATE GOAL 25: Know the language of the arts.
A. Understand the sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive qualities of the arts.
B. Understand the similarities, distinctions and connections in and among the arts.
STATE GOAL 26: Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced.
A. Understand processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the arts.
B. Apply skills and knowledge necessary to create and perform in one or more of the arts.
STATE GOAL 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present.
A. Analyze how the arts function in history, society and everyday life.
B. Understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.
More information regarding the Illinois Learning Standards for Fine Arts
