Year Long Curriculum

High School Concert Choir

Logan Caywood
Kansas State University
October 28, 2016

Contents
Course Description .............................................................................................................................2
Program Goals ...................................................................................................................................3
Course Goals ......................................................................................................................................3
Course Objectives ..............................................................................................................................3
Scope and Sequence ..........................................................................................................................4
Fall Vocal Concert ..............................................................................................................................5
Elements Addressed .......................................................................................................................5
S, H, C, NS Addressed......................................................................................................................5
Rationale for song selection............................................................................................................6
Sample Lesson Plan ........................................................................................................................6
Winter Concert ..................................................................................................................................7
Elements Addressed .......................................................................................................................7
S, H, C, NS Addressed......................................................................................................................7
Rationale for song selection............................................................................................................8
Sample Lesson Plan ........................................................................................................................9
Large Group Contest ..........................................................................................................................9
Elements Addressed .......................................................................................................................9
S, H, C, NS Addressed......................................................................................................................9
Rationale for song selection.......................................................................................................... 10
Sample Lesson Plan ...................................................................................................................... 11
Spring Concert ................................................................................................................................. 11
Elements Addressed ..................................................................................................................... 11
S, H, C, NS Addressed.................................................................................................................... 12
Rationale for song selection.......................................................................................................... 13
Sample Lesson Plan ...................................................................................................................... 13
Assessment...................................................................................................................................... 14
Recording Assignments ................................................................................................................ 14

Course Description
Concert Choir is an auditioned ensemble open to all students in 9th - 12th
grades. Each semester, we will have two major performances. In the Fall
semester, Concert Choir will have two home performances, the Fall concert and
the Holiday concert. The Fall concert will contain a variety of pieces, focused on
one central theme for the ensemble. The Holiday concert will incorporate music
centered around the celebration of the holidays and the winter season. In the
Spring semester, the two major performances are Large Group Contest and the
Spring near the end of the semester. For Large Group Contest, repertoire will be
selected that matches standards and selections from KSHSAA. The Spring concert
will be similar to the Fall concert, with a variety of pieces centered around a
theme.
Through the large number of choral pieces sung throughout the semester,
students will have the opportunity to sing a variety of styles, genres, and
languages. Alongside the choral pieces, students will learn about the music theory
and elements that make up the music. This provides students with the formal
musical knowledge that can aid them in their aural, dictation and aural skills.

Program Goals

Continual growth as a community of learners, peers, and artists, understanding and respecting
differences within the classroom community.
Provide students with the opportunity to explore and perform music from other cultures around
the world, aiming to create a better sense of respect and acceptance in the students.
Develop as proficient and informed musicians, achieving at a high level of creating and
performing.
Developing knowledge and skill of vocal range, vowel production, dynamic range and contrast,
and textual expression.
Develop understanding of music theory concepts and tools that are necessary in making up the
music being performed.
Develop as active community members through performances and events.
Create and grow a better understanding of the role that music plays in our everyday lives.
Develop performance confidence, poise, etiquette, and instinct through on-stage experiences.

Course Goals

Develop skills and an understanding of vocal technique, production, musical theory that
contributes to singing.
Learn and incorporate musical terms and techniques into music creation
Grow as an informed music student through performances, new musical experiences, and
rehearsals.
Develop as an ensemble of musicians, and work as a respectful and creative community.
Gain a greater understanding of the historical style factors of choral music.
Develop personal knowledge of a particular genre, style, or, composer through the study of
choral compositions.
Develop a greater appreciation of the interaction between text, music, and other fine arts.
Develop communication skills through the performance of different styles of music.
Develop rhythmic, pitch, language skills appropriate for a piece of music.
Develop music reading skills appropriate for the level of the students.

Course Objectives

Perform alone and in small and large ensembles with appropriate posture, vocal production, and
technique.
Learn and perform literature representing music written from composers and cultures from
around the world, and in foreign languages, describing characteristics of the music.
Demonstrate an accurate understanding of phrase structure and textual expression.
Put theory terms and practices into use through accurate vocalization and response to styles.
Discuss how elements and styles of music are conveyed and affect our emotions in performance
Demonstrate respect and understanding for other students and cultures in the classroom.
Reflect on individual and ensemble performance, and develop an understanding of how to fix
and improve as an individual and ensemble.

Scope and Sequence

FALL

WINTER

CONTEST

SPRING

Rhythm

Derevna Ni
Mungu

African Noel

Homeland

Nyon Nyon

Melody

A Gaelic
Blessing

Hallelujah

Witness

Let My Love Be
Heard

Erev Shel
Shoshanim

The Snow

Sanctus

Sure on this
Shining Night

Tone and Timbre

Nyon Nyon
Musical
Expression

Dereva Ni
Mungu

African Noel

Sanctus

Sure on this
Shining Night

Textual
Expression

A Gaelic
Blessing

The Snow

Homeland

Let My Love Be
Heard

Erev Shel
Shoshanim

Hallelujah

Witness

Let My Love Be
Heard

Cultural
Implementation

Fall Vocal Concert

Music of the World
A Gaelic Blessing- John Rutter
Dereva Ni Mungu- Jake Runestad
Erev Shel Shoshanim- Joseph Hadar/arr. Klebanow
Elements Addressed
A Gaelic Blessing- John Rutter
o Melody
o Textual Expression
Dereva Ni Mungu- Jake Runestad
o Rhythm
o Musical Expression
Erev Shel Shoshanim- Joseph Hadar/arr. Klebanow
o Tone and Timbre
o Cultural Implementation
S, H, C, NS Addressed
A Gaelic Blessing- John Rutter
o Style: Gaelic Rune
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Interpret: Support an interpretation of musical work that reflects the
creators expressive intent
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding
Dereva Ni Mungu- Jake Runestad
o Culture: Swahili
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding
Erev Shel Shoshanim- Joseph Hadar/arr. Klebanow
o Culture: Jewish
o National Standards:

Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and

technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Interpret: Support an interpretation of musical work that reflects the
creators expressive intent
Rationale for song selection
A Gaelic Blessing- John Rutter
o Rutters A Gaelic Blessing includes text from an old Gaelic rune, and a poem
from William Sharp. I believe that the beautiful setting of the melodies, the text
takes on a new level of depth. I believe that this is a great piece to begin the
concert, and school year with, to focus on creating a unified and matching sound
throughout. What is learned about matching in tone and timbre from A Gaelic
Blessing can be implemented in every song throughout the remainder of the
year.
Dereva Ni Mungu- Jake Runestad
o For the middle portion of the concert, I chose the piece Dereva Mi Nungu to
change the feeling and atmosphere of the concert. Runestad uses both Swahili
and English text from a Swahili proverb: Sisi sote abiria, dereva ni Mungu. (In
life we are passengers, God is the driver.) The rhythms and melodic movement in
the song reflects the Swahili text and feeling that Runestad incorporates. This
piece allows students to have a small amount of exposure to a foreign language,
but especially one that is not as common as others that may be sung in.
Erev Shel Shoshanim- Joseph Hadar/arr. Klebanow
o Erev Shel Shoshanim is a written in a beautifully setting of a Hebrew love song.
As with Swahili, Hebrew is another language that students may be more
unfamiliar with. Coming from the Rutter piece, there is a fair amount of unison
within the piece, which calls for matching within the ensemble. With the text
being from a love song, this piece could be dug into deeper, to find out more
history on uses and stories of the piece.
Sample Lesson Plan
Activities
o Students will have the opportunity compose a short (4-8 measure) solo
descant lines to fit into the song, near the middle and end of the piece
Dereva Ni Mungu. Students will be able to perform their short
compositions alongside the ensemble. Students will learn the melodies
and rhythms in the piece, that they will later be able to add into their
descant lines.
Assesments
o Tools
Checklists

 Rhythm notation practices

Individual Recordings
o Rationales
This activity was chosen to allow students an opportunity to
improvise in a comfortable environment, with the chance to
perform their compositions. Because this is early in the year,
students will still be learning about the rhythms and melodies that
make up the piece, and can put the knowledge to paper without a
formal test.

Winter Concert
Scenes of Winter
The Snow- Edward Elgar
African Noel- Victor Johnson
Hallelujah Chorus- Handel
Elements Addressed
The Snow- Edward Elgar
o Tone and Timbre
o Textual Expression
African Noel- Victor Johnson
o Rhythm
o Musical Expression
Hallelujah Chorus- Handel
o Melody
o Cultural Implementation
S, H, C, NS Addressed
The Snow- Edward Elgar
o Historical Period: Late Romantic
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding
African Noel- Victor Johnson
o Culture: African
o National Standards:

Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and

technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Analyze: Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works
inform the response
Hallelujah Chorus- Handel
o Style: Oratorio
o Historical Period: Baroque
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Interpret: Support an interpretation of musical work that reflects the
creators expressive intent
Analyze: Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works
inform the response
Rationale for song selection
The Snow- Edward Elgar
o Elgars The Snow, is a beautiful setting of the text, that is wonderfully
represented throughout the melodic lines. This is not a traditional holiday or
winter piece, with rhythmically exciting, and celebratory lines. There is a great
level of textual expression that can be seen throughout this piece, with examples
of text painting and a somewhat haunting mood.
African Noel- Victor Johnson
o Johnsons piece is a great, celebratory anthem in the middle of the set. It has
great contrast from The Snow and the Hallelujah Chorus that follows. This
piece includes percussion, to give the piece a somewhat foreign, and dancelike
feeling. While the text is English, there is a sense of an African dance within the
piece, which Johnson does a great job of incorporating. This is not a standard
Holiday tune that most students would be used to.
Hallelujah Chorus- Handel
o Being a common holiday theme, the Hallelujah Chorus has the opportunity to
be more than a song for the entire audience to stand and sing. The piece
contains great melodic lines throughout, and has a celebratory and fanfare
feeling with it. The text can be broken down, taken from verses out of the book
of Revelations, an important piece of literature in our history. A large majority of
audiences and students would be familiar with the piece, and know it as a
standard winter concert tune.

Sample Lesson Plan

Activities
o Students will be divided into small groups (of 3-5), and be given a specific
culture and holiday to research. Students will seek out, and construct a
list of celebratory holiday songs from the given culture. Students will
write a short paragraph about the use of each song, history of the song,
as well as the lyrics. Students will select a portion of one of the songs
they found to present in class, and give a brief background in their
presentation.
Assessments
o Tools
Checklist
Rubric
o Rationales
Through this project, students will have the opportunity to
discover folk songs of holidays and cultures that they may be
fairly unfamiliar with. Students can gain a better understanding
of holidays through their celebratory songs, as well as having the
unique chance to perform these songs for their classmates.

Large Group Contest

KSHSAA Selections
Sanctus from Requiem in D Minor- Gabriel Faur
Homeland- Z. Randall Stroope
Witness- Arr. Jack Halloran
Elements Addressed
Sanctus from Requiem in D Minor- Gabriel Faure
o Tone and Timbre
o Music Expression
Homeland- Z. Randall Stroope
o Rhythm
o Textual Expression

Witness- Arr. Jack Halloran

o Melody
o Cultural Implementation
S, H, C, NS Addressed
Sanctus from Requiem in D Minor- Gabriel Faur
o Style: Mass
o Historical Period: Late Romantic

o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding
Analyze: Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works
inform the response
Homeland- Z. Randall Stroope
o Culture: Multicultural
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Connect 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences
to make music
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding

Witness- Arr. Jack Halloran

o Style: Spiritual
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Interpret: Support an interpretation of musical work that reflects the
creators expressive intent
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding
Rationale for song selection

Sanctus from Requiem in D Minor- Gabriel Faur

o Faurs Requiem in D Minor is one of the best-known large choral works, and one
of his most famous works. This is one of the simplest, but beautiful composition
of the Sanctus. The musical expression and sharing of the melody throughout the
voices adds another layer of depth. With the addition of the instrumental parts,
the piece has a brief fanfare feeling, while still keeping in its simplicity and
beauty.
Homeland- Z. Randall Stroope
o Homeland is a piece with a great opportunity for expression of a text line. The
message throughout the song states ones dedication to their homeland, but
never specifically states what that is. This allows performers and audience

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members to consider what they would call their homeland. Through the melodic
movement, the piece builds into a strong feel of an anthem.
Witness- Arr. Jack Halloran
o The bold, declarative, setting of a traditional spiritual has great potential as the
closing number of the set. The setting and effect of the text is shown off by
changing voicing, and a great deal of momentum throughout the piece. This is a
very expressive piece with the text, and has a bit of a flashy presence with it.
While the text is from Biblical excerpts, it involves a great level of storytelling in
the performance.
Sample Lesson Plan
Activities
o Basing the activity off of Stroopes Homeland, students will have a
small assignment of collecting nationalistic pieces of music. Students will
choose a country of their choice, and seek out a list of 10 or more
patriotic, or nationalist tunes from that county. For each piece, students
will be asked to write at least one paragraph discussing the composer,
dates, historical context, and uses of the title. We will discuss different
anthems and patriotic tunes from different countries that have been
selected.
Assessments
o Tools
Checklist
Rubric
o Rationales
This assignment is aimed at discovering and re-discovering songs
that are seen as nationalistic and patriotic in different countries.
Students will have the opportunity to seek out and learn about
new songs that are important to a particular Homeland for its
citizens. This broadens the horizons, understanding why a certain
piece of music has importance for a country.

Spring Concert
Looking Ahead
Nyon Nyon- Jake Runestad
Sure on this Shining Night- Morten Lauridsen
Let My Love Be Heard- Jake Runestad
Elements Addressed
Nyon Nyon- Jake Runestad
o Rhythm

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o Tone and Timbre

Sure on this Shining Night- Morten Lauridsen
o Tone and Timbre
o Musical Expression
Let My Love Be Heard- Jake Runestad
o Melody
o Textual Expression
o Cultural Implementation
S, H, C, NS Addressed
Nyon Nyon- Jake Runestad
o Style: Instrumental
o National Standards:
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Analyze: Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works
inform the response
Sure on this Shining Night- Morten Lauridsen
o Style: Ballad
o National Standards:
Connect 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences
to make music
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Interpret: Support an interpretation of musical work that reflects the
creators expressive intent
Let My Love Be Heard- Jake Runestad
o Historical Period: Modern
o National Standards:
Select: Choose music appropriate for specific purposes and contexts
Interpret: Support an interpretation of musical work that reflects the
creators expressive intent
Present: Perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and
technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and
context
Connect 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences
to make music
Connect 11: Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to
deepen understanding

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Analyze: Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works
inform the response
Rationale for song selection
Nyon Nyon- Jake Runestad
o To begin this portion of the concert, I chose the piece, Nyon Nyon for the
immediate energy and musical expressiveness that is brought to the stage. The
piece explores a several of the effects that the voice can create. The text
incorporates a variety of sounds, imitating a wah-wah pedal, drum and bass,
synthesizers, and more. Through this unique piece, students have the ability to
sing an unusual set of text, as well as explore the piece through different exciting
elements.
Sure on this Shining Night- Morten Lauridsen
o The Lauridsen piece is an opportunity for reflection on our own lives, as well
promoting a sense of looking forward. The text from James Agee was adapted by
Lauridsen for the composition. This allows students to connect with the original
literature, looking at the context in which Agee may have written in. The poetry
evokes, and expressing feelings, on top of the beautiful melodic movement, with
long lyrical lines from Lauridsen. This piece is included to allow an opportunity
for self-reflection, and expression.
Let My Love Be Heard- Jake Runestad
o I chose to end both the concert, and year with this Runestad piece, because of
the cultural implications, and textual expression. Runestad originally wrote this
piece as a commission, which has since taken on a new life, with tragic events in
Paris, France, and Orlando. The text and message in Let My Love Be Heard
serves a light in the current brokenness of our world. This piece was selected to
conclude the concert, with the intent of leaving both performers and audience
members thinking, and reflecting on the message of the work.
Sample Lesson Plan
Activities
o Students will choose one event from a list of choices, that has occurred in
their lifetime, and reflect on the event using musical connects. This
assignment allows students to connect with the impact and meaning
behind Jake Runestads Let My Love Be Heard. Students will reflect on
an event, and find musical examples that connect with the chosen event.
Through this essay, each student will be able to research, reflect on, and
summarize the event, and show how musical and literary works have
been influenced by these events.
Assessments
o Tools
Rubric
Checklist

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o Rationales
This activity allows students the opportunity to connect music to
events that are occurring around them, and have the potential to
impact their lives in years to come. The power and influence of
music in the world, can be seen in connection with these actions,
and this project allows students to discover one role that music
plays in our lives.

Assessment
Recording Assignments
Throughout the semester, students will be assigned to record sections of pieces that are being
learned in class. Students will be given notice when recording assignments will occur, and the
specific sections to be recorded. Students will be evaluated on recording assignments according
to accuracy of tempos, notes, text, and musical expression. Recordings will be submitted online,
as individual recordings.
Section Tests
Throughout the semester, students will be assessed in class, in small ensembles over sections
similar to those assigned during Recording Assignments. Students will be evaluated on section
tests according to accuracy of tempos, notes, text, and musical expression. Students will be
given notice when recording assignments will occur, and on what day the classroom Section
Tests will take place.
Written Assignments
Periodically, students will be given written assignments in class. These assignments may consist
of assessments on music theory, musical expression, solfege, terms, and rhythms used in our
pieces. (Ex. Short written assignment based on the rhythms, solfege, and key signatures used
in one of the songs the ensemble is performing)
Semester Singing Tests
At both the beginning and end of the semester, students will individually sing for Mr. Caywood.
These two singing tests will be used to recognize the students prior knowledge and experience,
and then to measure the improvements and growth that have been made throughout the
semester.
Concert Performances
Performances will be used to measure the growth that has been made throughout the
semester by individuals and the ensemble.
Alternative Concert Assessment
In the event that a student misses a performance, it is up to the student to contact the
director about an alternative assessment.

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