KO, Kevin Olusola, is a Nigerian-American musician, beatboxer, cellist, rapper, record producer, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the beatboxer of the vocal band Pentatonix. The expressive dance is performed by Gabriella Barra. “True colours are beautiful, like a rainbow.”

Watch this amazing chain reaction marble run synchronized to Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky! Do you think you could create something fun like this? 

Let’s follow the listening map to Danse Macabre by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, and do the Halloween Hand Jive! – lyrics

Mayumana is an amazing Israeli dance troupe that combines dance, song and percussion. The name of the troupe is derived from the Hebrew word for skill.

Intermediate Choir practices will resume this week on Tuesdays at 12:15 in the music room. Grade 4-7 students are welcome to join the fun! We will be wearing masks and distanced from each other when we are singing.

Oh a turkey knocked at my back door, and I invited him in
‘Twas a chill October Thursday, so I invited him in

Won’t you come into my kitchen my friend? I’ll boil some water for tea
Come and sit here in my kitchen we’ll chat, have a cookie maybe two or three

He answered no no no no, I won’t come into your kitchen
I said no no no no, I’ll see you another day

Members of One Voice International, from dozens of countries around the world, join One Voice Children’s Choir in their latest music video. The song I Lived by OneRepublic inspires us to seize the day, enjoy life, and embrace opportunity.

Click here to learn how to become a member of One Voice International next year!

In 2019 Emma Stevens from Eskasoni, Cape Breton recorded this beautiful rendition of Blackbird by The Beatles in her native Mi’kmaq language.

Susan Aglukark is a Canadian singer who blends Inuit folk music traditions with country and pop songwriting. Her most successful song O’Siem is a joyful greeting for family and loved ones, and a call to turn away from racism and prejudice. O’Siem is also a Coast Salish word meaning “a welcoming of honoured guests.” Aglukark has spent her lifetime promoting inclusivity and acceptance.

O’Siem, we are all family
O’Siem, we’re all the same
O’Siem, the fires of freedom
Dance in the burning flame

Siem o siyeya, all people rich and poor
Siem o siyeya, those who do and do not know
Siem o siyeya, take the hand of one close by
Siem o siyeya, of those who know because they try
And watch the walls come tumbling down

Siem o siyeya, all people of the world
Siem o siyeya, it′s time to make the turn
Siem o siyeya, a chance to share your heart
Siem o siyeya, to make a brand new start
And watch the walls come tumbling down

Fires burn in silence
Hearts in anger bleed
Wheel of change is turning
For the ones who truly need
To see the walls come tumbling down

Louisville Leopard Percussionists is a nationally acclaimed music group for children originating from Louisville, Kentucky. The group is a performing ensemble directed by Diane Downs of over 60 musicians ages 7-14. Each student learns and acquires proficiency on several instruments, such as marimbas, xylophone, vibraphone, drum set, timbales, congas, bongos and piano. They are mostly known for covering rock and roll songs, and were featured in a documentary called The Leopards Take Manhattan: The Little Band That Roared.

May 3 is Music Monday. Launched in 2005 by The Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday is one of the world’s largest single events dedicated to raising awareness for music education. In previous years, hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and music makers have celebrated from coast to coast to coast, and participated in the collective performance of the Music Monday Anthem, an original song written by a Canadian artist. The 2021 anthem is the iconic Hymn to Freedom by Oscar Peterson and Hariette Hamilton, in a new bilingual translation. Listen to it here!

Oscar Peterson     Lyrics     Music

Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22. It was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues, and now more than 1 billion people from 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities!

The theme for the worldwide event this year is Restore Our Earth, which focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. It is up to each and every one of us to Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. We all need a healthy Earth.

The song This Pretty Planet was once used to wake up astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle. This arrangement is sung first in unison, and then in a 3 part canon. Sing and play along on ukulele or recorder!

This Pretty Planet – lyrics and chords

This Pretty Planet – recorder

Imagine walking through the woods and then suddenly hearing the calming melodies of Bach playing in the distance. That’s exactly the type of magical scenario that creative director Morihiro Harano and his team created in 2012. The company collaborated with carpenter Mitsuo Tsuda and sound engineer Kenjiro Matsuo to create a giant xylophone in a forest that plays a special wooden symphony.

Elevated above the forest floor, the huge xylophone was installed in the woods of Kyushu, Japan. It comprises hundreds of different-sized pieces of wood, each of which plays a different note when struck. In a video showcasing the instrument, a wooden ball is placed at the start of the xylophone, which descends at a slight angle. As the ball rolls freely down, it hits each wooden panel and plays the notes of Bach’s Cantata 147, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.

Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson’s legendary career is being celebrated in a Heritage Minute. The minute-long video chronicles the seven-time Grammy winner’s rise from a working-class Montreal family to becoming a world-renowned piano virtuoso. It touches on his encounters with greatness, such as being dubbed “the man with four hands,” and acknowledges the racism he faced at jazz gigs in the 1940s.

During the 19th Century, thousands of slaves escaped to freedom through a secret network known as the Underground Railroad. It is believed that, along the way, spiritual songs were used as secret coded messages to escaping slaves. Wade in the Water warned them to flee dry land for the water so that the dogs and owners chasing them couldn’t track their scent.

NASA’s Perseverance rover will touch down on Mars February 18 at approximately 12:55 PM, so let’s listen to Mars, the Bringer of War by English composer Gustav Holst. 

Angry and ominous, Holst’s first movement of The Planets represents the Roman god of war, Mars. The craggy rhythms and pulsing drum beats give the music a military feel. Enjoy the wonderful listening guide presented by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.

Deep in a forest, a gathering of wild animals start a nocturnal opera, conducted by a squirrel! The music in this short film is composed by Vincenzo Bellini and performed by the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera. Singers Dame Joan Sutherland (soprano) and Samuel Ramey (bass) are featured.

The book Because is a moving tale of chance, discovery, persistence, magic, and a young girl who is inspired by Franz Schubert’s beautiful music.

Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria in 1797. He played several instruments and sang very well. Schubert wrote his first symphonies for his school orchestra, and for family and friends who would get together to play. He also wrote piano, choral, and chamber music, and is famous for composing over 600 songs!

Hayato Sumino, known professionally as Cateen, is a 25-year-old Japanese classical pianist. He shares his 7 variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, each one increasing in virtuosity.

Level 0 is the nursery rhyme’s humble melody, and Level 1 has flourishes in the style of Mozart.

Level 2 adds lovely harmonies in the form of a lullaby, and Level 3 is in a ragtime style.

Levels 4 and 5 display virtuosic flourishes in the style of Liszt.

Level 6 is in the style of a Chopin étude, and Level 7 gains dizzying speeds and a rich tapestry of colours and dynamics.

Victor Borge and Leonid Hambro perform Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 composed by Franz Liszt. It’s as funny as is it difficult to play! Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, and organist of the Romantic era. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.

Stars Aligned Siblings is an all-sibling string quartet ages 7, 10, 12, and 13. They are from San Francisco and have toured internationally.

Enjoy their lively performance of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music). 

The Planets is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the solar system and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst.

In 2016, a flashmob from the Berklee Contemporary Symphonic Orchestra assembled to perform Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity. 

Follow Memphis Jookin dancer Lil Buck as he twists and turns past Picasso and Matisse masterpieces at the Foundation Louis Vuitton art museum in Paris.

Rousseau is a popular piano player on YouTube who performs classical and pop music using a reactive visualizer. The result is mesmerizing. 

Enjoy the precision of the Avlaia body percussion group from Greece. The orchestral music, In the Hall of the Mountain King, was composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875.

Let It Happen is an energetic dance group from the Netherlands. Sisters Norah, Yarah and Rosa have a passion for funk and hip-hop dance, and hope that their performances will inspire positive change!

Here is the amazing Doug Goodkin demonstrating 7 body percussion patterns.

The Virtual Choir is a global phenomenon that brings together singers from around the world and their love of music through the use of technology. Grammy-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre created the very first Virtual Choir in 2009. I’ve participated in a few of his wonderful projects, including Virtual Choir 6: Sing Gently in 2020.

The video’s visual metaphor is inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece if the object’s history, which adds to its beauty. This stunning work of art features 17,572 singers from 129 countries bonding together in song and spirit. 

July 1 is Canada Day. David Hadfield performed and filmed his cheerful song In Canada with his astronaut brother Chris at their family cottage in 2014. Have a happy and healthy summer everyone!

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day for all Canadians to honour and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Although these groups share many similarities, they each have their own distinct heritage, language, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.

Buffy Sainte-Marie is an Indigenous Canadian-American singer-songwriter, visual artist, educator and social activist. In 1983, she became the first indigenous person to win an Academy Award for co-writing the beautiful song Up Where We Belong.

Click here to enter the Virtual Music Room and find 34 musical surprises!

I Am Kind, written by Lindsay Munroe and featuring Raffi, is imbued with joy and a deep respect for children. Sing or play along on ukulele!

I Am Kind – lyrics and chords

This is so fun! Listen to Wes Tank rap Fox in Socks.

Click here to find more of his story raps.

Congratulations CoroVoce and Coastal Sound choirs! Here is the stunning world premiere of Maple Keys by Laura Hawley! Read more about how it all came together in the Burnaby Now

Musician Jason Mraz combines his world philosophy and love of reggae music in his song Look For The Good. Sing or play along on ukulele!

Look For The Good – lyrics and chords

In February 2020, singer-songwriter Jann Arden joined Doane Uschool music students to record Try A Little Kindness and raise money for charity. They hope this inspires others to share kindness every day. Sing or play along on ukulele or recorder!

Try A Little Kindness – lyrics and chords in G

Play Along – tune strings A-D-F#-B

Try A Little Kindness – recorder in A

Raffi’s song Take A Breath is both tuneful and calming, and provides simple ways, such as breathing slowly in and out, to feel better when feelings are beginning to overwhelm. Give it a try!

Take A Breath – music

ROOTS BEFORE BRANCHES 

CoroVoce Youth Choir & Coastal Sound Children’s Choir

March 7 at 3:00

New Westminster Christian Reformed Church

Featuring the World premiere of Laura Hawley’s The Maple Key

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, also called IZ, was a Native Hawaiian singer-songwriter, musician, and activist. His beautiful medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World has become a classic, and is often featured in films and television. Sing and play along on ukulele!

Jake Shimabukuro is one of the best ukulele players in the world. “What the world needs now is more ukulele.” Here is his rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by the rock band Queen!

The Royal Wind Music is a Dutch recorder consort. Enjoy their lovely performance of a piece composed by John Dowland on many different sized recorders.

SNOW BIZ!

December 17 at 1:30 and 6:30 (even divisions)

December 18 at 1:30 and 6:30 (odd divisions)

Celebrate the season with 3 Burnaby District Choirs

CHRISTMAS IS COMING 

Featuring Piccolini Children’s Choir, Sound Wave Handbell Choir and CoroVoce Youth Choir

December 9 at 6:30

Michael J Fox Theatre

Auditions for Piccolini Children’s Choir will be held on September 17 from 3:30-5:30 at Kitchener Elementary School. Please see Ms Fletcher if you are in grade 2-4 and would like more information.

Auditions for CoroVoce Youth Choir will be held in September at South Slope Elementary School. Please see Ms Fletcher if you are in grade 4-7 and would like more information.

Welcome Milton Randall from Groove Masters Percussion who will be leading drum workshops September 4-6, 2019! Please join us in the gym for an exciting performance at 1:20 on Friday.

We will be playing djembes, instruments that originate from West Africa. The name of the djembe comes from the saying “Anke djé, anke bé” which translates to “everyone gather together in peace” and defines the drum’s purpose.

It will be a wonderful way to celebrate, connect, and begin our year together!

Interviews for the String Orchestras will be held on June 25-26 from 3:00-4:30 at Seaforth Elementary School. Please see Ms Fletcher if you are in grade 3-6 and would like more information.

Auditions for Sound Wave Handbell Choir will be held on June 4 from 3:30-5:30 at Inman Elementary School. Please see Ms Fletcher if you are in grade 5-7 and would like more information.