(Last Reviewed and Updated on 6-1-2020, 2:00 PM )
Disclaimer: Any typos are credited to our kitties who like to assist with the typing while Mrs. Seaboch is working from home. See the "Breaking Cat News" cartoon for 4-21-2020!
Disclaimer: Any typos are credited to our kitties who like to assist with the typing while Mrs. Seaboch is working from home. See the "Breaking Cat News" cartoon for 4-21-2020!
Announcement of Retirement
American poet e e cummings wrote “I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.” For 33 years now, that has been an unofficial professional mantra. There have been many successes, few regrets, and sufficient mistakes from which many lessons were learned. I have been privileged to learn from many notable birds, many local flying creatures (avians and aviators), and my many newly hatched fledglings—those hundreds of students and grandstudents with whom I have interacted through the years. Hopefully, we did not cause too many stars to dim in the process. In my years at Baucom, some people expected that boredom would set in. However, there has always been something new on the horizon: new students and their families, new staff members, new administrators, new superintendents, new curricula, new products, and new teaching ideas. The only idea that is more persistent than boring is that there never seems to be enough time—as we still have unsung notes. This year’s unpredicted and unprecedented turn somehow adds to that feeling of unfinished; it brings to mind a few composers noted for their unfinished symphonies.
On this occasion I think of the “Ashokan Farewell,” music composed in the style of a Scottish lament by American folk musician Jay Ungar in 1982. Jay Ungar and his wife Molly Mason led annual Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps at the Ashokan Field Campus of SUNY New Paltz—now the Ashokan Center—in upstate New York. This melody served as a goodnight or farewell waltz at these camps. Although it has appeared in various forms, I leave you with the voice of Priscilla Herdman who recorded it in 1994 with lyrics by Grian MacGregor. [See file below.]
Thank you for the privilege of teaching at Baucom through the years. I leave you the magic of the dancing stars and music of the birds as I seek out other birds on the horizon . . .
On this occasion I think of the “Ashokan Farewell,” music composed in the style of a Scottish lament by American folk musician Jay Ungar in 1982. Jay Ungar and his wife Molly Mason led annual Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps at the Ashokan Field Campus of SUNY New Paltz—now the Ashokan Center—in upstate New York. This melody served as a goodnight or farewell waltz at these camps. Although it has appeared in various forms, I leave you with the voice of Priscilla Herdman who recorded it in 1994 with lyrics by Grian MacGregor. [See file below.]
Thank you for the privilege of teaching at Baucom through the years. I leave you the magic of the dancing stars and music of the birds as I seek out other birds on the horizon . . .
08_-_ashokan_farewell_vocals_by_priscilla_herdman.mp3 | |
File Size: | 9542 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
Welcome to the Music Box Notes! Here you will find some basic information that can be of help to you throughout the year. General information applying to all grade levels is found in the "Standards/Grading" and "Classroom Rules" sections. If you are considering private instrumental (piano, violin, flute, guitar, etc.) lessons for your student, you will find valuable information in "Music Lessons." Any information important to chorus is posted under "Music Box Singers." Parents of fourth-grade students who will be studying recorders and the symphony can find useful information in those respective sections. Please investigate any of the other sections of the web page which can assist you at other times!
Announcements2019-20 Edition of Music Box Singers (4th- and 5th-Grade Chorus):
Students attending Baucom during the spring of 2019 have already auditioned for Baucom's 2019-20 edition of the Music Box Singers. Mrs. Seaboch will not be able to determine chorus membership until the beginning of the school year in the fall. During the first week of school, chorus interest letters will be distributed to students new to Baucom. New students interested in joining the chorus will need to return their letters promptly so that Mrs. Seaboch can arrange an audition/interview with them. Then potential Music Box members will receive invitation letters/contracts in September with a specific start date in September or early October! Some students may be placed on a waiting list in addition to those students who receive initial invitations; parents will receive notification in September of their child's status. Fourth-Grade Symphony Field Trip 2019-20: OUT OF SCHOOL TRIP CANCELLED; See below for VIRTUAL CONCERT LINK Once again this year, fourth-grade students will travel to Meymandi Hall in Raleigh for the North Carolina Symphony Concert. This year's concert will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Classroom teachers will send out permission slips prior to the event. Although there is a small charge per student (approximately $4.00--less money than parking a car in the parking deck) to cover the Wake County School bus transportation, there is no admission charge (courtesy of Wake County Schools and the North Carolina Symphony). Due to extremely tight seating arrangements and schools from all across the state attending, no parent chaperones travel with us for this concert. The North Carolina Symphony is excited to release a digital broadcast (or virtual concert) from a previous year. The concert can be accessed at ncsymphony.org/virtual. The password is: 1932. Click on "Watch, Listen, & Learn". |
Who is the Music Specialist?
Mrs. Michelle Seaboch is married with three feline fur children named Lucy, Sully, and Tabbs. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, reading, knitting, and creative cooking.
E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 919-387-2168 (Front Office) Location: Room 204 Office Hours: 1:00-2:00 PM, Monday through Friday, via email during school closure due to COVID-19 Available by appointment during regular school year Education: B.M. in Music Education, Meredith College; M.M. in Music Education, Westminster Choir College |
"Baucom's students bring many different attitudes, skills, and talents with them to the music classroom. They come from various cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic classes, and educational experiences; some of these children have had an array of previous experiences with music while others have had little or nothing to do with music and are now discovering it for the first time. Additionally they may learn through visual (seeing something), aural (hearing something), tactile (touching something), and kinesthetic (doing something) modalities.
"In order to better serve this diverse range of needs, no one pedagogical philosophy is endorsed above others. A visitor may see evidence of Kodaly, Dalcroze, and Orff philosophies but will never see one approach used exclusive to the others. Rather it is believed that more students will benefit by greater success with the use of a more eclectic style of teaching.
"To that end, students will experience musical compositions and songs of various cultures, poems, stories, various types of instruments, games, and activities during their musical 'careers' at Baucom. Areas of rhythm, melody, harmony, form, tone color, and expressive qualities will be studied as students develop skills in singing, listening, instrumental performance, movement, music reading, and composition.
"Although a few of Baucom's alumni go on to become professionally involved with music, it is not the goal to produce the next Leonard Bernstein, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Leon Fleisher, Midori Goto, Yo-Yo Ma, or Wynton Marsalis; rather it is to allow students to develop the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to be educated consumers of music that will enhance their lifetime ahead.
"May we open many music boxes together, . . . and may we sometimes enjoy changing the song, the instrument, or the style of music!" ~ Mrs. Seaboch