Darien Music News - Dallas Brass and Awards

The Darien Music Department Receives National Recognition

We are proud to announce that Darien has been designated by the NAMM Foundation as one of the best communities for music education in the country for the second year in a row!  We are one of 26 districts in CT to receive the distinction.  Read more about Best Communities:  Click here

Dallas Brass in Darien

The Darien Music Department and Darien Music for Youth hosted the world-famous Dallas Brass in concert on April 22nd!  The group was here for clinics during the school day with 5th grade, MMS and DHS bands then performed a concert that evening.  The event was a huge success!  See below for highlights.

Darien Music for Youth sponsored their annual poster and graphics contest.  Students' Dallas Brass-inspired artwork was displayed in the lobby.  Click here for a slideshow of all the selected students' artwork.

5th Grade Band students rehearse with Dallas Brass 

The MMS Honor Band takes a bow after they perform with Dallas Brass 

DHS Concert Band and Wind Ensemble rehearse with Dallas Brass 

Dallas Brass performs onstage during the clinic

Dallas Brass posed for pictures and signed autographs in the lobby after the concert.  Here they are with 3rd grade graphic contest winner from Tokeneke, Mackenzie Godfrey.

Student Awards

Cosmo Armatruda (right) received the Connecticut Association of Schools Award for Excellence in Music.  He is pictured with Thomas Cleary (art) after being presented with the award at the annual banquet at the Aquaturf Club in Southington.

Spring Concerts

Spring concerts will be held live an in-person in the DHS auditorium!  Mark your calendars for the following events:

Mon, May 2^nd - MMS Chorus concerts, 6:30pm and 8:00pm

Tues, May 3^rd - MMS orchestra concert, 7:00pm

Wed, May 4^th - MMS band concert, 7:00pm

Thurs, May 5^th - Ox Ridge band, chorus, orchestra concert, 7:00pm

Mon, May 9^th - Holmes band, chorus, orchestra concert, 7:00pm

Wed, May 11th - Hindley band, chorus, orchestra concert, 7:00pm

Mon, May 16^th - Tokeneke band, chorus, orchestra concert, 7:00pm

Tues, May 17^th - DHS orchestra concert, 7:00pm

Wed, May 18^th - DHS chorus concert, 7:00pm

Thurs, May 19^th - DHS band concert, 7:00pm 

Mon, May 23^rd - Royle band, chorus, orchestra concert, 7:00pm

 

DPS music - April news and events

 Music Department April News and Events

Music Teachers Present at Conference

James Allen (Ox Ridge) and Matthew Curley (MMS) presented sessions at the Connecticut Music Educators Association Conference in Hartford on March 31st.  James presented "Come Jam on the Frame Drum" and Matthew presented "Percussion Methods Cliffsnotes." Thank you for representing Darien and sharing your talents with the larger music education community!

DHS Chorus Concert

The Darien High School Choral Concert will be held in the DHS Auditorium on Monday, April 4th at 7:00pm.  The concert will be livestreamed at:  rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2

Darien Young Composers Concert

The music department of the Darien Public Schools is pleased to announce that the annual Darien Young Composers Concert will be presented live in the DHS auditorium on Wednesday, April 6th at 6:30pm.  The concert is free and open to the public.  We encourage you to come enjoy the creative talents of our Young Composers!  If you are unable to attend, the concert will be live streamed at:  https://youtu.be/KgAkO9re_gc

The performers are listed below:

Name                 School Grade Composition
Sonia Thakker         Royle 2nd        Cosmic Superstars (xylophone)
Emma Donnelly         Royle 3rd         Squishmallows (vocal)
Teddy Cappella, Mackenzie Godfrey         Tokeneke         3rd         Ten Thousand Miles (vocal)
Charlotte Hastings, Riley Kelleher         Holmes         4th          Covid (vocal)
Emma Kayhan         Tokeneke         4th         Me and the Beat (Drumset)
Grace Lantier         Royle 4th         I Can (vocal)
Andrew Hardy                 Tokeneke         4th         Possibilities (vocal)
Liam Lee, Brennan O’Hagan, Jack Stricker    Tokeneke         4th         Panda Band Original (trumpet, saxophone)
Emily Sable         Holmes         4th         Dynamics (piano)
Royle 4A                 Royle 4th         Rat on a Roof (xylophone, vocal)
John McCarthy         Tokeneke         5th         Heist (piano)
Levi Eiref                 Tokeneke         5th         The Spring Parade (trumpet)
Taylor O’Connor         Tokeneke         5th         Fighting Friendships (vocal)
Skylar Stephens + bandmates         Ox Ridge         5th         Colors Shine (voice and rhythm section)
Julianne Kohlberger + bandmates         Ox Ridge         5th         Don’t (voice and rhythm section)
Greeley Morgan + bandmates        Ox Ridge         5th         Wind (voice and rhythm section)
Claire Wood         MMS 6th         Ex-Bestfriend (vocal)
Vaughan Silcox         DHS 10th         Two Preludes (piano)
John Raskopf + String Quartet       DHS                 11th         String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor - 1. Andante
Stephen Cerussi         DHS 12th         Midas (vocal)

Dallas Brass in Concert

Friday, April 22nd, 7:00pm Darien High School Auditorium

Come see Dallas Brass, one of America's foremost music ensembles! The group has a unique blend of traditional brass instruments with a full complement of drums and percussion. See the Darien band students, including grade 5 bands, MMS Honors Band, and DHS bands join them onstage during the concert!  

The event is FREE thanks to Darien Music for Youth and our generous sponsors!  Click here to reserve for your free tickets!

March is Music in our Schools Month

 March is Music in Our Schools Month!

Elementary Performances

The Darien Elementary Choruses performed God Bless America at the Bridgeport Islanders game on March 19th

The Tokeneke Chorus performed Sahayta - a piece featuring 10 different languages - at Tokeneke's Passport Around the World Event on March 23rd

Middle School Performances and Events

MMS Band students were selected by audition to perform in the CMEA Western Region Festival on March 18th. Chloe Zou (flute), Xindi Liu (clarinet), Darragh Hallinan (alto sax)

MMS Jazz

MMS Jazz Band played in the lobby as students and teachers entered the building on MMS Music Monday

The Blues and Beyond

In collaboration with the Social Studies Department, the Music Department presented The Blues and Beyond, where students worked with narrators to gain a better understanding of Black History and the evolution of music in the United States.  On March 2nd, all 8th grade students attended a performance from live musicians featuring the music they learned about during the program

As a final project, 8th grade music students composed their own blues lyrics.  The music teachers chose 4 pieces to be professionally recorded by the Blues and Beyond Team.  The finalists were (L-R): Lucie Smith, William Sapione, Everett Kalvaitis, Will Raskopf, Hadley Hazelton, Claire Chan, Luli Escajadillo, Zuzu Wood, Grace Muecke, Luka Zhou, Aly Matullo. Not pictured: Phebe Childs

Click here to listen to the final performances!  Congratulations to Hadley Hazelton, Lucie Smith, William Sapione, and a student who wishes to remain anonymous!

MMS Chorus

MMS Chorus students performed the National Anthem at the Bridgeport Islanders game on March 19th

High School Performances and Events

Congratulations to Morgan Lindell and John Raskopf (chorus) and Sydney Du and Conan Thibideau (orchestra) who were chosen by audition to perform in the 2022 All-State Festival in Hartford from March 31st-April 2nd

DHS Orchestra

DHS Orchestra performed a Midday Music small-ensemble concert on March 18th featuring a wide variety of music performed by small groups of students

DHS Band

The DHS Wind Ensemble performed for the MMS 8th grade band on March 14th.  85 students from the DHS Band travelled to New Orleans from March 24th-27th for a clinic at Loyola University, performance exchange at a local high school, a performance in the French Quarter, and tours of musical and cultural sites throughout the city

Save the Date for Dallas Brass!

Friday, April 22nd at 7:00pm

Click here to reserve for your free tickets!

2022 Darien Young Composers Concert

Attention Young Composers!  The Music Department of the Darien Public Schools will be sponsoring the 22nd annual Young Composers Concert on Wednesday, April 6th at 6:30pm in the Darien High School Auditorium.  This program is open to all students currently enrolled in the Darien Public Schools.  It is a great opportunity for students to compose their own original music and share it with an audience.  Please read the guidelines below and speak to your school music teacher if you have any questions.  Good luck!

Guidelines and Rules

• Compose an original song!  All compositions music be student-created, but may have the guidance of a teacher or parent.  See the checklist on the entry form for assessment criteria.

• Submit a Google Form (link below) and upload a digital file of a live video recording and a copy of the composition/written representation of the piece on or before Monday, March 14th.

• A committee will review the compositions and notify students who are accepted.

• Selected composers must perform their composition at the concert.

Click here  for a copy of the 2022 Young Composers flyer.

Click here  for the Google Form to upload the required information and enter your composition.

Darien elementary student wins international piano competition

Christopher Li, a 4th grader at Hindley Elementary School, came in First Place at the 2021 Piano Star International Competition.  The event was live-streamed on December 11, 2021.  Christopher performed in Amateur Group B, competing against 37 players from 13 different countries. The competition was judged by professional pianists and college professors. After performing in several preliminary rounds, he performed Golliwog’s Cakewalk by Debussy in the Grand Finals.  Christopher was awarded $200 in prize money.  He dedicated his performance and victory to his grandfather, who passed away unexpectedly in 2021.  Says Christopher, “My Grandpa is the most loving person I know.  I know he can hear me whenever I play.”

A video of his performance is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbGsJIp6TX4

This was Christopher’s first competition.  He has been studying piano for 3 years with piano teacher Li-Pi Hsieh.  Colleen Thompson, Director of Music for the Darien Public Schools, spoke with Christopher and his parents Eric Li and Anh Tang after learning about his victory.  They shared that Christopher first became interested in the piano after taking a keyboarding class at Darien Town Hall.  Anh noticed that after only a short time being exposed to the instrument, Christopher was playing beautifully on his keyboard at home.  He has perfect pitch, and the uncanny ability to memorize music quickly.  He loves playing piano - he is especially drawn to composers from the Romantic period like Debussy and Chopin - and practices 1 to 2 hours per day.

Christopher is thankful for his music teacher at Hindley Elementary School, Mrs. Knapp, for inspiring him with the “beautiful music, songs and dances,” in music class every week.  He is also grateful to his violin teacher Ms. Hanley for teaching him “the beauty of the violin and nurturing his musicality over the year,” and to Ms. Minnis for giving him an opportunity to perform with the Advanced Chamber Orchestra at Darien High School over the summer.  In addition to playing piano and violin, Christopher enjoys playing tennis and chess, doing puzzles, and hiking with his mom.  Christopher looks forward to competing in more piano competitions and hopes to perform in his first live competition in Hartford in February.