Daycroft Students Brighten Holiday Season with Beautiful Music

Daycroft fifth- and sixth-graders in the hand chimes ensemble performed on December 10 at University Living, an assisted living residence for elderly and physically challenged people in Ann Arbor.

Daycroft’s hand chimes ensemble performed on December 10 for gathered shoppers at “Beyond Bells,” Briarwood Mall’s third annual program benefiting the Salvation Army.

Ann Arbor, MI (January 3, 2011) – No matter how one celebrates the holidays – with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwaanza, or other religious, cultural, and family traditions – the season is almost sure to be filled with music.

It’s little surprise, then, that the holidays are one of the best times of year for students at Daycroft Montessori School of Ann Arbor to show how well they have learned to make beautiful music together.

The holiday season just past was no exception. In December, Daycroft students presented an ambitious new edition of the school’s annual Winter Songfest, and they acted as Daycroft’s musical ambassadors in performances to community groups.

Hand Chimes and Treble Makers

The students’ holiday-season musical performances were led for the first time by Daycroft’s new music teacher Marlene Inman-Reilly. She joined the school in the fall.

Ms. Inman-Reilly, who trained in vocal performance and opera, has particularly enjoyed working with “The Treble Makers,” Daycroft’s show choir. “We have 23 students from grades 3 through 6 who take part,” she said, “and each and every one of them gives up some of their precious recess time for choir practice. It’s a delight to work with kids who love singing so much, and who are so motivated to improve.”

Daycroft fifth- and sixth-graders in the hand chimes ensemble performed on December 10 at University Living, an assisted living residence for elderly and physically challenged people in Ann Arbor.

Daycroft fifth- and sixth-graders in the hand chimes ensemble performed on December 10 at University Living, an assisted living residence for elderly and physically challenged people in Ann Arbor.

Daycroft fifth- and sixth-graders in the hand chimes ensemble performed on December 10 at University Living, an assisted living residence for elderly and physically challenged people in Ann Arbor.

On the morning of Friday, December 10, The Treble Makers joined with Daycroft’s 5th and 6th grade hand chimes ensemble in performing for a delighted audience of elderly and physically challenged residents of University Living, an assisted living residence on Ann Arbor’s south side, near Briarwood Mall. University Living is, buy the way, just a quick hop from Daycroft’s Preprimary Campus on Oakbrook Drive.

The choir and hand chimes ensemble then scooted over to the mall itself, where they set up near the Sears store’s entrance, for two free performances for holiday shoppers. This was part of “Beyond Bells,” Briarwood’s third annual program benefiting the Salvation Army. Per Ms. Inman-Reilly, “The students acted in place of traditional Salvation Army bell ringers. Their performance helped to draw donations from shoppers.”

World Music and Waltzing Flowers

Winter Songfest, a Daycroft tradition, happened this year on the evening of Wednesday, December 15, beginning at 6:30 pm. Daycroft students from kindergarten through 6th grade assembled in the gym at the school’s Elementary Campus on Zeeb Road to play, sing, or dance in the program. Their audience: Daycroft parents, family, and friends.

The presentation began with instrumental performances. Daycroft’s fifth and sixth graders demonstrated their dexterity with hand chimes by performing several selections. This included an especially ear-pleasing medley of three Hanukkah tunes and “Deck the Halls,” a traditional English carol.

Ms. Inman-Reilly, a violin player, has initiated a strings program at Daycroft, and the Winter Songfest provided the school’s own young violinists with the chance to show how much they have already learned. They played a three-part arrangement of the popular carol “Good King Wenceslas.” Sophie Kress of Daycroft’s third- and fourth-grade class served as student conductor.

Daycroft’s advanced (grades 5-6) and beginning (grade 4) orchestra students collaborated on a selection entitled “Holiday Array” representing music from other parts of the world. One piece, influenced by the weeklong Kwaanza celebration of African heritage and culture, put the distinctive sound of conga drums at the arrangement’s forefront.

Third-graders played a Brahms intermezzo with recorders. Ms. Inman-Reilly was proud of the students’ eagerness to tackle the intricate two-part arrangement. “This is quite an advanced musical piece for children this young,” she said.

Next, The Treble Makers performed a lovely rendition of the Josh Groban tune “Believe” from the popular holiday movie The Polar Express.

For the Songfest’s finale, Daycroft students from kindergarten through second grade performed 20 minutes of highlights from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The students blended music, acting, and dance to relate the tale, a perennial holiday-season favorite.

For the Winter Songfest's finale, Daycroft students from kindergarten through second grade performed highlights from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.

Selections included The Nutcracker’s Overture and March; “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies”; the Arabian, Chinese, and Russian dances; “The Dance of the Reed-Flutes”; and “The Waltz of the Flowers.”

Abby Knue, head teacher for the kindergarten class at Daycroft’s Elementary Campus, served as the choreographer for the dance portions of the Nutcracker performance. She had been a professional dancer before going into teaching. Ms. Knue was also the costumer for the entire Nutcracker production.

Daycroft’s New Musical Guide

Marlene Inman-Reilly not only teaches music at Daycroft, she is also known locally as the musical director for some productions of the Young People’s Theater (www.youngpeoplestheater.org) of Ann Arbor. She served in that capacity for the troupe’s very well received performances of The Sound of Music last month.

Ms. Inman-Reilly is a native of Conway, South Carolina. She first came to the Ann Arbor area while doing two years of postgraduate work at the University of Michigan from 2005 to 2007. “It was during that time,” she said, “that I became involved with Young People’s Theater. I was the musical director on many of their productions. In doing so I discovered my deep love both for teaching and for this community.”

Ms. Inman-Reilly returned to Ann Arbor recently after some years of globetrotting. She and her husband, who was with the U.S. Marines at the time, lived in Hawaii for a year, then returned for a while to South Carolina to be closer to her family.

Despite the colder weather she now endures, Ms. Inman-Reilly is very happy to call Ann Arbor her home. And Daycroft’s students are very happy to call her their music teacher.

About Daycroft Montessori School

Daycroft Montessori School blends the distinctive student-centered teaching methods of Maria Montessori with traditional and progressive teaching methods. Daycroft thus accomplishes its educational mission: to provide a personalized learning environment that appreciates individual differences, nurtures the whole child, and enables students to develop at their own pace and achieve to their full potential.

Daycroft is one of Washtenaw County's leading independent schools. It began as a preschool program in 1968. Daycroft has since grown to include a full-day kindergarten program, an elementary school program through 6th grade, before-school and after-school care, summer camp programs, and enrichment classes.

Daycroft has earned accreditation from the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS; www.isacs.org). It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS; www.nais.org) and is affiliated with the American Montessori Society (AMS; www.amshq.org).

Daycroft Preprimary School (preschool and kindergarten) is at 100 E. Oakbrook Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Phone: (734) 930-0333.

Daycroft Elementary School (grades K through 6) and Daycroft's administrative offices are at 1095 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Phone: (734) 662-3335.

Media Contact:
Chris Kochmanski
DesignHub, Inc.
(734) 944-8705
chris@design-hub.com

Back to top »