Falmouth High School Making Music

Recognizing Veterans Day

Across the state and country it is a tradition in many schools that the music curriculum includes a Veterans Day program. With a pandemic underway these programs have been altered and in many cases eliminated.

CONGRATULATIONS Falmouth High School students and staff for working together to make this happen. Jake Sturtevant and Wendy Northrup, Falmouth High School music educators, made some adaptions this year. The concert band and chorus played on the football field and in the bleachers two selections that have been posted online for all to appreciate.

STAR SPANGLED BANNER (CONCERT BAND)- Veterans Music Performance 2020  

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THE (CONCERT CHOIR)- Veterans Music Performance 2020 

We all know that it takes cooperation and collaboration from many to put together a virtual performance – students, parents, music teachers, administrators and maintenance staff. The reality is that in a normal year the rest of the world most likely would not see/hear this performance. Another silver lining of the pandemic world.

I understand that there will be more virtual performances in their future. You can find those at the Falmouth Music website.

Veterans Day Celebration Through the Arts

Veterans Day at Lake Region High School

What a wonderful array of music, dance and voice that filled Lake Region High School in honor of our veterans on Veterans Day. Amongst our honored veterans and special guests were  Maine’s First Lady, Ms. Ann LePage, and Ms. Elizabeth Watson, Chair of the Maine Alliance for Arts Education. Parents, the entire student body and faculty cheered and applauded as music, voice and dance performances were presented. The high school choir under direction of Mr. Eugene Long, and the school band under direction of Mr. Paul Greenstone, played and sang a medley of patriotic songs to honor our veterans. Their voices and notes filled the gym with pride and energy amongst deep appreciation from the audience. The dancers, under the direction of Ms. Carmel Collins, dressed in army uniforms, took the veterans back to the 1940’s with a rendition of the popular Andrew’s Sisters song ‘Boogie, Woogie, Bugle Boy.’ This was followed by a lyrical dance to the song ‘The River Flows in You,’ by Yiruma. The dance was symbolic of how love, pride, and prayers flow like a river through each member of the U.S. armed forces wherever they are. The final dance  was performed to Toby Keith’s ‘Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.‘ As dancers took to the floor dressed in sequined shirts sporting the initials USA, cheers filtered through the crowd. It was a wonderful day of celebration rolling in on the waves of the arts.

Thank you to Carmel Collins for providing the blog post information and the photographs.