Teaching Music at AACPS

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

Fronting on the Chesapeake Bay, Anne Arundel County has 432 miles of salt water coastline. Inland is a countryside of softly rolling hills, rivers, and streams.

Anne Arundel’s proximity to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore has given the county a sophisticated suburban air. Anne Arundel houses the capital of Maryland and the historic one-time capital of the country.

Lying directly on the great Boston-Washington corridor, Anne Arundel is within easy access of most of the eastern population centers of the country. Yet it is an entity unto itself. Anne Arundel County bears the mark of the past, the present, and the promise of the future.

PROGRAM GOALS

The music program of Anne Arundel County Public Schools provides a variety of musical experiences for students in grades Kindergarten - 12. The broad outcomes on which music curriculum is based are those in the Maryland State Department of Education’s Essential Learner Outcomes for the Fine Arts.

1. Students demonstrate the ability to perceive, perform, and respond to music.

2. Students demonstrate an understanding of music as an essential aspect of history and human experience.

3. Students demonstrate an ability to organize musical ideas and sounds creatively.

4. Students demonstrate an ability to make aesthetic judgments.

FINE ARTS GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Every student, in order to graduate, must earn one credit in one of the fine arts (music, art, dance, drama). This can be earned in any of the four years of high school. All music courses have been designated as appropriate for meeting this requirement.

PROGRAM ORGANIZATION

All students in grades one through five receive general music instruction for two half-hours per week with a qualified music teacher. Kindergarten music is provided by the classroom teacher who is assisted by the music teacher. In grade three students may elect to begin instruction on an orchestral string instrument and in grade four on a wind or percussion instrument. Curriculum at the middle level is written for the teaching of lifelong skills and understandings and is heavily oriented to active involvement in performance using keyboard, guitar, recorder, voice, and other mediums. Band, orchestra, and choral experiences may be elected. Anne Arundel County has a number of exemplary performing groups in the middle grades.

The senior high school music program is varied. Beginning in grade nine, students may select from among courses such as Band, Strings, Chorus, Guitar, Piano and Keyboards, Music in Perspective, Vocal Instruction, Vocal Ensemble, Instrumental Instruction, Instrumental Ensemble, Jazz Band, Music Theory, Music History and Literature, Musical Theater, Electronic Music, and Independent Study. A course is scheduled when there is sufficient enrollment. Some Advanced Placement and “honors” designated courses are also available.

Music instruction is provided in all schools to help students gain skills, knowledge, and values as active participants in the art of making music. Opportunities are provided for student to sing, play instruments, read, listen, compose, interpret, and understand music literature and history at the levels of skill appropriate to their capabilities. Opportunities for sectionals, and solo and ensemble preparation are available. Performing groups are usually organized according to the music experience and ability of students. The nature of performing ensembles varies from school to school.

COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

Anne Arundel County is located in the culturally rich triangle of Baltimore, the District of Columbia, and Annapolis. Active cooperation with a number of community organizations provides student exposure to live music performances. In most cases formal preparation of students is expected in the schools. Here is a short list of some of those organizations:

            The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
            The Baltimore Opera
            Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
            The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
            The Annapolis Opera
            The Annapolis Chorale
            The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
            The United States Naval Academy Band
            The United States Army Field Band
            Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts
            The Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra
            Anne Arundel County Community College

FESTIVALS, SPECIAL EVENTS, AND COUNTY-WIDE ENSEMBLES

A number of county-wide festivals and events are conducted each year and are regarded as extensions of the music curriculum, including:

            Solo and Ensemble Festivals
            Band and Orchestra Festivals
            Choral Festivals
            All County Middle and Senior Bands
            All County Middle and Senior Orchestras
            All County Middle and Senior Choruses
            Marching Band Exhibition
            All County Jazz Band/Jazz Workshop
            Summer camps---band, strings, and chorus

Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Music Division
410-222-5465

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