Music
The Boulder Valley Music Curriculum provides the foundation for quality music instruction for students and represents the core program for which all schools are accountable. The Boulder Valley Academic Standards in music are the topical organization of the concepts and skills all Colorado students should know and be able to do throughout their preschool through twelfth grade experience.
1. Expression of Music - The demonstration of human thought and emotion through the medium of performance, which is a product of knowledge and skills gained in the study of music.
2. Creation of Music - The demonstration of learned skills in the composition, improvisation, and arranging of music. Creating music involves writing music, fashioning new music from an existing piece of music, or forming an entirely new piece of music.
3. Theory of Music - The understanding of the distinctive language, conventions, mechanics, and structure of organized sound. Investigation of music theory allows for a more complete understanding of all aspects of the musical process, including musical performance and composition.
4. Aesthetic Valuation of Music - The knowledge needed to make an informed evaluation and to provide a carefully considered critique about a musical piece. It also addresses the beauty, heart, and soul: the aesthetics of music. Valuing music will permit individuals to distinguish between a scholarly and an individual judgment of music.
Music is an important part of the educational experience for Mesa students. All students participate in general music classes twice a week. Annual grade-level music performances are presented by students in Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. Each year students in 4th and 5th grades perform in a staged musical production as well as a spring concert. In music class students have the opportunity to play a variety of percussion instruments, Orff instruments, ukuleles, and handbells. Students, parents, and teachers all benefit from the Mesa Music program.