Home School Music Classes and Choruses 2009-2010
We welcome you to our new year of singing wonderful music. Please email me at anikodebreceny@comcast.net if you would like to register, including each student's name, age, preferred class/choir, and location.
* Please be aware that my computer or server is NOT delivering registrations sent from this website. Please email me directly rather than online. If you have already sent a registration online, please email again with the information, as I will not have received it. Thank you very much.
If you have any friends who may be interested in their children joining our classes, please pass this information on to them. Prospective students and families are most welcome to visit any rehearsals / classes.
Tuesday :
St. Paul's United Methodist Church, room 211, 10401 Armory Avenue, Kensington, MD
1:00-2:00 Solfa, 2:00-3:15 Bardos, 3:15-4:30 I Cantori, starting September 8th, 2009
Wednesday : Church of the Nazarene – corner of Goshen Rd & Warfield Rd, Gaithersburg, MD
1:00 - 2:00 Solfa II, 2:00 - 3:15 Bardos, 3:15 - 4:30 I Cantori, starting September 10th, 2009
A 30 minute sight singing and music skills class will be offered after I Cantori in both locations, depending on interest.
Dates: Fall Semester : week beginning September 7, 2009 – week beginning December 14, 2009. Classes and rehearsals will be held the week of Thanksgiving.
Spring Semester : week beginning January 18, 2010 – week beginning May 3rd .
Spring Break will follow Montgomery County Schools calendar (March 29 and 30, 2010).
Snow Make-up Weeks - beginning May 10, 17, 2010.
Concerts - TBA
Cost: Tuition is $150 per semester for Solfa, Bardos, & I Cantori. Rent and materials fee is $25 per family, per semester. Sight singing class will be $75 per semester.
We continue to offer large family discounts and scholarships. Please email Miss Aniko directly for further information. Payment is due in the first week of the semester. We also offer the option of paying half in the first week, and the remainder in the eighth week of each semester.
Information: email Miss Aniko - anikodebreceny@comcast.net, or call 1-301-695-1015.
Registration forms will be available at the first week(s) of classes. To register,
please email Miss Aniko. Please do not use the registration form online.
Aniko Debreceny, 1206 North Market Street, Frederick, MD 21701
Course Descriptions:
In Solfa I, II and III parents and children learn music together through solfa, a simple method of learning to sing with correct pitch. Each class includes breathing and vocal exercises, rhythmic activities, movement, general music concepts, using simple hand signs for notes (an excellent kinesthetic activity), and singing a variety of rounds, American folk songs, and original songs based on history, science, and biographies. Solfa II begins to sing songs in other languages - including Italian, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Latin. Singers in Solfa II and III do not need to have participated in Solfa I or II.
Bardos and I Cantori are choruses, rehearsing music from the Renaissance to the twenty first century. Much of the music is unaccompanied, in up to 8 parts, and both choruses sing in a number of other languages, including German, French, Latin, and Spanish. We also learn original curriculum based songs, written and composed by Ms. Debreceny. Previously we have learned songs about the Renaissance, Homer's Odyssey, the History of Invention, and Physics. Parents are welcome to join us.
All music is provided. Please bring a 1" white view binder for each student. Parents, pre-school siblings and babies attend at no charge.
Solfa I
: The basic solfa scale, part singing,
basic music concepts (ages 6 and up)
Solfa II & III :This course builds on the Solfa I course, with more advanced folk and traditional songs of American history, as well as curriculum based original songs, and songs in other languages. Students do not need to have completed Solfa I to register for Solfa II.
Bardos : A chorus in two and three parts, though students do not need to have completed Solfa II to register for Bardos. Singers will learn to sing in harmony with confidence and in other languages in a variety of musical traditions, as well as original curriculum based songs. ("Bardos" is a Celtic word which means 'to raise the voice, praise'.)
I Cantori : 3:15-4:30 p.m. is an advanced chorus for older students, singing mostly unaccompanied songs from the Renaissance to jazz, in three to six parts. Students do not need to have taken the solfa courses, as long as they have musical experience. (I Cantori means 'the singers' in Italian.)
I Voci : is an auditioned small group singing a capella repertoire, which meets for one hour weekly after I Cantori. (I Voci means 'the voices' in Italian.) Depending on numbers, this may not run in 2009-10.
Sight Singing : 4:30-5:00 pm. This class is offered to help singers gain the valuable skills of note reading and learning to sing at sight, in parts. New music every week will introduce singers to different periods and styles. The class also includes rhythm skills of increasing complexity.
What
other home school parents have said about Aniko’s classes:
"When my daughter and I enrolled in Aniko's solfa class, little did we know that we'd be getting much more than do-re-mi. Aniko incorporates many elements of music education into her class - rhythm, singing, ear training, sight singing, movement. But that's not all. Aniko takes the children on big adventures in social studies. Whether learning cowboy songs of the Old West or slave songs of the South, the children think and talk about history, geography, and the everyday lives of people in other places and times. By intertwining the melodies, words, and discussions with the children's imaginations, Aniko brings history to life through song. It is a most marvelous way for the children to learn." -Lila Turner, MD 2005
"My friends who have their children enrolled in your classes because of my glowing reports are ALL so glad they did! They came in with high expectations... and you met and exceeded them." Beth Riddlesberger, MD 2007
"Thank you very much for the wonderful music experiences Sebastian (6 years old) had with you this year. Mid-year, for example, he had me singing in parts with him as we drove along on the Beltway in afternoon traffic..." Susanne Wiggins, MD 2007
"I've been to many children's chorus concerts but never walked away with the feeling I got from this one! This was the very first time for me to successfully perform on stage. Thank you for giving me a positive experience. This was also a first for my son. This time he really enjoyed himself. He was singing his little heart out. Thank you!" Martha O'Hanlon, MD 2007
"Just wanted to say
thanks, Aniko, for the wonderful musical experience you have given our beloved
boys (ages 13 and 9) over the past five years. As a public school music teacher,
I especially appreciate the high level of musical excellence that all your
groups achieve. I am amazed at the apparent ease with which your i Cantori and i
Voci groups perform extremely sophisticated and complex vocal arrangements. Many
college level music students only wish they could sing with a group such as
this.
As wonderful as your concerts have been, the best part for me was observing
these kids after the concert was over. Seeing them continue to sing out in the
lobby or even out the door into the parking lot, to initiate favorite songs all
by themselves, is truly a testament to their love for singing. Obviously this
has been cultivated by your fine teaching and by your establishment of a
wonderful environment in which this can happen. Nothing makes a music teacher
happier than seeing kids experience and enjoy music to such a degree. I
can't wait to see what the future holds for these groups, and, for these
students. Thanks again for your commitment and fine teaching." Steve
Sinni
Music Teacher at Montgomery Knolls Elementary School
Silver Spring, MD (Montgomery County Public Schools) 2005
"I knew our (six year old) daughter was really paying attention in your class when one afternoon as we were driving and listening to the radio she said, "Mom, can you change the station please? That song is way too minor!". Thank you for increasing my child's musical vocabulary and helping her develop a discerning ear." Barbara Dashiell, MD 2005
"When my older children (Joshua and Madelyn) were babies, I heard a children's chorus in Utah sing that was just heavenly. The children had learned to use their voices correctly and the pure clear sound was truly artistic. Ever since then, I've kept in the back of my mind the desire to find a good children's chorus for my kids some day. In the small town I grew up in, the only non-school chorus that I was aware of was a show choir. I don't have anything against "show choirs," but the kids just yelled, and it wasn't a pretty sound. So I've been keeping my eye out for a good children's chorus, and I'm happy to say I've found one! My only concern was that I was the one who wanted them to do the chorus, because I wanted my kids to learn to sing with a beautiful tone, and I knew Madelyn would love it, but I knew I'd have to do some selling with Joshua. You made that easy, because they were both instantly sold! They absolutely loved it from day one!
Also, I want to tell you
that from a musician's standpoint, I'm very impressed as well. I have a master's
in violin performance and pedagogy, and although I'm not a singer, I have
thought before that I should spend some time teaching my children to sing.
(Don't laugh, because if you've listened to me sing at all, you'll know I'm not
good, but I know a few basics for trying to help my children, and my mother was
an elementary school music teacher, so we grew up singing a lot of the songs
that you teach). First of all, I never was getting to teaching them singing, so
for that I'm grateful for your class, but secondly (and I know this is obvious,
because you are trained to do this) you do such a better job than I could ever
do, not just because I'm not a singing teacher, but because you are one of the
most skilled teachers that I've ever observed. You have such good classroom
management skills, cover so many important musical concepts, teach history along
with it, use every minute to the best advantage, have a predictable routine that
the kids become used to and anticipate, and make it all fun! I can't imagine a
childhood music program any better! Anyway, that was long, but though I have
meant to, I have never taken the time to tell you before how much we appreciate
you! I also appreciate your making it affordable and easy to
come." SaraLyn Baxter, MD 2005
“My
family sings all the time … now music fills our home, our car, our outdoors.” Ginny
Wilcox, VA
"All of your rhythm and clapping and singing games have been a help to my boys' coordination, and I think, to reading too!" Nancy Rooker, VA
“…
The most deliberately delightful music instruction I have ever experienced.
My kids don’t fight in the car any more.
We sing.”
Jacintha Mezzetti, MD
“Your
music has been one of the biggest benefits of home schooling.” Lorrie
Fry, VA
“This
instilled a love for music in Rachel that will last a lifetime.” Kathy
Tucker, MD
Mail Registration On-Line Registration
Have a question? anikodebreceny@comcast.net