Music plays an integral part in the curriculum
of Scoil na gCeithre Máistrí. Children enjoy playing various musical instruments
including tin whistle, piano, accordion, button accordion, keyboard, recorder,
melodica, fiddle, flute and various percussion instruments. A variety of
instruments are taught during school hours and interested pupils in senior
classes choose to wait in school on Tuesday from 3.00p.m. to 4.00p.m. to
practise.
We have a large repertoire of songs in Irish,
English and Italian! We enjoy singing with our classmates in school and
also every Tuesday the junior choir (second and third classes) practise
in the school hall while on Wednesday mornings it is the turn of the senior
choir (fourth, fifth and sixth classes).
Enjoyment and participation are considered
to be vital. We have played and sang in public on many occasions and have
enjoyed each performance immensely. Each year we take part in Féile Ceoil
na Scoileanna. This concert takes place annually at the Dean Crowe Hall
in Athlone and gives children an opportunity to perform on stage. Recently
over one hundred children from the school played in the school band for
the Féile Ceoil. We played a variety of polkas, waltzes, marches and slow
airs to a packed hall. This is not a competition and it is an event looked
forward to each year by pupils and parents alike.
We organise Christmas concerts on a regular
basis and again we get a chance to share our musical talents with the audience.
Singing and music adds greatly to the celebration of Mass and groups of
pupils from the school sing in the choir and provide musical accompaniment
during the Mass
Each Christmas, we play and sing carols
at the local shopping centres. We enjoy entertaining the general public
as they shop for their Christmas presents. We hope that we play our part
to create a festive atmosphere.
On a competitive front we have taken part in Slógadh regularly. This is a national competition. We have taken part in the choir competition and the grúpa traidisiúnta competition (traditional music group). We have been winners at local and regional levels on many occasions and runners up at national levels. While it is very satisfying to be a winner we realise that it is participation rather than winning that is all-important.
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