With the theme “Music is All of Us,” March is Music in Our Schools Month, and Murray County Central is participating in the celebration.
The program has a multitude of events scheduled for the month of March and the best part is that each performance is free to the public. Included is large group contest in Luverne on Tuesday, March 14th. Jazz night will have a little different vibe this year as it will take place in the MCC auditorium at 6:30 p.m. with a free will ice cream social to follow in the cafeteria. On Friday, March 24th grades five through eight will take part in a music festival with Dr. Kingsbury working with the students. It will culminate with a performance at 1:00 p.m. showcasing the songs they learned. The fifth and sixth grade will take to the stage on March 30th with a 6:00 p.m. performance. It is titled “The Variety Show” and will feature music with different styles and from different cultures. Some of the titles include: “Puttin on the Ritz” by Irving Berlin, “Wonderful Life” from the move “Smallfoot” and “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars. The senior high students have an opportunity to showcase their talents during the solo and ensemble event scheduled for April 3rd in Fulda.
Instrumental instructor, Mike Helgeson, came to MCC in 2012 and says, “Music education creates people that are critical thinkers and can work well with others. It allows our students to have a creative outlet and is something they can enjoy their entire life.”
Christie Gergen has been with the choral side of MCC’s program for the past nine years. She spent the first six years working with grades two through six and then moved to the MCC Central where she has been instrumental in the vocal program there.
Kaitlin Cole is the current elementary choral teacher. “Music can not only connect us to different time periods and places around the world but also helps students connect to themselves emotionally and to discover new things about themselves, like their values and interests. There are not many places where students of any age can find beauty in learning, but in music it most definitely can be found.”
Each of the instructors are profoundly proud of the quality of music MCC provides and credit that to the fact students have the opportunity for daily music instruction. Gergen commented, “Music fires both sides of a child’s brain. It makes kids smarter because we cover all of disciplines across the board like math, history, science, cultures, and languages...it’s just so encompassing.”
Let the ‘Music in our Schools’ month be a reminder of the importance that music plays in all of our lives and to continue passing the tradition of a universal language.
