PITTSBURGH -- March is Music in Our Schools Month and the North Hills School District is celebrating with special musical performances featuring all ages of North Hills instrumental and vocal musicians from beginners to advanced performers. Admission is free to most events, and community members are encouraged to attend.
The celebration started early this year with Cabaret Night on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the North Hills High School cafeteria. Each year, Cabaret Night provides an opportunity for members of the high school choirs to showcase solo, duet and small group performances in songs of their choosing.
Jazz Band Mardi Gras was held on Leap Day this year, Saturday, Feb. 29. The night featured the North Hills middle and high school jazz bands in a night of NOLA style fun including all-you-can eat pie, basket raffles,silent auction, 50/50, photo booth, craft table and concessions.
On Friday, March 6, the North Hills High School Wind Ensemble, made up of 48 students in grades 9-12, performed a preview concert ahead of their trip to the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. The concert is the same concert they’ll perform at the National Concert Band Festival March 12-14, and included Maslanka’s “Give Us This Day” and a preview of the 2020 commission “Through These Woods.” The North Hills High School Wind Ensemble is one of just 16 bands in the country and the only one from Pennsylvania invited to Music for All. Watch the preview concert.
Also on March 6, the Sixth Grade Orchestra, with students from Highcliff, McIntyre, Ross and West View, went on tour, performing at the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh for the Saturday Light Brigade Radio Show, and later at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
On March 7, fourth- and fifth-graders participated in Pittsburgh Youth Chorus’ Singing Saturday festival at Mt. Lebanon High School.
Concerts and events planned for the rest of month and into April include:
- March 10: Orchestra Night
Middle School Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Featuring a variety of musical styles from string players in grades 4-12
- March 12-14: Music For All National Festival
Indianapolis, Indiana
Invite-only national festival featuring the North Hills High School Wind Ensemble
- March 13: PMEA Elementary Honors Band Fest West
Hampton Middle School
Featuring elementary students from all four schools
- March 20-22, 26-28: Spring Musical: "Catch Me If You Can"
High School Auditorium
Tickets are available online.
- March 26-28: PMEA Region Band
Moon Area High School
Featuring Chandler Cleric (clarinet), Grant Mumper (saxophone) and Anthony Smith (trombone)
- March 27: PMEA SingFest
Elizabeth Forward Middle School
Featuring students from our elementary schools: Emma Blodgett (Highcliff), Regan Iwanowski and Gwen Barkovich (McIntyre), Emma Collin and Isabelle Larson (Ross), and Lexi McCloe and Sean Malinowski (West View)
- March 30: Band-O-Rama
MS Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Featuring high school and middle school bands playing a wide range of musical works and an exciting finale with a performance by the marching band.
- April 1: Elementary Band Concert
Middle School Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Fourth, fifth and sixth grade band students from all four elementary schools will perform in their annual spring concert in the auditorium of the North Hills MIddle School.
- April 4: Children’s Choir at The Block Northway
The Block Northway, 3 p.m.
The Children’s Choir will share their talents in a performance at The Block Northway on April 4 at 3 p.m.
- April 6: Children’s Choir Concert
West View Auditorium, 7 p.m.
About Music in Our Schools Month
For over 30 years, March has been officially designated by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) for the observance of Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM™), the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation.
MIOSM began as a single statewide Advocacy Day and celebration in New York on March 14, 1973, and grew over the decades to become a month-long celebration of school music in 1985. The celebration lengthened as teachers asked for more time to showcase their music programs.
The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children – and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have access to music. MIOSM is an opportunity for music teachers to bring their music programs to the attention of the school and the community, and to display the benefits that school music brings to students of all ages.