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Band & Vocal

5th Grade Band

This is our beginning level in the Ottawa Hills Band Program. Students meet three times per week to learn the basic skills of a band instrument. Students may choose from the following instruments: Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Baritone, or Percussion (snare drum and bells). Students are required to practice at home 120 minutes per week.

6th Grade Band

This is a continuation and development of the basic skills. Students expand their horizons and explore new notes and new techniques. They also learn the fights songs of The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan, as well as our own Ottawa Hills High School. We explore music with harmonies and multiple lines as each instrument has its own part. Students are required to practice at home 120 minutes per week.

Brown Bag Chorus

In 1978, Elementary School music teacher Helen Iossi formed the Brown Bag Chorus. She believed older elementary students should have an opportunity to sing in an organized chorus, prepare music for performance, and enjoy some musical teamwork. She started with 75 students. Currently, the average membership is 115 students.

Fifth and 6th Grade students are invited to join the Brown Bag Chorus at the beginning of the school year, making a commitment to rehearse twice a week at lunch and perform four times throughout the school year. Concerts happen at the beginning of December and in mid-March.

Students explore music from many cultures having sung in Latin, Chinese, Arabic, French, Hebrew and English. Spring musical themes range from The Beatles to Motown to Disney to Broadway.

2021 Brown Bag Chorus Performance