Music Program

• Stacy Ryan teaches general music, choir, and ukulele club at Liberty Elementary.  She has taught music at Liberty since 2008 and she is so excited to be teaching your wonderful children!  Miss Ryan has also taught music at Rosedale Elementary (2008-2012) and Salem Heights Elementary (2012-2019).
• She loves music, singing, and dancing!  Miss Ryan coached the South Salem High School Swim Team for 11 years, but in 2018 decided that it was time to "retire" and do other things!  In her spare time she likes to read, swim, watch Netflix, ballroom dance, spend time with her friends and family, and discover new Broadway musicals! 
• Miss Ryan lives in Salem with her two cats Toby and Henry. Toby and Henry are brothers and they really liked visiting Miss Ryan's students while she was teaching on zoom during the pandemic. 

Performances

Every student at Liberty will have an opportunity to be a part of a music performance.  Select students from that grade who show interest will be asked to do extra parts like acting or speaking lines or singing solos!  

Honor Choir

Honor choir is made up of students that are in the Liberty choir.  Yes, you have to be in the Liberty Winter Choir to be in Honor Choir.  It is a 5th grade honor choir, but on occasion, there are 4th graders that make it into honor choir based off of their ability. I suggest all 4th graders who are interested, try out to get the audition experience and they will have a better chance of getting into honor when they are in 5th grade.  Liberty will have up to 10 students admitted into honor choir.  Not every student who tries out for honor choir will make it. Each of the 6 elementary Sprague feeder schools will admit 10 students into honor choir.  

The Honor Choir is made up of  students from the Sprague Area Elementary feeder schools: Battle Creek, Liberty, Salem Heights, Schirle, Sumpter, and Wright. The Honor Choir experience is rather brief, taking place in one week, culminating in a concert at Sprague High School (gym) on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 7:00pm.

Students who would like to participate in honor choir will audition for Miss Ryan and be evaluated on pitch, rhythm, attitude, and behavior. Students will sing, ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee’ and clap some rhythms for their audition. Students who are selected will be notified by a letter home after their audition.

Auditions will take place after choir or at recess on the dates below.  Students will sing by themselves for Miss Ryan.  If students or parents do not feel comfortable with their student singing alone with Miss Ryan, then they may have one friend or parent sit in the room with them during the audition.  

Auditions

Pick one audition time from the following times:

• Monday, October 2nd after choir 3:00-3:30pm
• Tuesday, October 3rd during recess
• Wednesday, October 4th after choir 3:00-3:30pm
• Thursday, October 5th during recess
• 5th graders in band and orchestra will not have the after choir times to audition due to band and orchestra, so they will have to audition during the recess times or make an appointment with Miss Ryan. 

Rehearsals

Rehearsals will be at Sprague High School.

• Monday, October 30th 4:30-6:00pm (arrive at 4:20 PM)
• Wednesday, November 1st (no school) 9:00am-12:00pm (Arrive at 8:50 AM)
• Monday, November 6th 4:30 PM-6:00 PM (arrive at 4:20 PM)
• Tuesday, November 7th 4:30 PM-6:00 PM (arrive at 4:20 PM)
• Wednesday, November 8th Concert at 7:00 pm at Sprague High School. Students need to arrive at Sprague at 5:45 pm for a practice with Sprague, Crossler, and Judson.

Liberty Choir

Winter Choir

• Choir will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:20-3:00pm.  
• Winter choir starts Monday, September 25th!
• Choir will cost $20.00 for the year and will include a choir t-shirt and pizza party.
• Please let me know if you need a scholarship to cover the cost of choir. Please don't let the cost be the reason you student doesn't do choir, scholarships are available. Let me know if you need one.
• Concert attire will be a choir t-shirt, black pants or skirt, black or dark shoes, and a festive hat.
• A festive hat could be a Santa hat, elf hat, or reindeer ears. Please let me know if you need to borrow one.
• Students in Winter choir have an opportunity to try out for honor choir in October.
• If your student is interested in honor choir, please go to the honor choir tab to learn more.

Important dates

Last day of winter choir: Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Parent Concert: Thursday, December 7, 2023

Pizza Party: Friday, December 8, 2023

Spring Choir

• Choir starts Wednesday, January 11th!
• Choir will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:20-3:00pm.
• Choir will cost $20.00 and will include a choir t-shirt and pizza party.
• ​If you were in winter choir, there is no cost for spring choir.
• Concert attire will be a choir t-shirt, black pants or skirt, black or dark shoes, and a festive hat.
• Concert: Elementary Choral Festival Saturday, March 9, 2024 at Peoples Church
• Parent Concert: Thursday, May 9, 2024
• Pizza Party during lunch on Friday, May 10th

Ukulele Club

Ukulele club is a 5th grade only club.  It will start in January in the music room during recess on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:30-11:55 pm.  Ukulele club is a commitment that will start January 23rd and go until our concert on May 8th.  This is a very select group.  I am only allowing 20 fifth graders into the club.  After all the permission forms are turned in, it is up to me to decide which students will be in the club based on past student behavior in music class and a willingness to work hard to learn a new instrument during recess.
 
Here are the requirements for being in ukulele club:

• 5th grade student with good behavior who wants to learn the ukulele
• Willingness to give up two recesses at week (Tuesday and Wednesday)
• Able to be at the May 8th concert that starts at 7:00 pm, Students arrive at 6:30pm
• There will be no quitting of ukulele club once you have joined.  This is a commitment, please help your students honor this commitment.

Uptown Music, Guitar Center (both in Keizer) and Willamette Valley Music Company (downtown) sell ukuleles, cases, and tuners.  A decent soprano ukulele will be around $40.00-$50.00, however, the more you spend the better the sound quality is.  You can play them and test them out before you buy them.   

Some good ukulele brands for a starter ukulele are Mitchell, Mahalo, Kala, Kohala, or Hilo. If you purchase a ukulele, please make sure that the back of the ukulele has gears that look like this:
 

• It is very important that the gears look like this. Don’t buy it if it doesn’t look like this!
• If your student does not have their own ukulele, I have some to borrow.
• Besides the cost of the ukulele, Ukulele Club is $15.00 for a Ukulele Club T-shirt and our pizza party in May.
• Once the club is full, the register button will be disabled.  It is first come, first served.  I will limit the club to 20 fifth graders.

Band

You can start band in 5th grade.  Band instruments include Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, and eventually many others!  Miss Ryan is not the band teacher.  Please contact the band teacher Mr. Nowickas with any question or comments about band.

Email Band Teacher

Crossler Area 5th Grade Beginning Band

• Monday-Friday 3:15-4:00pm at Crossler starting Monday, October 2, 2023
• Band start up night will be Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at Crossler MS in the GymAttend one of the two sessions: 5:00-7:00pm or 7:15-9:00pm
• 5th grade beginning band students will be bused from their elementary school to Crossler MS five days a week for instruction.  
• The bus will pick up students from their elementary school around 2:45.
• Instruction at Crossler MS will begin by 3:15pm and conclude at 4:00pm.  
• Students may be picked up from Crossler MS at the end of the day or may be transported home on a Crossler MS Bus.  
• Crossler Area 5th Grade Beginning Band will begin TBA.  S
• Students who want to do both choir and band will have to leave choir early at 2:45 or find their own transportation to Crossler at 3:00 when choir is over.
   

Orchestra

You can start orchestra in 4th or 5th grade.  Orchestra is Violin, Viola, Cello, or Double Bass.  Miss Ryan does not teach orchestra. 

Mrs. Scotton will be teaching 5th grade orchestra (second year orchestra). Mrs. Scotton is on maternity leave and Mr. Webster will be the 5th grade orchestra teacher until she gets back. Orchestra will meet at Crossler Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 3:15 to 4:00pm.

Please contact Mr. Webster with any further questions about 5th grade (2nd year) orchestra. 

Email Mr. Webster

Email Mrs. Scotton

Mr. Gregory will be teaching 4th grade and beginning orchestra at Liberty on Mondays and Thursdays at recess and Wednesday morning before school 8:00-8:45am. 4th grade orchestra starts Sept. 18th. Please contact Mr. Gregory with any further questions about beginning orchestra.

Email Mr. Gregory

Orchestra Parent Night September 14th at Sprague HS at 6:30pm for 4th and 5th grade students interested in joining beginning orchestra. You must attend this if you are new to orchestra and need to be fitted for an instrument.

5th grade orchestra (starts September 18th)

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 3:15 to 4:00pm
• A bus will provide transportation from the elementary schools to Crossler Middle School.
• The bus will pick up students from their elementary around 2:45-2:50. I
• Instruction at the MS will begin by 3:15 and conclude at 4:00. Students may be picked up from Crossler at the end of the day or may be transported home on the MS buses. 
• Students who want to do both choir and orchestra will either have to leave choir early at 2:45 or find their own transportation to Crossler at 3:00 when choir is over.

4th grade and beginning orchestra (starts September 18)

• Orchestra parent night Sept. 14 at Sprague HS at 6:30pm
• 4th grade orchestra will happen at Liberty in the music room Monday and Thursday at recess and Wednesday morning 8:00-8:45am​
• Randy Gregory will be teaching 4th grade beginning orchestra​
• Mr. Gregory will hand out notes home (registration) to students the week of Sept. 11th