Language Common to All
As a school and a community, we are committed to giving our children a strong music program. Even in this challenging economic climate, we are determined to stand behind our mission to serve the whole child; providing programs to inspire the heart as fully as we educate the brain.
Music and children are natural companions. We create a safe, inviting place for young people to explore, create, celebrate and grow with music. Often awakening a lifelong love, our programs provide the depth and training to support students wherever their talent takes them.
Beginning in elementary school, students sing and dance; try out movement and simple theatre; and explore xylophone, marimba, guitar, drums, tambourine, recorders, and keyboard. The music of many cultures animates this nurturing, playful program. Experiencing the delight of performing together, students build trust and self-confidence early.
Igniting Joy
By middle school, students are making meaningful connections between music and life. Our student-centered program builds on this developing interest by offering electives geared specifically to teens. In addition to appealing to the widest cross-section of students, we specialize in reaching out to students who don't feel successful in other areas of school. Through the years, many young people struggling with learning or social problems have found a path to support, belonging and success in the music department.
Students in 7th to 12th grades have participated in the Senior and Junior Solo and Ensemble contests in Bellingham, WA
Local musical professionals and others regularly volunteer in the classroom with individual coaching, technical help or performance preparation.
"The music department at Lopez offers a curriculum that is relevant to youth in today's electronic world. My son, now a documentary film maker in NYC, learned guitar in middle school and has used that knowledge to write and record musical scores for his own films and those of other film makers." —Lopez parent
"People relate to each other through music. Music helps students with academic capability, thought processes and social skills. It creates lifetime bonds, crosses borders and builds bridges. We want to bring our own personal and community resources to music and the school: to bring in musicians who are educators and educators who are musicians." —Dean and Carolyn Jacobsen, co-founders of the Music in the Schools Foundation