Huntington Third Graders Meet the Instruments

Huntington School District third graders were exposed to a variety of musical instruments last week. “Meet the Instruments” is an annual program that introduces primary level students to musical instruments they can study and play as fourth graders.

Orchestra and band teachers visited third graders at Washington, Jefferson, Southdown and Flower Hill primary schools, meeting with classes to demonstrate and discuss instruments and explain the instructional and performance program that awaits the youngsters next year.

The participating Huntington UFSD faculty members included orchestra teachers Nicole Lynch, Christina Bhasin, Arielle Harvey, James DiMeglio, Nicole Castaldo and Blake Dunn and band teachers Tara Adams, Chelsea Jablon, Katherine Schmelter, Frank Battista, Chris Scarnato, Jason Giachetti, Sue Graber, Ashley Berrell and Andre Rizzuto.

“Students listened to both groups play music of all genres including some popular Disney tunes as well as radio hits,” Ms. Lynch said. “Faculty members introduced and demonstrated all instruments so that students can now make an educated decision regarding what instrument is best suited for them.”

Students will be asked at a later date to complete an application and indicate three choices of instruments they would like to learn to play.

Students can begin to study an instrument in fourth through sixth grades. Students may occasionally start in later grades depending upon the circumstances.

Ultimately, the success of Huntington’s instrumental program depends on having well balanced ensembles, so not everyone can play their first choice. The groups wouldn’t sound very good if there were only saxophones and drums, or all violins, the music teachers told the third graders. “Our experience is that most students are quite happy with playing any of their choice instruments,” one teacher said.

The third graders were invited to attend a pair of free concerts, including last Saturday’s String Fiesta and the district’s annual Band Fest on Saturday, April 13 at 2 p.m.