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Quebecois Music Night at The Grammar School
French teacher Johanna Gardner and chorus teacher Amy Cann led The Grammar School 5th-8th grades and an audience of parents and friends in an evening of Québécois music and dance last Thursday. Accompanied by musicians on violin, piano, and mandolin, everyone sang French songs and participated in traditional dances.
The concert was the culmination of a month of French Canadian studies in French class. Singer and storyteller Keith Murphy told the students stories of 17th century French voyageurs who paddled up Canadian rivers to hunt beaver for fur hats. During the long hours in the canoe they entertained themselves by singing des chanson enchainées; as a 6th grader described it, when a company hired paddlers, they “made sure that at least one person was a good singer who knew a lot of songs, to keep all the other paddlers motivated and to stay in rhythm. That person would sing a verse, which everyone else would echo. They sang and danced a lot.” Murphy introduced the students to Québécois songs, foot tapping, and simple dances.
In addition, students studied current day life in Quebec as they researched politicians, the old city, and events at the January citywide celebration Carnaval, which takes place during the first two weeks of February. They commented that it was interesting to learn about Bonhomme, the Carnaval snowman mascot and King of the Carnaval, and “the awesome ice castles and cool snow sculptures.”
Music director Alli Lubin observed that it was rewarding to share the TGS theater as a community space for the performing arts to be enjoyed and appreciated. As one parent remarked, “This was the most memorable event I’ve attended during my ten years at The Grammar School.”