Herr Warren is our music teacher. I have been with German Immersion for the last 18 years. Before that I worked in several churches in the Milwaukee area as a full time organist/ choir director. During the years here at German Immersion I have received the Civic Music Association certificate of excellence in General Music twice. I was also PTA teacher of the year for MPS in 2004 . I have certification in Orff and World Music Drumming as well as Choral and Band. I received my degrees from UW - Milwaukee and Viterbo University

Our children this year are going to attend the Milwaukee Symphony 4 times. The first concert was October 22nd and was called Spooktacular tales featuring music by Williams, Mussorgsky, Elgar and others. Selections included the Imperial March, Danse Marcabe ,and Sorcerer's Apprentice. The Second Concert will be attended by the 1st and 2nd grade. It will be on February 9th and feature Flight of the Bumblebee and Carnival of the Animals. The third program will be attended by the 3rd and 4th grade on Feb. 3rd and will be titled Space the Final Frontier and has selections by Holst (The Planets) Williams ( Star Wars and ET ) , and Wagner (RIde of the Valkeries) The fourth concert will be attended by the third grade and will be Around the World With the MSO. Music from America, Russia, Argentina,and England will be featured. We thank the MSO Guilds and various local foundations for their support in keeping ticket prices reasonable for MPS Schools.

We have received a grant from The Wisconsin Arts Board through the Piano Arts Foundation here in Milwaukee. This will enable our 3rd-5th graders to see an pianist up close. there will be several visits to the school by the artist, and the concert will take place at Mount Mary college on Friday March 19th.

The Florentine Opera Company is going to visit the school in April . They will present 2 performances of Jack and the Beanstalk.Jack climbs to the top and learns the importance of treating others as they would like to be treated. We would also like to thank the Florentine for providing us with 500 copies of their 50th anniversary calendar for distribution to our students.

The Skylight Opera Company presented The Standard Songbook to our students, filled with classics as well as new material from musical theater. They are also providing us with Kids Writes. Our children are provided with a writing prompt. The Skylight the organizes the material collected from the schools and puts on a program filled with song and poetry (Unedited which adds humor to the piece.

During Feburary we will have a Black History Month program featuring a local drumming and dance group.

THIS IS A MUSIC FESTIVAL YEAR . All of our 4th and 5th graders will be elegible to participate in the All City Elementary Chorus and Hand Drumming groups. Our String and Band Students will also be in the Elementary Chours and Band. The program is on May 6th at the U.S.Cellular Arena.

On January 29th 2009 our 3rd - 5th grade students will be going to see the Milwaukee Symphony at the Marcus Center. Ther Will be two pieces of music on the program by one composer. They are Pictures at an Exhibition and A Night On Bald Mountain both by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. Pictures At An Exhibition was written about a collection of over 400 art works by the artist Victor Hartman who Mussorsky was friends with and who died at the age of 39. Mussorsky wrote pieses of music to go with the paintings. Some of the titles are The Old Castle, Ballet of the Chicks in their Shells, and The Great Gate of Kiev. The music was originally set for piano and was later transcribed for orchestra by Maurice Ravel. Some of our students have drawn original art works to go with the music and they may be displayed at the concert. The program starts at 10:30 and lasts for 40 minutes. Please dress well.

On Friday December 5th our 5th grade students were invited to the Milwaukee Public Museum to sing a concert of Holiday Songs in both German and English. This was part of the museums celebration of cultures. We then toured the European Village at the museum where there were docents to explain the traditions to the students. Afterwards we ate lunch in the museum lunchroom and toured the butterfly wing

On Wednesday March 4th 2009 at 1PM and 2PM our students will see the Florentine Opera Company here at school. The production is PINOCCHIO and we have received a grant from the Florentine Opera to cover the cost of one performance Thank You Florentine Opera. This classic Italian story is set to the music of Mozart, Donizetti, and others. Pinocchio, a wooden puppet, longs to become a real boy, but when he lies to his father about skipping school, he finds himself in a dangerous situation with a theater show run by Wolf and Cat. Pinocchio's story teaches students the importance of telling the truth and to ask for help when they need it. Some of our students will star in the performance as part of the chorus.

On March 18th 2009 our 3rd - 5th graders will attend their last Symphony concert for this season. The concert is titled Celebrate rhythm. It will contain Turn Da Beat Around by Catingub, The Washington Post March by Sousa, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart, Symphony #5 Mvt. 1 by Beethoven, Sabre Dance by Khachaturian, and several other pieses that emphasize rhythm. We have been fortunate that the Symphony supplies us with a qualified docent to explain the music in depth before hand. We also cover most of the selections in music class, since the music is more enjoyable if you understand it.

In grades K5 - 2nd we have been covering playing the piano. We have a keyboard lab with 30 instruments that we have been using. We are covering proper hand position , the notes CDEFG, clefs, and time signatures. We will let your child demonstrate what they have learned at spring conferences. We are using the book MUSIC STREET which is part of the Technics Music Learning System.

Grade 3 has started RECORDER. We are adding to what they learned in the keyboard lab last year by covering the upper part of the staff BAGCD. It is important that your child blows gently in order to produce a non squeaky tone quality. We have been using materials from MUSIC K8 magazine as well as the series DO IT PLAY RECORDER. We started out by singing all of the songs so that they will be familiar. Recorder is a pre band instrument leading to the Flute ,Clarinet ,and Saxophone. Listen to your child and encourage them to practice.

The 4th and 5th grade have been learning the Baritone Ukulele. The smaller size has worked well and the instrument is tuned the same as the guitar, only with 4 strings. This means that all of the learning is transferable to the guitar. We have learned the chords C and G . This has allowed us to sing and play several folksongs including Buffalo Gals and Skip to my Lou. We are also covering additional note reading in the upper part of the Staff.

The PTA has purchased Harmonicas for the 4th grade . This will be an upcoming unit starting in March. We purchased Pocket Pals by Hohner and they came with an instruction book.

The Hand Chime choir is going to perform for Cantos de las Americas on April 3rd at the Performing Arts Center. Ther will be around 15 groups taking part in this talent show case. Our part will be about 6 minutes long. The program starts at 6:30 PM