Tis the season for Messiah!

Reagan students attended MAMCCO's performance of "Messiah" on Friday night. Students enjoyed learning more about famous composer George F. Handel and singing along with the beloved "Hallelujah Chorus." Congratulations to soprano soloist Erica Breitbarth! We are so proud! A special thanks to MAMCCO for their hospitality and continued support of Reagan music. 

Another successful Milwaukee Holiday Parade!

Once again the Reagan Marching Band and the Spirit Team braved the November chill to march in the Milwaukee Downtown Holiday Parade.  Spectators were serenaded with the sounds of "Jingle Bell Rock" and the drum line's "Hot Pepper Cheese" cadence.  Thanks to the support of our administration we were able to march our largest band to date!  

Radio Reagan Record Drive!

Present Music: String Quartet Compositions

This past week, members of Reagan's senior IB Music Higher Level course had the unique opportunity to have their string quartet compositions played by string players from Present Music through their Creation Project initiative!  Special thanks to composer in residence Eric Segnitz who helped the students grow as composers over the course of the project!

You can listen to the recordings of student compositions here:
https://soundcloud.com/reaganchoir/sets/present-music-creation-project

To read student artistic statements and see their notation/scores click below:
http://tinyurl.com/rhsquartet

To find out more about Present Music check out their website:
http://www.presentmusic.org

RRHS Musical Season is Upon Us!

The Reagan Musical has officially begun rehearsing for this year's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!"  There was a great turnout for auditions, and the cast has jumped into rehearsals at full speed.  Students will be rehearsing throughout November, December, and January to prepare for this production.

Please join us on January 23rd and 24th at 7pm, or January 25th at 2pm!

Posted below are the students starring in this year's musical, as well as a gem from the audition process.  Enjoy!

Reagan High School Musical 2015

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Men Joseph: Victor Montanez Jacob/Pharaoh: Michael Haubner Potiphar: Anri Estramera Joseph’s Brothers Reuben: Stephen Deeter (One More Angel) Simeon: Drew Dickens Levi: Emmanuel Rodriguez (Those Canaan Days) Naphtali: Alex Vue Issachar: Anri Estramera Asher: Igor Sahagun Dan: Noah Stone Zebulon: Andrew Williamson Gad: Kyle Radomski Judah: Markeese Bell (Benjamin Calypso) Benjamin: Abraham Gonzales

Women Narrators: Ellie Dannecker, Alondra Garcia and Alyssa Westrich Potiphar’s Wife: Rosa Ruiz Butler: Savannah Heigl+ Baker: Anne Liners+ Jacob’s Wives: Julia Radomski+, Anne Liners, Savannah Heigl +also in singing chorus Dancing Chorus Tatyanna Melendez* Leslie Laboy Raven Medrano* Rosa Ruiz Angelica Sylvas-Jones Amber Weissert *Dance Captain

Singing Chorus

Alexis Asunto-Ryan

Khemphet Chanthavong (dancer in Potiphar scene)

Emily Feliciano

Shayla Finley

Isabel Guerrero

Kirsten Hackbarth

Angeli Kramer

Adriana Martinez-Arroyo

Eva Mora

Amelia Murname

Shyanne Pryor

Vanessa Ramirez

Annaliese Rasmussen

Gabriella Schmit

Raven Thompson

Natalija Walker

 

Marching Band Braves the October Snow for Parkside and Cooper School Parades!

Marching Band Braves the October Snow for Parkside and Cooper School Parades!

On Friday October 31st the Reagan Marching Band led parades for Parkside School for the Arts and Cooper K8 School.  Cold temperatures, strong winds and the occasional snow flurry didn't stop our proud students from performing Raiders March from Indiana Jones and everyone's favorite drum cadence Hot Pepper Cheese.  

Our next performance will be at the Milwaukee Downtown Holiday parade in November 22nd.  Be sure to bundle up!

Reagan and Wagner: The Flying Dutchman

This past Sunday, Reagan students were honored to see "The Flying Dutchman" from the Florentine Opera. Wagner is always a composer that is a privilege to hear, especially in opera. The students thoroughly enjoyed the performance and were impressed by the vocal abilities of the performers. We are grateful to the Florentine Opera for continuing to partner with us to bring opera to the youth of Milwaukee. Congratulations on a wonderful performance, and thanks again!

Baritone Sean Lynch Visits Reagan

Last week, Sean Lynch visited Reagan High School and performed for Men's Choir and the after school Voice Class. Sean is a UW-Oshkosh alumni and recently graduated from the University of Iowa with a Masters degree in performance. Sean performed a variety of pieces for the students, singing opera and musical theatre. The students thoroughly enjoyed his performance and Sean even volunteered to workshop with one student after the performance. Thank you so much for coming to sing for us, Sean! We loved it and we would love to have you back again soon!

Northwestern Piano Students Visit Reagan

Today, the piano studio of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota visited Reagan to perform a recital for IB Music and piano ELO students. The college music majors and professors also shared about their experience studying music at the collegiate level. 

Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle

This past week, Reagan's IB Music 1 and  2 students had the opportunity to gain firsthand experience with Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, one of the IB prescribed works for 2015-2016. Bel Canto chorus conductor Dr. Richard Hynson came to Reagan Monday to talk about the work. On Saturday, students had the opportunity to sit in on Bel Canto's dress rehearsal of the work with scores in hand! 

World Music Mondays on WMSE!

The music department is proud to see Reagan IB Music alum Ruadhan Ward flexing her ethnomusicology muscles on the radio each week by DJing a world music show on WMSE! 

Tune in and check it out! 

 http://www.wmse.org/tag/world-music-mondays/

IB Music Students Visit the Kandinsky Exhibit!

The IB Music class of 2014 took a trip to the Art Museum last Thursday to see the Kandinsky exhibit.  His use of lines and color are said to represent music visually, so naturally we had to check it out!  We were so impressed!

Art and Music Team Up for Gallery Night

On May 5th, the art students showcased beautiful artwork on the first floor. The music students provided the atmosphere with some original and popular music. Thank you to family and friends for supporting the arts at Reagan!

Spring Choir Concert Showcases Talent, Hard Work, and Lots of Music!

Our Spring Choir Concert on May 1st was a raving success due to the hard work and focus of the students this semester.  We performed a large variety of music in a number of languages: Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, English, and French.  Our students tackled choral classics from Copland, Mozart, Hogan, Mendelssohn, and Verdi. We are extremely proud of their performance and we hope you can join us in the fall for more great music!

UW-Milwaukee SNATS Masterclass

This Thursday, Reagan vocalists had the opportunity to perform their state qualifying WSMA pieces for a panel if UWM voice majors in a master class setting. Students received feedback and learned more about performing and studying music in college. 

(Bottom photo: Students learned about the "dos and don'ts" of proper performance attire!)

Thank You Sejoon Park!

A big thanks to Sejoon Park for amazing performance! Out students enjoyed his expert musicianship and heartfelt stories. Please visit again soon!

IB Celebration and the Opera!

This weekend 50+ Reagan music students and their families headed down to the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts to see Handel's baroque era opera Julius Caesar. Before the Sunday show, the IB Higher Level seniors celebrated the successful completion of their IAs over lunch with the Reagan music faculty. 

Next year's musical is... Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!

Post by Reagan Theatre.

Happy Birthday Mr. Murphy!

Members of Reagan's advanced jazz band threw a surprise party to celebrate the birthday of our fabulous band director Mr. Adam Murphy. Two student composers (Israel P. and Whon P.) even arranged a jazz combo version of the happy birthday song in his honor! 

Florentine Opera Performs for Reagan Students

The Florentine Opera has always been kind to Reagan as we cultivate an appreciation for the arts, but this week they paid us a very special visit to see their studio artists up close and personal! Thanks so much to the Florentine Opera Company and Sarah Jones for volunteering your time to sing for us!

IB Music Composer's Forum

This past week the IB Music Seniors each presented 1 of 3 original compositions to a group if their music department peers in our annual composer's forum. 

IB Music Higher Level Senior Recitals

Florentine Opera Masterclass

Florentine Opera chorus master Scott Stewart and Education & Outreach Coordinator Sarah Jones hosted a vocal master class for Reagan IB music students.  Three of the IB Music seniors presented vocal selections and received coaching in front of an audience of Reagan voice/choir students.  We are so appreciative of the continued support of the Florentine in our growing music program! You are invited to see these students (and others) perform in the IB Senior Recitals on March 6 & 13 at 6pm in the Reagan auditorium.  

Valentine's Day Flash Mobs!

Members of the Reagan IB High School Treble Choir sang the Latin jazz love song "Sway" (recently made famous by Michael Buble) in all of the upperclassmen ELOs. This advanced women's ensemble will be presenting class A madrigals and vocal jazz selections at the WSMA district solo-ensemble festival at Rufus King on March 1st!