Holiday Sing Wraps Up 2024
The holiday season isn’t complete without its traditions, especially at Burke’s with the Lower School Holiday Sing.
Before winter break, Lower School students heralded the holiday spirit with song, cheer, and joy. The Holiday Sing is both a prepared and spontaneous participatory event where all attendees from the Burke’s community are invited to sing along. Teachers, staff, parents, and grandparents showed up ready to sing along to songs that recognized a variety of traditions associated with light and the winter holidays.
Designed with input from the fourth graders and facilitated by Lower School Music Specialist Lisa Mandelstein, the concert included a seasonal mix of old favorites, as well as new tunes celebrating the diversity of traditions in Burke’s community. This year, the performance included songs from seven languages: English, Swahili, Arabic, Latin, Yiddish, Tagalog, and Hindi.
Some of the songs Lower Schoolers sang included:
- the three-part canon, “Nur A’Salaam,” honoring the Islamic religion;
- a new song, “Pasko Na Naman,” celebrating Filipinx Christmas traditions complete with four beautiful parol star lanterns made by Mr. Jimmy Santosa in the Makery;
- “Ai, Diwali,” featuring fourth graders on harmonium and finger cymbals;
- “Kwanzaa,” with fourth graders accompanying on tubano drums and shekeres;
- a Burke’s Hanukkah favorite, “My Candles,” highlighting the fourth graders singing two descant harmony parts; and
- “Medley of Carols” and “When the Light All Shine,” songs that no Burke’s Holiday Sing-Along would be complete without!
The Holiday Sing was a great opportunity for the fourth graders to practice leadership. They were in charge of helping decide on a balanced repertoire and voting and advocating meaningfully for the songs they wanted to sing. Narrators learned to project, articulate, and enunciate as they had their moment in front of the microphone. Musically, they were also challenged with harmony, matching tone with the intention of the songs, and playing percussion both individually and in an ensemble. The fourth graders also set an example for the rest of Lower School in practicing SEL skills to overcome jitters about being in front of a crowd—even if it was friendly and supportive!
With hearts shining, Lower School singers welcomed the holiday season, spreading light and joy to all in the Burke’s community.
Burke's mission is to educate, encourage and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.
Burke's admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.