A. Mario Loiederman Middle School

All members of the choir will engage in various warm-ups to teach and develop the fundamentals of choral singing, community-building activities to promote teamwork, projects to practice individual and group creativity, sight reading to develop the ability to read music, performances to celebrate and demonstrate our growth, and other intentional activities that foster the development of their character, singing skills, and musicianship.

CHORUS 1

Chorus LVL 1 is an introductory middle school-level choir for incoming 6^th graders to learn the fundamentals of choral singing. Students will learn to read music on a foundational level. Students will perform in three school concerts over the course of the year.

CHORUS 2

Chorus LVL 2 is an intermediate middle school-level choir for any 7^th or 8th-grade student. Members will develop and improve upon the fundamentals of choral singing while beginning to acquire advanced-level concepts. Students will learn to read music at an intermediate level. Students will perform in three school concerts over the course of the year.

CHORUS 3 (Prerequisite: CHORUS 1 or 2)

Chorus LVL 3 is an advanced middle school-level choir for select 7^th and 8th-grade students. 8th-grade students can earn HS credit for this chorus. Members will develop advanced concepts of choral singing as well as learning to read music on an advanced level. Students will perform in three school concerts over the course of the year as well as participate in extra performances such as the MCPS Choral Festival, the Music in the Parks Competition at an amusement park, and other performance opportunities.

 Teacher: Mr. Paul Heinemann

Paul Heinemann is in his 25^th year of teaching middle school choir and is renowned for his tremendous gift of connecting with middle school adolescents. His energy and enthusiasm have inspired his students to achieve at high levels. His choirs have consistently earned superior ratings at county, state, and interstate festivals and competitions, and they have performed as a demonstration chorus for multiple MMEA conferences.

Paul has been invited to serve as a guest clinician and adjudicator for festivals throughout Maryland, as well as a guest conductor for numerous middle school honors choruses, including nine years as the resident director of the Montgomery County Middle School Honors Chorus. He has been a presenter at local, county, and state conferences multiple times. Additionally, Paul has served as an artistic and music director for theater programs at both the middle and high school levels and is the director of the YAAJr (middle school) program for Young Artists of America.

Paul was recognized with the Montgomery County Gazette’s ‘Favorite Teacher’ award in 2011. His choral program was awarded the ‘Program of Excellence’ award from the Maryland Music Educators Association in 2012. Paul was most recently recognized with the 2018 Maryland Music Educators Association ‘Outstanding Music Educator’ Award.