Hooray, It’s Monday!
Australian Choral Music…
Sherelle Eyles
For my school’s upcoming Mother’s Day assembly my junior choir (year 1 & 2) prepared ‘Koala Lullaby’ by Australian choral and instrumental composer, pianist and music educator based in Brisbane, Australia – Sherelle Eyles. You can watch the Voices of Birralee perform the song here
In fact, over the past few years I have had a little obsession with performing her choral music! My particular favourites are the ‘Australian Animal Songs series’. My junior choirs have so much fun singing them which makes preparing and performing at Presentation Evening and special assemblies all the more enjoyable for everyone!
If you are looking for music based on an Australian theme which are educational and enjoyable to sing the Animal Songs for Children Choral Series is definitely what you are looking for!
The series (so far!) consists of:
- Dugong- is moderately fast in triple time with blending harmonies and easy words. The image of the Dugong floating peacefully through the water is reflected in the flowing arpeggiated accompaniment.
- Carpet Python – is moderately fast, with a catchy, jazzy tune in G minor using sliding scales to imitate the sound and movements of the snake. The words are mildly humorous and appealing particularly to younger children of Primary School age. The children are required to hiss like a snake, and emphasise the ‘S’ sounds on the words “Slithering and Sliding in your Ceiling” throughout the piece.
- Bilby – this is an educational piece about the habits of the Bilby. The tune is melodious and the words are easy to learn and memorise for Primary School children. The movements of the Bilby have been characterised in the piano accompaniment.
- Gecko is a humorous song about the Gecko’s creeping up our walls at night in Brisbane, with a cheerful tune and description of the Gecko’s habits. The children are required to tut-tut rhythmically like a gecko.
- Crocodile – The lyrics present the crocodile as a ‘modern day dinosaur’ in a fun and entertaining way for children.
- Possum – is a humorous song about the Possums that live in our roof in Queensland and how they make a lot of noise at night. Possum encourages children to think about the impact of the urban environment on native animals. It has a cheerful, catchy tune and fun words that Primary school children will easily memorise. The optional actions require the children to stomp on the words “doof-doof-doof.”
- Daddy Long Legs Spider (2014) – is a cheerful, humorous song about having a daddy long legs spider as a pet. It has a catchy swing rhythm and optional actions.
You can check out Sherelle’s choral compositions here
