Grady Band

Band at Grady

The music program at Alice E. Grady Elementary School includes a comprehensive general, choral, and instrumental education curriculum. The instrumental music program offers each student one 50-minute lesson once a week. These lessons are broken up into homogeneous groups, with students grouped based on their ability level and the instrument being studied.

Students start with the band at Grady during 4th grade. They meet weekly with their lesson group to learn the fundamentals of playing their instrument and the first few notes of the concert Bb scale. Material primarily comes from the student's lesson book Accent on Achievement.

The Grady Concert Band is the preeminent instrumental group at Grady. This band comprises 5th and 6th graders (and occasionally advanced 4th graders) who have played their instruments for over a year. These students qualify to perform at the numerous events that occur during the school year.  These include  Awards Assemblies, NEHS Honor Society Induction Ceremonies, Fall and Spring Concerts, the Elmsford Memorial Day Parade, All County auditions/festivals, the NYSSMA solo festival, and the Village of Elmsford’s annual tree lighting ceremony.  Students learn to work in a large ensemble environment and learn a variety of music throughout the year.

The recorder program begins in third grade.  Students meet once a week for 40 minutes.  These classes focus on the fundamentals of music reading, decoding symbols, and motor coordination.  Simple folk songs are studied throughout the school year, emphasizing expanding the music’s range and difficulty level. During the 2024-2025 school year, students are participating in a program in collaboration with Carnegie Hall, which includes a trip to New York City as a class for a final concert in the month of May.  Students are then given an opportunity to select an instrument for fourth-grade instrumental instruction.