2026 Wake County Elementary Honors Chorus

 

 

 

On Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st, 2026 a delegation of four students from Barton Pond attended the annual Wake County Public Schools Elementary Honors Chorus event! The students performed the following songs with their 4th and 5th grade peers from around Wake County: "Sing to Me" by Andrea Ramsey, "Quia fecit mihi magna" arranged by Tom Shelton, "Be Who You Are" by Ryan Main, "We Will Sing the World Whole" by Mark Burrows, "Get on Board" arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, and "Animal Imagination" by Tom Shelton. The clinician for the event was Tom Shelton, who did a phenomenal job of preparing students for the final performance. The students did an amazing job at this concert and we are looking forward to sending another delegation of students to this event next year!

NC Symphony 2026

 

On Tuesday, January 6th, 2026 the 4th graders at Barton Pond attended the annual North Carolina Symphony field trip! Students heard works by Beethoven, Anthony Kelley, Jesse Montgomery, Bizet, Grieg, Schubert, Verdi, John Stafford Smith, and Francis Scott Key. Students also heard special performances by each section of the NC Symphony that highlighted sounds and timbres produced by each instrument family. The students had a great time on this field trip and our rising 4th graders look forward to going on this field trip next year!

Antlers Musical

On Thursday, December 11th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m., the Barton Pond music program hosted its annual winter concert. Students performed the musical Antlers by Teresa Jennings and Karl Hitzemann. There were also performances by the Barton Pond chorus, percussion ensemble, and ukulele club. Chloe Yang, a cellist with the Triangle Youth Orchestra and a 4th grade student at Barton Pond, performed the national anthem and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" at the event. There was also a solo performance by Layna Holland, the first person in the history of Barton Pond to be selected to perform with the North Carolina Elementary Honors Chorus. The students did a phenomenal job at the concert and we are looking forward to having another amazing concert in the spring! Below you can see pictures from the event and hear Chloe playing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

2025 NC Elementary Honors Chorus

On Sunday, November 9th, 2025, Layna Holland made history as the first student at Barton Pond Elementary to perform with the North Carolina Elementary Honors Chorus! Members of the 2025 NC Elementary Honors Chorus had the opportunity to work with Joshua Pedde, the executive artistic director of the Indianapolis Children's Choir, who was the clinician for the event. The students  performed the following songs at the concert: "Laudamus Te" by Antonio Vivaldi, "Shenandoah" arranged by Rollo Dilworth, "The Star" by Harry Richardson, "Now is the Time" by Leeann Starkey, "Hi! Ho! The Rattlin' Bog" arranged by Ken Berg, and "Sesere Eeye" arranged by Matthew Doyle. Layna had a great time representing our school at this event and we look forward to sending more students to be a part of this chorus in the future!

2025 Glow Party

   

On Friday, October 31st, 2025, our school had a glow party to celebrate reaching our PTA's fundraising goal! The Barton Pond percussion ensemble performed at this event with their electric green glow-in-the-dark drumsticks. The percussion ensemble did a great job at the glow party and they are looking forward to performing at next year's glow party!

 

2025 Raleigh Youth Choir Explosion

On Friday, September 26th and Saturday, September 27th students from Barton Pond participated in the 2025 Raleigh Youth Choir Explosion at First Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina! The delegation had the opportunity to sing with members of the Raleigh Youth Choir and their 4th and 5th grade peers from around Wake County. The students performed "One Candle", "Making a Paper Airplane", and "Raining Tacos" written and arranged by Andy Beck and "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" arranged by Steve Zegree". They had the opportunity to attend choral clinics with the following conductors of the Raleigh Youth Choir: Amy Davis, Bo Reece, Casey Eaton, and Aaron Brown. The students enjoyed the event and our rising 5th graders look forward to participating in the festival next fall! Below you can see pictures from the event.

        

Closing Out the 2025-2026 School Year

The end of the year for the Barton Pond music program was exhilarating! The chorus, ukulele club, and percussion ensemble put on a phenomenal spring concert on Thursday, May 8th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. The chorus performed the musical Hats by John Jacobson and John Higgins. Our awesome 4th grade students also showcased what they learned in music class in their recorder unit at the concert. After the concert, we ended the year with an exciting party and award ceremony at Galaxy Fun Park in Raleigh, NC. Students had fun jumping on trampolines, eating pizza, and getting awards for their accomplishments in our music clubs. We look forward to putting on winter and spring concerts for the 2025-2026 school year!