Spring 2026 Concert

On Thursday, May 7th, 2026, the Barton Pond Music Program hosted its annual spring concert! The 3rd graders and the Barton Pond chorus performed the soccer-themed musical titled "Goal" by John Jacobson and John Higgins. There were also performances by the Barton Pond percussion ensemble and the Barton Pond ukulele club. The students, parents, teachers, and the Barton Pond community enjoyed the performances and we are looking forward to putting on another amazing concert in the fall! Below you can see pictures from the event.

2026 Pieces of Gold Show

This month the Barton Pond Chorus participated in the annual Pieces of Gold show! We joined a cast of nearly 1,000 students from across Wake County in putting on stellar performances for the Wake County community on Wednesday, March 4th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. The event was held at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, NC. The chorus performed the song "How Far I'll Go" by Lin-Manuel Miranda from the movie Moana. The students had a great time performing in the event and we look forward to participating in this event again in the future.  Below you can see pictures of the chorus on the day of the Pieces of Gold show.

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!

Marvelous March

The Barton Pond Chorus had a great time making music in March! The group performed the song "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman at the annual Pieces of Gold show held at the Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. The ensemble also hosted Sally Albrecht, a well-known choral composer, conductor, and clinician at one of their March rehearsals in order to prepare for their upcoming performance of her song "May You Always Have a Song", written with her husband Jay Althouse, in May. The students did a great job at the Pieces of Gold performance and we are looking forward to our upcoming spring concert!

All-County Chorus 2025

On February 7th & 8th, 2025, a delegation of students from Barton Pond attended the 2025 Elementary Honors Chorus event for the Wake County Public School System. The students were able to sing with other 4th and 5th grade students from around Wake County and work with Dr. Lauren Saeger, a distinguished choral clinician. Students performed "Never Give Up" by Rollo Dillworth, "Dum Spiro Spero" by Kara Stacy Bedwell, "Onomatopoeia" by Mark Burrows, "How Doth the Little Crocodile" by Mark Burrows, and "Here Comes the Sun" arranged by Matt and Adam Podd. The students had a great time at this event and we are looking forward to participating in this event again next year! Below you can see pictures from the event.

2024 Winter Concert

On Thursday, December 12th, the Barton Pond music program hosted its annual winter concert. The chorus and our 4th graders performed the musical Elflandia by John Jacobson and John Higgins. That's right. Barton Pond Elementary turned into a land that was full of elves! At the concert, there were also performances by the Barton Pond ukulele and percussion clubs. The students did a phenomenal job at the concert and we are looking forward to hosting our spring concert! Below you will see pictures from the event.

2024 NC Symphony Field Trip

 On Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024, the 4th graders at Barton Pond attended the annual North Carolina Symphony field trip. Students heard works by Beethoven, Haydn, Bates, Coleridge-Taylor, Rossini, Tate, and Tchaikovsky. The students had the opportunity to sing the song "America, the Beautiful" with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra. We had a great time at the Meymandi Concert Hall listening to the orchestra play and I look forward to going on this field trip again next year!

2024 Glow Party

On Friday, October 18th, 2024, the Barton Pond PTA hosted its annual glow party event for the students of Barton Pond. The students worked hard and were successful at reaching the PTA's fundraising goal! The glow party was a fun and exciting way for the PTA to celebrate the students for reaching the fundraising goal. The students had fun dancing, singing, playing games, and socializing with their friends at this event. The Barton Pond percussion club was able to perform at the glow party with their electric green glow drumsticks. The club did an amazing job during the performance and we look forward to participating in the event again next year! Below you can see pictures from the event and the ukulele club in their glow shirts on the morning of the glow party.

2024 Raleigh Youth Choir Explosion

 

On Saturday, September 28th, 2024 a delegation of students from Barton Pond attended the annual Raleigh Youth Choir Explosion Festival! These students had the opportunity to perform with 4th and 5th grade students from around Wake County and hear members of the Raleigh Youth Choir sing. At the event they performed "Tongo" arranged by Greg Gilpin, "Al Shlosha D'varim" by Allan Naplan, "Thunder!" by Sally Albrecht, "Haida" arranged by Henry Leck, "When I Sing" by Tom Shelton, and "Furaha" by Sally Albrecht. The students had a great time performing, having pizza, and socializing with friends at this event. We look forward to participating in this event again next year!

End of the Year Party 2024

 On Friday, May 31st, 2024, the Barton Pond music program had their annual end of the year party and award ceremony at Galaxy Fun Park! Students received awards for participating in the chorus, percussion ensemble, and the ukulele club. Students also received awards for displaying leadership and excellence in music clubs. There was a pizza dinner at this event to allow students time to celebrate and socialize with their musical friends! We had an amazing time jumping on trampolines, dining, and celebrating the accomplishments of the students in the Barton Pond music clubs. We are looking forward to starting another great year in the fall!

Birthday 2024

I had a great birthday today! I want to thank the students and staff of Barton Pond for making this a great day!

 

May 2024 Performances

The Barton Pond music program had a productive month during the month of May! On Sunday, May 5th, 2024, the chorus and percussion ensemble performed at North Raleigh Presbyterian's annual Youth Sunday. The students performed "Sing We Hallelujah" by Franz Joseph Haydn and traditional hymns. On Friday, May 10th, 2024, the chorus performed the musical It's a Hit by John Jacobson and John Higgins at our annual spring concert. There were also performances by the ukulele club and percussion ensemble at this event. On Thursday, May 16th, 2024, the chorus and percussion ensemble performed at our school's annual Pond-a-Palooza event. The students had a great time performing outside for the staff, students, and parents of Barton Pond. We are looking forward to starting another great year in the fall! 

2024 Pieces of Gold Showcase

On Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, the Barton Pond Chorus participated in the annual Pieces of Gold showcase. They performed the song "This is Me" from The Greatest Showman. The students had an exciting time participating in the show and enjoying performances from schools across Wake County. We want to thank all Barton Pond staff members, parents, and community members that supported us in this endeavor! Below you can see pictures from the night of the show!