Students from Los Alamos elementary schools singing in the choir during the North  Central General Music Festival. Photo Courtesy LAPS

Photo one: Chamisa Elementary School music teacher Megan Tholen, along with PE teacher  Justin Black, led the Drums Alive workshop during the 2nd Annual North Central General Music  Festival. Photo Courtesy LAPS

LAPS NEWS RELEASE

Elementary  school students  from  Los  Alamos  joined  students  from  Santa  Fe  February 25 for  the  2nd  Annual North  Central New  Mexico  Music  Educators  General  Music  Festival  held at El Camino Real Academy in Santa Fe.  Around 95 students participated in a variety of  music workshops culminating in a performance  for families and friends. The Choir was led by the distinguished Albuquerque Music Teacher Julie Rombach-Kendall. Valerie Collins, music teacher at Barranca Mesa  Elementary School and vice-president of General  Music for the North Central New Mexico Music  

Educators District IV, initiated this festival in 2020. She collaborated with lead teachers from  Santa Fe and Los Alamos to organize the 1st Music Festival held just prior to the closure of  schools due to the pandemic, and again for this 2nd Festival. It is intended to be an annual  event. 

Music workshops included Drama, Marimba, Drums Alive, Ukulele, Orff, and Line Dancing.  Chamisa Elementary music teacher Megan  Tholen, along with Justin Black, Chamisa  Elementary’s PE teacher, led the workshops  and performance of Drums Alive. Aspen  Elementary School music teacher Jacob Lucero led the Ukulele workshop and also performed.  Piñon Elementary School music teacher  Nicholas Montoya-Valdez played the  drumming part in Kusimama, one of the songs performed by the choir. Galina Austin, Mountain Elementary School’s music teacher, helped with supervision. “Everyone had a job to do and it came out in the most beautiful way,” she said. 

Plans are being made to host this event again next year.