Making Music at the Montessori School of Lisle

We are especially proud and privileged to have as our resident music teacher Maryann Flock whose education, credentials and experience are exceptional.  Maryann is director of Instrumental Ensembles at Benedictine University.  She has taught elementary through high school general music, choir and band and has worked with the Da Corneto Opera Company, Naperville Summerplace Theatre and the Choral Ensemble of Chicago.  She has conducted throughout the United States and in Austria.  Maryann received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, and her master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Illinois State University.  She was the inaugural recipient of Benedictine’s Distinguished Music Faculty Honor and has also received Benedictine’s Excellence in Teaching Award.  The excellence and depth of the music program she brings to the Montessori School of Lisle reflect her background, dedication and her love of music.

 Maryann’s music program can easily be compared to the triangle one sometimes hears distinctively in a symphony orchestra.  The first side of the triangle is music appreciation.  This incorporates classical and cultural music, opera and ballet and composers and musicians both legend and living.  History, art, geography and reading are all tools of her music class.  Live performances by Maryann and her colleague, Doug Bratt, on vibes, oboe, flute and marimba demonstrate to the children just how fun and amazing live music can be.

The second side acquaints the classes with musical instruments and allows them the opportunity to use percussion, wind, woodwinds and brass.  They learn about the nuance of sound, rhythm and beat.  Using the instruments contributes to the development of fine motor skills and moving to the rhythm to gross motor skills.

The third side of our triangle is helping the children to realize how music can make you feel and how making music can express emotions.  There is nothing that touches the soul like art and music.  We feel it in the expression of others and we help the children to communicate it through their own use of these wonderful media.