Music

Notre Dame’s Music Program encourages students from Nursery through eighth grade to explore, appreciate, and engage with a variety of musical styles, with Catholic faith at the heart of the classroom experience. Students develop musical skills, discover the beauty of sacred music, and learn how music can be a meaningful expression of prayer and worship.

Nursery–Kindergarten

Our youngest students begin their musical journey by developing an understanding of rhythm, patterns, and sound. Through words, sentences, movement, and body percussion, they explore basic musical concepts and experiment with percussion instruments while discovering the joy of making music together.

Grades 1–4

Students build their musical knowledge through proper singing techniques, solfege, and the fundamentals of music notation. They learn to connect written notes and symbols on sheet music with the musical patterns they hear and sing. Students also develop their voices and learn traditional Catholic hymns and music used during Mass.

Grades 5–8

Older students explore music history and theory while deepening their understanding of the importance of sacred music in the rites and traditions of the Catholic Church. They discover the contributions of influential Catholic composers and saints, including St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Hildegard of Bingen, both Doctors of the Church, reflecting on the relationship between music, faith, and worship.

Faith, Prayer, and Musical Performance

St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, holds a special place in the Music Program. Students learn about her life and pray together for her intercession, sometimes singing their prayers as an expression of faith. As the saying goes, “When you sing, you pray twice!”

Throughout the year, students have opportunities to share their musical growth with the school community. In December, they perform a Christmas concert in the church, celebrating the beauty of sacred music and the birth of Christ. In June, students showcase the skills they have developed throughout the year in a spring concert, celebrating their progress, creativity, and love of music.