Music
The music program cultivates creativity, collaboration, and confidence in each student through hands-on, interactive classes that include singing, instrument-playing, movement, and expressive speech.
All students, Age 3 through Grade 8, attend music classes as part of their standard school curriculum.
Students explore interdisciplinary connections through repertoire that is integrated with their social studies, language arts, and religion curriculums.
Music classes are sequential, spiraling, skills-based lessons that are in-line with the National Association for Music Education’s core music standards.
Lessons lead students through the exploration of the basic elements of music including rhythm, melody, harmony, form, timbre, and expressive qualities. Students work with these building blocks in the context of the creative process: imitation, exploration, improvisation, and composition.
Emphasizing respect and cooperation, the music classroom is a safe place to take creative risks with voice, instruments, and movement.
The music program provides formative and summative experiences for the students through multiple performing opportunities throughout the year, including the Grandparents’ Day Program, the Christmas Concert, School Masses, the Grades 5 and 6 Portfolio Celebration, and Upper School end-of rotation performances for Montessori and Lower School students.

Performance Opportunities
The music program offers numerous performance opportunities for students who study an instrument outside of their general music classes.
Performance opportunities include:
- Lower School Lunchtime Concert Series,
- Mass Preludes,
- Annual Instrumental Music Showcase, and the
- Arts Celebration Art Gallery Music Concerts.
Extracurricular Music Opportunities
These experiences include:
The Woods Academy Orchestra
- Meets once a week on Fridays as part of our after-school activities program.
- Open to grade 4 through 8 wind and string players who have played for at least one year.
- Study chamber music in small ensembles grouped by ability as well as repertoire for the full orchestra.
- Full Ensemble performs for Christmas Concert and Spring Arts Celebration Kick-off.
- Chamber Ensembles perform throughout the year including prelude music before school Masses.
Beginning Instrument Classes
Beginning strings classes are offered through After School Activities.
Upper School Choir
- Open to grade 5 through 8 students who love to sing.
- Meets once a week before school.
- Sings for all school Masses.
- Sings for Christmas Concert and Spring Arts Celebration.
- Adjudicated at Festival of Music at Kings Dominion each spring.