Curriculum
The TCS curriculum is based on a balance between music and academic subjects that is key to the Crowden educational experience and the students' accomplishments. The school follows but is not limited by the requirements of the California State Curriculum in basic subjects aimed ultimately at college entrance. Students' progress is evaluated in part by national achievement tests.
Daily Schedule
8:00 – 10:00 am: Musical Training, including chamber music, string orchestra, general string techniques, chorus, and performance.
10:00 – 3:30 pm: Academic Subjects, including English, History (American, World, and Music), Mathematics, Science, French, Music Theory, Art, and Physical Education.
Musical Training
- Instrumental Program
- Piano Studies Program
- Musicianship and Composition Program
- Choral Training
- Special Features
- Private Musical Instruction
Instrumental Program
School begins with two hours of music every morning. Ensemble playing is at the core of the music curriculum. The program also includes the following:
- Group violin, viola, and cello instrument classes offered according to the student’s level of technical development
- Ensemble coachings
- Orchestra classes
- Performances, master classes and workshops by visiting artists.
- Frequent performances for parents and friends
- Outreach performance opportunities
- Annual Spring Concert
Piano Studies Program
Advanced pianists in grades six through eight may enter the school with piano as their primary instrument. Playing a string instrument is optional.
The Piano Studies Program supplements private piano lessons. Faculty works closely with the private teachers to develop the program best suited to each student. With a low student/teacher ratio and teachers who possess extraordinary ranges of skills, the program offers the resources and flexibility to broaden each student's musical foundation.
Pianists are involved in the music program for the first two periods of each day. All of the elements piano teachers recognize as essential to well rounded musicianship (ear training, harmony, improvisation, music analysis, composition, sight reading) are embedded in the curriculum. During the year, students may enroll in subjects such as continuo class, piano ensemble, piano repertoire, keyboard harmony, improvisation, and accompanying. They participate in piano duos, piano four hand ensembles, or chamber music with Crowden School string players. They may also participate in workshops or master classes with prominent musicians and perform publicly.
Musicianship and Composition Program
The school has always been supportive of the efforts of young composers. The Musicianship and Composition Program provides an ideal foundation for the student who wishes to compose, tailored to individual needs. Students have opportunities to hear their works performed, and to discuss them with both their peers and with professional composers.
All students study musicianship and composition twice weekly throughout the school year. The Lower School collaborates on an annual composition project; 6th and 7th grade students present their own and each other’s works on Composition Night. The 8th grade composition project in June culminates their musical year. Young composers in the day school may wish to supplement their studies through participation in the John Adams Young Composers Program (offered through the Crowden Center for Music in the Community).
Choral Training
Singing plays an essential role in the music program, year-round. The school supports two full choruses in which all students participate: the Lower School Chorus and the Upper School Chorus. Both choruses perform in school concerts.
Special Features
Students attend concerts, plays, and exhibitions; participate in master classes; go on performance tours; and receive invitations to perform at special functions. Recent events and opportunities have included appearances in the Junior Bach Festival, the International Music Festival, the Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar and Festival, the Solano Stroll, concerts for the Emeryville Senior Center, and John Adams Day at Crowden Music Center.
Private Musical Instruction
Students are expected to study their major instrument(s) with their own teachers outside of school. If desired, the school can recommend teachers for private lessons. The school respects and supports the special relationship each student has with his or her chosen private teacher. Lines of communication are open; where there may be differences in approach or philosophy, the private teacher’s opinion is always honored, first and foremost.
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Academic Subjects
English
The English courses have two goals: to master the basic skills of composition and to foster a life-long appreciation of reading. All courses emphasize regular writing practice to develop the students' expressive skills and verbal creativity. Grammar is studied as it grows out of the student's experience with composition. Reading materials are selected which are challenging and personally meaningful to each individual student. Poetry, short stories, novels and plays are used, as well as some short argumentative articles.
History
Students discover the different cultures and events of the past through a comprehensive study of the economic, political, social, and cultural aspects of a particular period in history, with constant reference to timelines and geography. Fundamental study skills are constantly emphasized, including summarization, analysis of arguments, confrontation of sources, and close cultural reading. Students learn to take different points of view and to construct persuasive arguments as they develop a strong grounding in the major monuments, documents, and achievements of human history. The course builds from grade to grade, and is designed to be flexible so that important contemporary issues can be examined, in historical context, as they develop.
French
The course aims at developing oral skills through conversation, reading and writing, memorization of poems, dramatization and weekly review tests. In the most advanced class only French is spoken; here the students are asked to read excerpts from important French authors and to write essays.
Mathematics
Mathematical ability comprises several mental faculties, skill at mechanical manipulations being just one. Crowden students gradually learn the fundamentals of true mathematical understanding, laying the basis for superior comprehension of algebra. Their training will enable them to succeed at any secondary school course in mathematics.
Music History
Music History explores both aurally and academically the wide realm of music in its historical context. The central focus is on developing listening skills and building a conversant vocabulary within a historical survey of Western Classical music. Included are the corresponding visual arts, development of instruments, forms, major works, lives of composers, some ethnic music and some Jazz history. Students use a resource library of special dictionaries, biographies, and an audio collection that covers a thousand years of music.
Music Theory & Composition
Classes are designed to improve reading, listening and analytical skills through the art of composition. Students are expected to write and perform their pieces, concentrating on principles emphasized in class. Form, harmony, orchestration, improvisation, sight singing and dictation are thoroughly investigated.
Science
Four primary themes underpin the natural science curriculum at The Crowden School:
- Mankind, the earth, and the cosmos
- Environmental interrelationships
- The wealth and challenge of scientific knowledge
- The efforts of science to make a better world: its successes and failures.
Throughout our treatment of these themes, and throughout the five grades at the school, our goal in teaching Crowden students is to touch the heart, feed the intellect, fire the imagination, fascinate the learner, awaken the scientist, lure the explorer, and inspire the creator in each student. Our intent is to develop, for each student, a “toolbox” of scientific predispositions, thought processes (including an understanding and a facility with the scientific method), and scientific skills that will prepare him or her to eventually master the various difficulties lying ahead in the lifelong learning adventure. Our philosophy is that scientific learning—equally with music, literature, history, mathematics and art— should be rigorous, challenging, inherently interesting, beautiful, and fulfilling.
Theater 
Theater is part of interdisciplinary learning at Crowden. Lower School students act and sing as part of both Chorus and Musicianship and Composition classes. Upper School students read Shakespeare in every grade level. Our annual Holiday Party incorporates theater (usually of the musical variety), and Graduation ceremonies feature the annual eighth grade play.
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