Ella Gerbuz

Music

About Ella Gerbuz

What I love about Nasha Shkola…

  • Enthusiastic, caring, friendly team of teachers and administrators
  • Individualized approach/reaching students on different levels
  • Putting students’ needs first
  • Great families
  • Opportunity to grow professionally and develop your program

The part of teaching that is the most rewarding for me…

… is watching my students become confident performers, watching how they grow musically and artistically, watching them become active participants in class and in concerts and develop their creativity. And of course I love seeing enjoyment and excitement in children’s eyes when we start a new project.

For me, fun is…

… listening to music, singing and playing piano, attending concerts, having good times with my family, cooking, reading, movies, and cuddling with my cat.

Education

University of Minnesota | choral conducting and music education
Astrakhan State Conservatory |  music theory, musicology, and education
Kursk School of Music | music theory, history, and education

Professional Training:

Creating an Original opera workshop
Responsive classroom training
Success for All reading program
Understanding by Design training

About our Music Program

Curriculum highlights :

Musical Concepts and Skills:

  • Steady beat
  • Fast/ Slow
  • High/ Low
  • Voices/ Instruments
  • Rhythms (reading, clapping, playing using rhythm instruments;
  • Quarter notes, eighths notes, quarter rests)
  • Move to the beat (walk, gallop. Jog, skip)
  • Tone color
  • Preparation for all school performances and events

Materials:

  • Music K-8 Journal
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill “Spotlight on Music, grades K and 1; http://chudesenka.ruhttp://allforchildren.ru and other educational Russian websites and materials
  • Rhythm instruments (examples: maracas, drums, rhythm sticks, bells, rainsticks, claves, woodblocks, etc.)
  • Melodic instruments (step bells)

Curriculum highlights 

Musical Concepts and Skills:

  • Steady beat
  • Upward/Downward
  • Loud/Soft
  • Long/Short
  • High/Low
  • Tempo
  • Rhythm Patterns: quarter notes, eighths notes, quarter rest
  • Tone color
  • AB form
  • ABA form

Music appreciation: examples from Macmillan/McGraw series

Preparations for all school performances and events

Materials:

  • Music K-8 Journal
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill “Spotlight on Music, grades 1 and 2; http://chudesenka.ruhttp://allforchildren.ru and other educational Russian websites and materials
  • Rhythm instruments (examples: maracas, drums, rhythm sticks, bells, rain sticks, claves, etc.)
  • Melodic instruments (examples: xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, step bells)

Curriculum highlights 

Musical Concepts:

  • Rhythms: quarter notes, eighths notes, sixteenth notes (use of the rhythm instruments and clapping)
  • Melodic movement: Up, Down, Around
  • Scale Degrees
  • Melodic Patterns (use of melodic instruments such as xylophones, step bells, glockenspiels)
  • Tempo
  • Musical Phrases
  • Vocal Techniques/Vocal Management
  • Playing, listening, identifying rhythm and melodic patterns
  • Intro to recorder (cover G, A, B, C; 4th grade – add high D; introduce music reading, recognize recorder pitches on the music paper)

Music Appreciation

Materials:

  • Music K-8 journal
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill “Spotlight on Music, grades 3 and 4
  • http://chudesenka.ruhttp://allforchildren.ru and other educational Russian sites and materials
  • Rhythm instruments (examples: maracas, drums, rhythm sticks, bells, rain sticks, claves, etc.)
  • Melodic instruments (examples: xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, step bells)

Curriculum highlights

Musical Concepts and Skills:

  • Rhythm Patterns: include quarter notes, eighths notes, eighths notes, sixteen notes, syncopation)
  • Rhythm development: playing, identifying, creating our own patterns using rhythm instruments or clapping
  • Melodic patterns: C-maj scale degrees
  • Playing, identifying, creating our own patterns using step bells, xylophones, glockenspiels and other pitched instruments available
  • Vocal development: sound shapes, breathing techniques, phrasing, articulation
  • Tempo
  • Meter
  • Texture: unison and part singing
  • Dynamics
  • Continuation of Recorder Unit review G, A, B, C’ high D, add low E, D, C,  F, F#, high E; recognize recorder pitches on the music paper)

Music Appreciation

Materials:

  • Music K-8 Journal
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill “Spotlight on Music, grade 5
  • http://chudesenka.ruhttp://allforchildren.ru and other educational Russian sites and materials
  • Rhythm instruments (examples: maracas, drums, rhythm sticks, bells, rainsticks, claves, etc.)
  • Melodic instruments (examples: xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, stepbells)

Curriculum highlights

Musical Concepts and Skills:

  • Rhythms: playing, identifying and composing patterns including quarter, eighths, sixteen notes, syncopation
  • New rhythm patterns: triplets, rhythms in 6/8, dotted quarter note
  • Scale degrees and melodic patterns: listening, identifying and creating melodic patterns using Orff melodic instruments
  • Texture: unison and part singing
  • Vocal development: sound shapes, breathing techniques, phrasing, articulation
  • Dynamics

Music appreciation unit: 

  • Composers: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven,  Tchaikovskiy, Rimskiy Korsakov, Musorgskiy, Bizet, Grieg (biographies, famous compositions, listening to music, discovering musical genres such as opera, ballet, symphony, musical suites, etc.)
  • Musical form (AB, ABA, Rondo, verse/refrain, interlude, phrasing, articulation)

Materials:

  • Music K-8 Journal
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill “Spotlight on Music, grades 6, 7, and 8
  • http://chudesenka.ruhttp://allforchildren.ru and other educational Russian sites and materials
  • Rhythm instruments (examples: maracas, drums, rhythm sticks, bells, rain sticks, claves, etc.)
  • Melodic instruments (examples: xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, step bells)

By audition (available for grades 3-8)

Choir class activities are designed to build foundation for strong singers and to participate in school functions and off-site performances.

Choir activities include: vocal warm ups featuring diction, articulation (legato/staccato sounds), consonants, tone quality, dynamics.

Repertoire pieces: Learning pieces for concerts, celebrations, and other performances in both English and Russian languages.

By sign up (available for grades 4-8)

Theater class is designed to help students develop acting skills and perform for various school functions. Theater activities include:

  • Imagination games
  • Emotion/expression exercises
  • Improvisation exercises
  • Short improvised scenes
  • Short plays
  • New Year program

Welcome to Nasha Shkola music class! My name is Ella Gerbuz (Ms. Ella), and I am a music instructor at Nasha Shkola. During music classes students are exposed to singing activities, playing classroom musical instruments (rhythm and melodic), reading, playing and notating rhythm and melodic patterns. In middle school composer/music history unit is added as well.  Students are exposed to singing literature in both English and Russian which strengthens language skills. All students are provided with multiple opportunities to participate in various performances throughout the school year.

Parent information letters:  The parent information letters will be sent home and posted on my page as necessary.

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    About Nasha Shkola

    Nasha Shkola — Russian for Our School — is an academically rigorous K-8 charter school, providing a highly-structured learning environment for students interested in Russian language and culture.

    Contact Us

      School Info

      Nasha Shkola
      6717 85th Ave North
      Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

      Phone: 763-496-5550
      Fax: 763-424-8520

      School Hours
      Monday – Friday:
      8:30 am – 4:30 pm

      Office Hours
      Monday – Friday:
      8 am – 4 pm