The Covenant School

In Covenant’s music program, students will learn to sing and play with passion, practice with purpose, and collaborate as an ensemble to perform works that push us to grow in body, mind, and spirit through God’s great gift of music. They will engage in higher-level creativity and analysis, and continually develop a large repertoire of songs to be performed with and without notation. These are skills that will move students to engage in music with a deeper understanding and will, in turn, allow them to begin or continue a lifelong journey of experiencing music. Students will work alone and together to play and sing more fluently in a variety of tonalities, meters, and styles. They will learn the fundamentals of singing or playing a traditional band instrument, be able to identify and perform standard notation terms and symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, articulation, and expression, and learn to respond to basic conducting gestures. They will develop productive rehearsal skills while staying focused, being prepared, participating fully, respecting others, and performing for audiences. Singers will learn to use the voice as a means of musical expression, listen to and match pitch, hold unison and harmonies, perform a range of dynamic contrasts and tempo changes, and match vowel colors within the choir.

Charlotte Caldejon ('22)

Every day I wake up grateful to be where I am and to have the privilege of studying the arts. I also think of all the ways I was supported at Covenant to make this possible.

- Julie Nemeyer
  
  Lower School Music

Mrs. Julie Nemeyer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a concentration in Voice from James Madison University. She has continued her study of music education through the completion of the Orff-Schulwerk teacher certification program at George Mason University. As a fully certified Orff-Schulwerk educator, Mrs. Nemeyer guides students to success through a multi-layered approach using movement, body percussion, speech, singing, instruments, and simple musical forms to provide students with multiple ways to be successful in music. Mrs. Nemeyer hopes that each student can find ways to connect with themselves, others, and God through music, and that they may find a sense of community in musical opportunities throughout their lives. In addition to classroom teaching, Mrs. Nemeyer enjoys ringing handbells at church, hiking in the variety of natural spaces near Charlottesville, and spending time with family.

- Dan Warren
  
  Hickory Campus Music

Mr. Dan Warren has taught music to students of all ages and in many capacities, and he is currently in his sixth year as the Instrumental and Choral Instructor at The Covenant School. He has a rich background in solo and ensemble performance in classical piano, wind bands, chamber choirs, and church music. He is a sought-after guest clinician, coaching a number of award-winning Virginia high school band programs in their concert and competition seasons, and he led the Middlesex High School band to their first VBODA Superior rating in the school's history in 2016. He maintains an active practice and performance schedule as a pianist, and he currently serves as the organist at St. David's Anglican Parish. As an educator, Mr. Warren seeks to blend formal and informal approaches into music tradition, and his career research interests focus on lifelong music learning, the neuroscience of music acquisition, revitalizing community music, and broadening both curricular and extracurricular music offerings in institutional settings. In addition to his specialist certifications from the Gordon Institute for Music Learning, Mr. Warren earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music from James Madison University where, prior to Covenant, he worked on the teaching staff for the Marching Royal Dukes and the JMU Bands.

- Jerry King
  
  Arts Director

Mr. Jerry King has a BA in Studio Art from Kenyon College, where he arranged for and sang in an A Capella group, designed, acted, and painted for the theatre department, and helped launch the dance program. His Graduate work is in Art History, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Theology.

After operating a graphic design and illustration business for six years, he and his wife taught college-level English in China. Returning to the States because of their expanding family, Mr. King entered full-time ministry, which became a 25-year endeavor including campus ministry, multi-ethnic urban pastoring, and serving as Senior Pastor for an L-Abri-like congregation.

Mr. King has written and staged various scripts, songs, and scores in churches, schools, and communities, and has assisted in local stage design work for Live Arts and Four County Players.

Before coming to Covenant, Mr. King taught at Mansfield Christian School and Olney Friend School, both in Ohio, and Blue Ridge School in Virginia.