It is hard to believe that December is upon us and the semester will soon be drawing to a close. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving and some time to relax and recharge. I was able to spend some time with my family and also be productive around the house and with work. I started my own podcast as a way to share the love of string teaching profession with other teachers. (There is more information at the bottom of this newsletter if you are interested.)
It is hard to believe that we only have three weeks of school before winter break! It is a busy and exciting time!
Seasons of Celebration Performance
A small group of AHSO performers will be playing at the Alpharetta Seasons of Celebration this Friday, December 6 at 7:15 PM in Downtown Alpharetta in the square. Come support them and the other Alpharetta Community Music Groups.
Winter Concert
Our Winter Concert is right around the corner! We will be performing for you next Tuesday, December 10 starting at 7:00 PM. The students have been working diligently to prepare for this concert and I think you will really enjoy each of the orchestras!
If students plan to eat dinner, they must RSVP by this Friday, December 6.
https://tinyurl.com/ahsowinterdinner19
Our incredible pre-concert dinner menu, made possible by the incredible hospitality team of Ms. Yoo and Ms. Day…
Dinner will be served at approximately 5:30 PM. If students are not eating, the report time is 6:15 PM. Symphony Winds report time is 7:45 PM
Winter Concert Program Order
- Concert Orchestra
- Philharmonia
- Chamber
- Sinfonia
- Symphony (4th Period Only)
- Symphony Strings (Combined 4th and 5th period)
- Symphony Full Orchestra
- Finale (Combined 3rd, 4th 5th Period Full Orchestra)
Concert Grading
Students are expected to be in full uniform for the concert. Also, every student is required to stay for the entire concert and must sign out at the end after all of the equipment has been cleaned up to receive their full grade. When everyone helps, it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to tear down.
Concert Cafe
Once again our amazing orchestra boosters will be putting on a Concert Cafe with all kinds of food and drink available for purchase before, during and after the concert.
Please use the link below to help volunteer and to donate items for Concert Cafe:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c4aa8a82aa13-winter
Post-Concert
On December 11, the day after the concert, we will listen to the audio recordings and complete a self-evaluation. Each orchestra will be retaining one piece and playing it for our LGPE performance in February.
Grade Makeup/Recovery Deadline
The final day to make up any missing assignments for the first semester is this Friday, December 6th. After this day any assignments that are incomplete will result in a zero grade. This deadline is school-wide. Please contact Dr. Laux if you have questions or concerns.
Giving to the Orchestra
If you are looking for a charitable organization to donate to before the end of the year, look no further than our orchestra program! As you know, the Alpharetta High School Orchestra Association is a non-profit 501c3 organization and all donations are fully tax-deductible. You may donate by check or even with a credit card on our website (http://www.alpharettaorchestra.org/paypal). We greatly appreciate your generosity!
Semester 1 Final Exam
The final exam schedule will be as follows:
- December 18 – Concert and Philharmonia
- December 19 – Sinfonia and Symphony
- December 20 – Chamber
The exam is a 100 question multiple-choice test that contains a variety of critical information that every orchestra student should know. There will be questions about key signatures, intervals, musical terminology about tempo, dynamics, etc. and other technical information. A study guide will be provided beginning December 11.
Holiday Gifts for Your Special String Player
Parents, are you having trouble finding good gifts for your child? Consider something orchestra related! Some ideas include new rosin, a new set of strings, a new bow, new sheet music, or even an instrument upgrade.
Your local string specialty store may have some items and you can also shop online. If shopping online for bows and instruments, I highly recommend using a string specialty store. General items like rosin, shoulder rests, and strings may be purchased from online retailers.
Holiday Gift Exchange
Yesterday students drew names for our annual secret holiday gift exchange. This is a fun way for us to get into the holiday spirit and our sense of Orchestra community. Our gift exchange will take place on Tuesday, December 17 during class. Students are not to spend more than $10 on the gift.
Dr. Laux’s “The Orchestra Teacher” Podcast
If you are interested in listening to my new podcast is available here:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5pvAWs3uftZ5FJ2KyZYU0z
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-orchestra-teacher-podcast/id1489358262
- Anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/orchestrateacher
I will be interviewing an orchestra teacher every few weeks to learn more about who they are, what they do, and to discuss various topics within the string teaching profession.