Yearly Archives: 2023

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed having some time with my family and of course all of the great food. It is an often-begrudging family tradition in my house to talk about what you are thankful for. Of course, I am most thankful for a healthy happy family, however I am equally thankful for getting to make fantastic music every day with the students at LZHS. It is invigorating to be able see such growth and accomplishments from everyone. This is an exceptional place to make music and I am thankful for everyone who gives their time and energy to make the orchestra program so successful. Thank you as well to our HOPE board who do so much behind the scenes to make sure we can do so many amazing events.

This week we have two big celebrations:

Elise won the 2023-24 LZHS Concerto Competition and will be performing the first movement of the Bruch Violin Concerto with the orchestra in May.

Elise, Jonathon, Mira, and Jonah were selected perform with the All-State orchestras in January. They will audition later this month to find out if they made Honors or All-State Orchestras. Congratulations to everyone!

December 13^th is our winter concert. We have several concert and extra rehearsal dates (especially for Symphony) this month,  lease make sure you have the orchestra calendar added to your calendars.

Important Highlights:

Winter Concert, Wednesday, December 13 at 7PM:

Important concert information:

Dress:

Please follow dress code as outlined in the handbook.

Boys must show up in black pants, tux shirt, black shoes, and socks. We will distribute tux jackets and bow ties before the concert

Remember that boys must purchase their own black pants and tux shirt.

Girls wear solid black: Girls have the freedom to choose their apparel if sleeves extend below the elbow and skirts or slacks to the ankle, and the midriff must not show while standing or sitting. This may be a long sleeve all black dress or black blouse or sweater and ankle-length skirt. Full black slacks are also appropriate and encouraged for cello players. Girls must also wear black closed-toe dress shoes (not more than 2” heel) and black stockings or hose.

Concert and Philharmonic Orchestra:

Call time is 5:45 for rehearsal on the stage in the PAC. Call times are the time that the rehearsal will start. Students not in their seats and ready to perform will be marked down on the summative concert attendance grade.

Symphony Orchestra:

Call time is 6:15 on stage to run the Christmas song.

Alumni- If you have any alumni who would like to join us for the Christmas Song, have them reach out and I will send them the music!

Other important dates:

• Thursday 11/30- Evening Symphony Rehearsal-6:30-8:30
• Thursday, 12/7- Choir Concert- For Sinfonietta Students-wear black be on stage by 6:10
• Wednesday, 12/13: Orchestra concert at 7PM
• Tuesday 12/18: Bear Strings rehearsal and concert- 4:00-5:30 rehearsal- Concert at 7PM

It has been a busy month in the orchestra department. We are preparing for our October concerts and enjoying some time getting to know everyone. Thank you to HOPE for sponsoring the picnic on September 8^th. Thank you as well to Echo USA for sponsoring the sectional lesson day. We were so lucky to have five amazing coaches who worked with all the orchestra students last Tuesday.

Our first concert of the 2023-24 season will be on Thursday, October 12 at 7PM. We have some early reporting times because we will be taking pictures. Please see below for call times and dress information:

Dress:

Please follow dress code as outlined in the handbook.

Boys must show up in black pants, tux shirt, black shoes, and socks. We will distribute tux jackets and bow ties before the concert

Remember that boys must purchase their own black pants and tux shirt.

Girls wear solid black: Girls have the freedom to choose their apparel if sleeves extend below the elbow and skirts or slacks to the ankle, and the midriff must not show while standing or sitting. This may be a long sleeve all black dress or black blouse or sweater and ankle-length skirt. Full black slacks are also appropriate and encouraged for cello players. Girls must also wear black closed-toe dress shoes (not more than 2” heel) and black stockings or hose.

Concert and Philharmonic Orchestra:

Call time is 5:15 for rehearsal on the stage in the PAC. Please come dressed and we will take a picture for the yearbook at 6:00. Tux jackets can be picked up before the picture. Call times are the time that the rehearsal will start. Students not in their seats and ready to perform will be marked down on the summative concert attendance grade.

Symphony Orchestra:

Call time is 6:00 in the choir room. Please be dressed by 6:00 so that we can take the yearbook picture before the concert

A reminder that ILMEA videos must be emailed to me by 10/2 so that I can make sure everything is OK and we don’t have to wait until the night of the concert to get everything all taken care of.

Tux Helper- Mrs. Oh has volunteered to help with tuxes again this year. We could use one more volunteer. It is a low-stress job, but we do need someone who can come and help with fittings and then hand out and return tuxes for every concert.

Sinfonietta Auditions: Auditions for the after-school orchestra here at LZHS called Sinfonietta are due October 13^th. The rehearsals will be every Tuesday from 3:50-5:15. Students should submit their ILMEA video, or the ILMEA scales and the first page of a concerto they are working on. Students will be performing advanced music composed for small chamber orchestras. Students can audition in person or by submitting a video. All auditions must be submitted/completed by October 13.

You must have the following contract signed by 10/13.  Rehearsals will begin Tuesday, October 17

Symphony Performance at Elmhurst University:  Please return field trip permission slips by Friday, October 6 . The field trip forms can be found in Canvas

Homecoming Dance Help: HOPE will once again be providing a bag check and snacks at the homecoming dance on October 7th. We are looking for families to man the booth and for donations. If you can help in any way, please register in the sign-up genius. You can drop off donations on 10/6 at the HS security.

If that doesn’t work, feel free to drop donations with Christine Brodersen

HOPE Donations: The October concert is our big push for HOPE donations. If you would like your name in the first program, please donate by 10/6. You can donate online, or in person at the concert.

Thank you as always for your support of the orchestras at LZHS,

Nathan Sackschewsky, LZHS Orchestra Director

Welcome back to Orchestra. It has been great hearing about how everyone spent their summers. So many of you took time to travel and spend time with family and friends. Although the start of the year is always a transition, we are going full speed and already preparing for our first concert on October 12. For those of you who are new, please keep an eye on your email, or the orchestra website for monthly newsletters with important links and information for the orchestra department.

Mrs. S, Nora, and I were able to spend some time in Vienna this summer. It is a city that we both studied in when we were at Augustana College, and it was like going home. We were even at the Vienna Philharmonic Summer Concert that is streaming on PBS right now. Check it out. The Bolero with the dancers was Nora’s favorite piece of the evening.

We have some great opportunities this year, beyond our four curricular concerts, both Sinfonietta and Bear Strings have special performances scheduled, and Symphony will start the year with a performance at Elmhurst University on October 14^th.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the curriculum night on Wednesday.

Please see below for important beginning of the year information

• Orchestra Shirts and Hoodies: Once again this year we are offering LZHS Orchestra shirts and hoodies. They feature our orchestra logo and are really comfortable. It is my goal that we have these shirts to wear for informal concerts, tours, and events. All orders are due by Monday, September 9, and can be competed online here.

• The orchestra Picnic will be on Friday September 8^th from 4PM-5:30PM in Breezewald park. Pease signup by Tuesday, 9/5 so that HOPE knows how many hotdogs and veggie burgers to purchase. If you are coming, please consider bringing something to help with the picnic. Please signup and let us know what you are brining.

• Bear Strings starts on Thursday, 8/31 from 3:50-4:50PM. Bear strings is open to all orchestra students and is a non-auditioned ensemble that focuses on pop, and other non-traditional styles of music.

• Parents of freshman boys, and boys who grew: Don’t forget to get your men’s tux shirt. This year it is up to students to purchase their own tux shirts in time for the October concert. A possible shirt is this option from Amazon.

• ILMEA Signup is currently going on. Fill out this form and pay online to sign up.  Sign-up is due by Friday, September 15. All ILMEA participants must participate in at least one help session, or you will not be allowed to participate. I am available to help everyday periods 1, 4, 5, and 7. Orchestra Office hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday

• All Freshmen need to purchase a Sound Innovations Advanced book. I have ordered books already. Please pay Mrs. McLeod $10 through PushCoin or directly at the bookkeeper’s office.

• Saturday September 14 Symphony Orchestra will be performing with Elmhurst University. The concert will be on campus at 7PM. Students will take a bus from LZHS at 1:45PM on Saturday for a 3PM dress rehearsal. More information to follow.

I would encourage you to add the orchestra calendar to your personal calendar. The calendar is will always be the most up to date calendar. Please pay special attention to the four LZHS concert dates for the year.

I hope everyone has a great year, and I hope to see everybody at our first concert on 10/12. Please feel free to reach out to me by email if you have any questions.

Nathan Sackschewsky, LZHS Orchestra Director

Welcome back from spring break and happy holidays for all who celebrated last week and weekend. Our last two months of the year are very busy, so I wanted to make sure that you had some important times and dates on the calendar. I will also have an email towards the end of the month with detailed final concert and banquet information.

Bear Strings this week:

Our final Bear strings performances are this week:

-Tuesday 4/11- Tour of elementary schools. We need to leave about 8:45, so please arrive early if possible. We will be back shortly before 7^th period. Please make sure you have an LZ Orchestra or just LZ shirt and jeans for the concert. You must also have a music stand between you and your partner. We will be stopping in Dear Park for lunch. Please make sure you have money or bring a lunch along.

-Wednesday 4/12- Final concert at MSN. Please see arrival information from Mr. Monzel. The concert starts at 7PM, please arrive by 6 for dress rehearsal. You should wear the same/similar thing from the tour.

In-Person HOPE meeting on Monday May 17 at 7PM

• Come to our first in-person meeting this year. We are looking for some orchestra parents to step up and help keep hope running this year.
• If you are sure you can help, or just want some more information about HOPE please come to our meeting to ensure this great organization can continue in the future.

All District Festival Orchestra:

Friday May 5 at 7PM is our orchestra festival in the field house. All 600 orchestra students from across the district will be performing that night.

Important information:

• HS dress rehearsal office hours on 5/5
• 6PM Orchestra call time
• Dress is formal orchestra dress
• We need parents and students to volunteer to help. Please sign up if you can lend a hand.

Other dates to keep put on your calendar:

4/26-30- Frozen Performances

4/29- Jan Sobieski String Quartet Concert (Mr. S’ string quartet) 6:30PM at St Paul Lutheran Church in Mt. Prospect.

5/16- 7PM Orchestra Concert

5/18- 5PM Orchestra Banquet at LZHS

In March we celebrate music in our schools month highlighting the great opportunities for students to participate in music classes at LZHS. For orchestra we will have two concerts next week and a month of celebrating music in the hallways and throughout the school. I would also like to thank all of you-both students and parents- for your support of music at LZHS. Not every school has the opportunities to participate in the arts at the high level that we do at LZHS and I am grateful that we get to take this journey together. Thank you for everything you do to make music at LZHS so successful.

For an extra way to support the orchestra, please consider going to Craving Gyros on the 14th for lunch or dinner. If you mention the LZHS Orchestras, they will donate 20% of your purchase back to HOPE. Thank you so much to Craving Gyros!

News:

Concerts:

Tuesday, March 14 Orchestra Concert- Concert, Philharmonic, Sinfonietta, and Symphony performing:

Please feel free to share the livestream link to friends and family

Concert and Philharmonic- Dress rehearsal starts at 5:45

Symphony- Call time is 6:30 in the choir room.

Dress:

Please follow the dress code as outlined in the handbook.

 Boys must show up in black pants, tux shirt, black shoes, and socks. We will distribute tux jackets and bow ties before the concert.

Remember that boys must purchase their own black pants and tux shirt.

Girls wear solid black: Girls have the freedom to choose their apparel if sleeves extend below the elbow and skirts or slacks to the ankle, and the midriff must not show while standing or sitting. This may be a long sleeve all black dress or black blouse or sweater and ankle-length skirt. Full black slacks are also appropriate and encouraged for cello players. Girls must also wear black closed-toe dress shoes (not more than 2” heels) and black stockings or hose.

Sinfonietta:

• Concert-Friday, March 17 at 7PM in the district office (832 S Rand Rd)
• Call time- 5:45
• Dress-All black
• Please remember to bring a stand and look for an email sign-up for post-concert treats.
• Remember that we have a rehearsal on Monday the 13^th, not Tuesday the 14^th.

Solo and Ensemble:

Solo and ensemble will be on Tuesday, March 21. I will email out official times later this week. Please remember all Symphony students are required to attend their chamber performance for the evening.

LA Trip:

1. We will hold our district mandated parent and student meeting on Thursday, March 9 at 6PM in the band room. It is mandatory that all students and at least one guardian attend this meeting.
2. We will be having two LA trip rehearsals to prepare for our combined performance. Thursday 3/9 and 3/23 from 6:30-8:30. Please plan on attending these rehearsals if you plan are going on the trip.

Trip Shirts: If you want a trip shirt or sweatshirt you must have your order completed by Tuesday, March 7. You can place your order directly through Melon Ink.

Bear Strings:

April Dates

Tuesday, 4/11- Tour of elementary schools. Will be gone 1^st period through 8^th period.

Wednesday, 4/12- D95 Alt-Strings fest at MSN at 7PM

Thank you for all of your support of the orchestras in D95, especially at LZHS!

Orchestra Parents and Students:

January was a very eventful month culminating with a truly fantastic performance from Symphony at the ILMEA music educators conference and also Jane, Jeanne, and Lynette performing in the Honors Orchestra. Please see below for pictures from the day. We do not have our concert from the ILMEA concert, however if you would like to hear what the performance sounded like you can listen to our preview concert from January 20^th. Thank you so much to HOPE for sponsoring the recording.

News:

Solo and Ensemble on March 21: Solo and Ensemble entries must be completed by Friday, February 10. Please make sure you sign up on the google form for your solo or ensemble. If you have not done so please pay for your Solo and Ensemble. Remember that Symphony students do not need to pay for their class ensemble.

March Concert on Tuesday, March 14 at 7PM: More information in a couple of weeks. All ensembles will be performing on the concert. Call time for Concert and Philharmonic will be 5:45.

Sinfonietta final concert, March 17 at 7PM: This special concert will be at the district office and will feature Sinfonietta performing the Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings, a Mozart aria, and our own Emily Nash and Bruno Silva performing the first movement of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Call time time will be 5:30 to run with soloists.

LA Trip information:

1. We will hold our district mandated parent and student meeting on Thursday, March 9 at 6PM in the band room. It is mandatory that all students and at least one guardian attend this meeting.
2. We will be having two LA trip rehearsals to prepare for our combined performance. Thursday 3/9 and 3/23 from 6:30-8:30. Pleas plan on attending these rehearsals if you plan are going on the trip.

Thank you, as always, for your support of the orchestra program,