Congratulations again to everybody on a great performance in October. Please refer to my email for a digital download of the concert recordings. Thank you as well to HOPE for sponsoring the recordings.
Congratulations to our four ILMEA District Orchestra participants this year. Alex, Andrew, Ethan, and Kyle will be performing with the top musicians in the northern part of Illinois on Saturday, November 10th. Congratulations to all of them for their hard work!
Concerto Competition:
The concert competition will be held on Wednesday, November 28th. Please turn this from in no later than November 16th. All students are invited to audition and one student will have the opportunity to perform with LZHS Symphony Orchestra. The cost is $15.
Symphony Orchestra:
Please mark your calendars for the December 5th evening rehearsal. The rehearsal is mandatory and will run from 7-9PM. This is a rehearsal to combine with winds for our first concert of the year.
Sinfonietta:
Some important upcoming dates:
Friday, November 30th– Extended Rehearsal with dinner 3:30-5:30
Monday, December 3- Performance with Choir at Symphony Center- Leave school after 6th period- see upcoming email for more information about tickets.
Friday, December 14th performance at Eco- more information to come.
I can’t believe it is already October, and we are a week out from our first concert of the year on October 17th at 7:00. More information about that below.
The 2017-18 CSO trip
The last month we have done some great things in orchestra. There have been several opportunities to get to know classmates both in and out of class including a fantastic picnic, decorating for homecoming, and we are also looking forward to a great trip to the CSO on October 19th with the band.
Dr. Chetel working with Symphony Orchestra
I would also like to thank Dr. Chetel for joining us from Augustana College to work with Symphony Orchestra on the Respighi Ancient Aires and Dances Suite III.
On the night of the concert Culvers will be hosting a LZHS Orchestra Night. I encourage
Concert Information: The concert will start promptly at 7:00-
Performance order:
Concert Orchestra
Bear Strings
Symphony Orchestra
Concert Orchestra:
Call time is 5:00 for rehearsal. Please come dressed and we will also take a picture for the yearbook at that time. 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. Please be dressed by 6:15 so that we can take the yearbook picture.
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
Girls wear solid black: Girls have the freedom to choose their apparel as long as 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.
Sinfonietta Auditions: Auditions for the after school orchestra here at LZHS called Sinfonietta will be the week of October 16th. The rehearsals will be every Tuesday from 3:15-4:30. Students should audition on an excerpt from a prepared piece and the ILMEA scale sheet (I will pick one major and one minor scale). Students will be performing advanced music composed for small chamber orchestras. This year students will perform at Symphony Center in December with the Choir, and at the NIU string day in February. Any student interested in auditioning should sign up for a time here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZHwpohIblDCjfvcb9Qe23r4SzupjEird5GNKAVCThKM/edit?usp=sharing (Links to an external site.)
You must have the following contract signed at the time of your audition along with reviewing the calendar:
The mission of the Orchestra Boosters is to give LZHS orchestra students opportunities for enhancing their musical experience. We sponsor fundraisers throughout the year and work directly with Mr. Sackschewsky to collect resources for underwriting professionally coached sectionals and visits by guest clinicians. Last year over $5000 was raised and spent on orchestra students. Booster members assist the orchestra program in funding GUEST CLINICIANS, INSTRUMENT SECTIONALS, FIELD TRIPS TO CSO, JUDGES FOR CONCERTO COMPETITION, SOCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR ORCHESTRA STUDENTS and MORE.
The Board is looking for new parents to serve in leadership roles (Secretary, Fundraising, co-Treasurer, co-President) for the school year. Without a new officers, we fear we will not continue beyond the current school year. Please consider working alongside current officers so we can continue our mission. If you are interested, please contact Marie.Gilbert@comcast.net.
Concert Refreshments:
This year we are going to try something a little different for the reception after the concert. We are going to divide treats up by section instead of grades. For this concert:
All Violins and Basses: will bring a treat/snack for after the concert
All Violas and Celli: Will bring individual water bottles or pre-packaged juice
HOPE Fundraiser: We are currently in the middle of a Yankee Candle Sale. You can sell all products online, and the credit you receive can be used toward trips, concerts, or any other orchestra related expense. You can download the login information here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WT4KUx4_WzUU2gPh9TcmMK66jVdxLRX_/view?usp=sharing
Thank you for supporting our Patron Booster Program.
HOPE board.
Thank you as always for your support of the orchestra program. Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing everybody at the concert on the 17th.
I hope that the first few weeks of school are going well. As much as I enjoy the freneticism of the beginning of school, I really love the feeling of getting settled into the swing of the year where we can start really making music. I would like to offer a special thank you to Marie Gilbert and Christine Chialdikas for helping with the Orchestra Picnic last Friday. We had almost 50 students attend. It was so fun to see the students have an opportunity to socialize together outside of class. As you are looking through the news, please make sure that students who are planning on participating in ILMEA have their registrations completed by this Friday.
News:
This year the Orchestra will be attending the CSO on Friday, October 19th. It is a field trip during the school day, and students can expect to be back about 5:00. There are a limited number of tickets, and because the band students are joining us tickets will sell out fast. Please get your form and money in ASAP.
Join HOPE: Please take the time to join HOPE this year. We are looking for 100% participation from families. You can join here.
ILMEA Signup is currently going on. Please fill out the form and bring in your $5 to cover your audition cost. I will have audition prep times if you would like to come in and get some audition help and tips. Sign-up is due by Monday, September 17. If you have not registered and brought in your check by Monday, you will not be able to audition.
Bear Strings has started. If you are looking for a fun opportunity to work on different music styles from what we do in class, I recommend joining Bear Strings, which rehearses on Thursdays from 3:20-4:30. You can find more about it here.
Sinfonietta auditions will be the week of October 15th. Remember that students should plan on auditioning with no more than 5 minutes of a concerto and one major and minor scale from the ILMEA scale sheet.
I look forward to seeing everybody at our first concert on October 17th, more information as we get closer.
Welcome to the Orchestra News Page. Every month you will find important information about activities, and ways to stay involved in the program.
I will post more after we get going the first week, but some important information for everybody before the first day:
You will not need instruments on Wednesday. We will get lockers and instrument assignments on Wednesday, so plan on playing on Thursday.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the Orchestra Open House on Wednesday, August 29th at 7:00 in the orchestra room. HOPE will once again supply some treats. Come and learn about the year in orchestra, and meet some fellow orchestra parents.
Join HOPE and the orchestra in celebrating the new year on Friday, 9/7 with our 3rd annual kick off picnic at Breezewald Park from 4-6. More information to come, but mark your calendar now!
The school is selling year signs again this year. I would encourage everybody to purchase one for their front yard. How cool would it be to have streets filled with orchestra yard signs. They are only $30 and proceeds go back to LZHS. Please fill out the attached form and return it to the school.
I will have more information for you about the rest of the year soon. I am so excited about the great performance and learning opportunities for orchestra this year. I hope to see everybody soon, but please feel free to reach out to me by email if you have any questions.
To everybody who ate at Culvers for the concert. Thank you we raised almost $70 for HOPE. Our next dining night is on November 16th. Please join us at California Pizza Kitchen. If you show this flyer 20% of your total purchase will go to support HOPE!
LZHS Symphony Orchestra. The cost is $15.
