Parkway Central High School Orchestra Handbook 2011-12
Winifred Woodard Crock, Director Susan Hampton, Assistant Director
Office Phone: 314-415-7935
E-mail: wcrock@pkwy.k12.mo.us
Music Department Website ......... www.musicpch.com
August 16, 2011
Dear Orchestra Students & Parents,
Welcome to the new school year! We have a great year planned for the orchestras. The complete music department calendar will be available soon. Our first performance is the department showcase Prism Concert on September 20th at 7:30pm. Please check the department web site at www.musicpch.com regularly for information and updates. The department calendar is updated regular on the website as well.
Please read the section on grades and honors grades now. Students will often say "they didn't know" about a policy, a class requirement or a performance. Important information is given to students both aurally in class and in writing and is available on the web. Please note important rehearsals and performances now to avoid conflicts. If conflicts do arise please let me know immediately.
Please turn in all forms and fees when they are due. Music, tux items, equipment, forms and money must be turned in on the due dates. Form packets are due next class period!
Please ALWAYS make checks out to: "Parkway Central Orchestras"
If money is ever a problem, in regards to an orchestra activity, please call or see me. We will deal with the problem confidentially. It is a music department goal that no student be deprived of any activity because of money concerns. Please also contact me if payments need to be delayed for more than a day or two.
Please feel free to call me at home or at school anytime. I require a call if student needs to miss a dress rehearsal or concert and wishes to be excused from the event with the possibility of makeup later. I encourage you to call me if your child is going to miss a daily rehearsal due to illness or other reason. It is very helpful to plan classes and rehearsal if I know in advance that someone will be missing. I welcome any personal information you would like to share that might help me help you or your child. If I don't seem to return your call, please feel free to call again. Many times I return calls repeatedly without reaching anyone. A good time to catch me is the lunch hour. My phone number is Office 314-415-7935. I have answering machines at both home and school.
I also welcome e-mail communication. My e-mail address is wcrock@pkwy.k12.mo.us. I am always happy to discuss your ideas, suggestions and questions. Please check the music department web site for information. It is updated regularly. We are working hard to communicate with parents and students in every way possible. Also please feel free to talk to the orchestra leaders or upperclassmen. Frequently they can answer your questions or give advice. If you need help or just need to talk please come by. The door is always open.
Sincerely
Winifred Crock & Susan Hampton
Parkway Central High School Orchestra Program
Ensemble Description
Concert Orchestra
Concert Orchestra consists primarily of freshman string players. Entrance is by audition only. Members must have been trained in the Parkway String Program through junior high school or have had extensive private instruction.
Concert Orchestra's performance schedule will be similar to that of the other orchestras. Punctual attendance at every rehearsal and daily home practice are requirements of the group. The orchestra rehearses in classes with occasional after school or evening dress rehearsals.
Concert Orchestra II
Concert Orchestra II is for advanced string players. Most members are sophomore and juniors have played at least one year in the high school orchestra program. Members are strong players and musicians, and many study privately. Entrance is by audition only.
Concert Orchestra's performance schedule will be similar to that of the other orchestras. Punctual attendance at every rehearsal and daily home practice are requirements of the group. The orchestra rehearses in class with occasional after school and evening dress rehearsals. Concert Orchestra II may combine with Symphonic Orchestra in concerts.
Symphonic Orchestra
Symphonic Orchestra is a very intense and serious ensemble experience. Members are very advanced players and musicians. Entrance is by audition only. Most members are juniors and seniors, although advanced underclassmen may audition. Openings in the ensemble occur only as players leave or if the entire balance of the ensemble changes. Symphonic Orchestra rehearses first period. Punctual attendance at all rehearsals and daily home practice is a requirement. Tardiness and frequent absence will not be tolerated. After the marching band season winds, brass and percussion join the Symphonic Strings to rehearse as a full orchestra. The performance schedule is intense and careful preparation is necessary. Additional sectionals and small group rehearsals may be required before and after school. This year the orchestra has been chosen to play at the state music convention in January as one of two high school string orchestras selected. This is an extraordinary honor and the commitment cannot be taken lightly. Students who cannot make the commitment to practice daily, to attend all rehearsals and sectionals should choose another orchestra class.
PCHS Orchestra Class Expectations
1. Students will be in every class and extra rehearsal on time
with instrument, shoulder rest, music and a pencil.
2. Students will actively participate for the entire class or rehearsal.
3. Students will not talk or engage in behavior that will be disruptive to learning.
4. Students will practice and prepare for orchestra rehearsals at home.
5. Students will turn in all paperwork and equipment by the due date.
6. Students will take care of school property and equipment and respect the property of others.
7. Students will treat others with respect and consideration.
8. Students will behave in an honorable manner at all times.
9. Students will commit to their ensemble and its performances as a whole.
10. Students will honor the consequences of their actions.
General Ensemble Information
Instruments
Every orchestra student must have an instrument at home for daily practice. Instruments may be purchased or rented from local stores. Students may bring home-instruments to school anytime they wish, but they must be brought to school at the beginning of the year for checkups. We may make recommendations for repair, bow re-hair or string replacement. Also home instruments must be brought to school for tests, auditions, special rehearsals and concerts. Home instruments should be stored in the orchestra instrument room and not in the music office. Bass players will only need home instruments for concerts and select dress rehearsals.
The school owns instruments for daily rehearsal use. These instruments may be played in class. Students must take special care of school instruments as the repair budget is extremely limited. A student is considered responsible for a school instrument when it is in his or her possession. If an instrument is lost or damaged while it is in a student's possession, the student will be held responsible for repairing the damage. Instruments are as fragile as a person. Never leave your instrument in a car, on a heating vent.
Orchestra Text and Class Materials
Orchestra students will need to certain scales or method book. Students in Concert I need to own All for Strings Book III and Southern Music Wedding Collections and will continue to use Essentials for Strings which they already own. Students in Concert II need to own Advanced Techniques for Strings. Students in Symphonic need to own Strictly Strings Vol. 3 unless they have a 3 octave scale book for their instrument and a etude book such as Mazas, Kreutzer or Popper. Students may purchase books from Mrs. Crock. Every violinist and violist will need a resonans or kuhn shoulder rest for daily school use. Shoulder rests must be used daily in class. These items may be purchased in class or through a local music dealer. Every student should own a folding wire music stand for special performances and travel. They are available at local music stores or through mail order. Southwest Strings or Shar Products are excellent sources via the internet.
Home Practice, Tests, Quizzes and Assignments
At home practice is required. Practice assignments will be given in class and will be posted on the website. Students should never say they have nothing to play. In class playing tests and quizzes will be given frequently. Grades will be based on achievement and skill mastery. Some grades will be based on mastery of a specific skill. Grades for mastery tests will be Pass/A= Skill has been achieved and Redo/B or lower and test must be redone. Daily home practice/homework is a class expectation. Practice must consist of careful repetition of daily class work with attention to technical development. Practice is not simply playing through the orchestra music the night before a quiz. Students will not be successful if this is their only preparation.
Orchestra Seating
Orchestra seating will be based on a combination of factors. Seating will be based on auditions and test scores, on ensemble balance requirements, and on personal education goals.
Orchestra Class Absence & Tardiness
Excessive absence and tardiness will not be tolerated. Active participation in every rehearsal is the key to an excellent music program. Tardiness and absence directly affect student's class participation grades. They also severely hamper individual progress and the progress of the entire group. Punctual attendance all rehearsals is a requirement of orchestra participation. Detentions may be assigned due to tardies. Grade points will be deducted if students miss class warmups.
Concert Attire
Formal wear for all performances is long black skirt, black velvet orchestra blouse for ladies, and black tuxedo, white winged tipped shirt, black bow tie, and cummerbund for gentlemen. Black socks or hose and black shoes must be worn. Ladies velvet shirts will be sized at school and ordered immediately. The cost is $29.00. Ladies should wear ankle or floor length black skirts although cellists may wear formal black pants instead. Long black skirts are readily available during the late fall and holiday season in local stores.
The orchestras are fortunate to own tuxedos for men. We loan them to students on an annual basis. There is a $20.00 annual tux rental fee for men. Parents are responsible for hemming the tux pants should they need length adjustment. Please do not cut extra hem length off of the tux pant hems. Tux shirts, ties and cummerbunds must be purchased by the student. We offer a group discount price for tux shirts, ties and cummerbunds. If you wish to take advantage of the group discount fill out the tux shirt form in the form packet. All students must have the complete formal outfit by Prism concert.
Concert and Dress Rehearsal Attendance
Concerts are the culmination of the ensemble learning process and are the final skill demonstration of performance experience. Concert call is usually 1 hour before performance time. This required time allows for adequate warm up time and tuning for all ensembles. The concert experience includes the aural learning experience of hearing the other groups so all students are expected to be present for the entire event.
Every person is crucial to the excellence of our orchestra performances, thus students are required to attend all dress rehearsals and concerts. Orchestra is a team where everybody plays. No one sits on the bench in a music ensemble. Everyone contributes consistently and everyone is important! Students will be excused from concerts or rehearsals only in cases of dire personal illness, a death in the family or an other extraordinary problem. Please call Mrs. Crock in advance at 314-415-7935 or at home at 636-391-5821 if a student will be absent. Concerts and dress rehearsals grades are the equivalent of a major test or marking period final. Make up work for an ensemble concert are very complex. While the work can be duplicated, the concert situation cannot. Make up work will only be allowed in the case of an excused absence. Even if the absence is excused make up work must be completed. Students cannot receive credit/points for work that is not done. Make up work for concert or dress absence includes a performance jury for the music faculty. This performance jury must be completed before the end of the marking grading period in question. In case of personal injury that prohibits daily playing, other work will be assigned.
Parent Involvement
Much of the success of our music program is due to the help of parent volunteers. Parent volunteers make excellence possible in our music program. Parents who wish to donate their time and talents to the orchestras should fill out the help form in the form packet. Many jobs only take a few hours of time.
We encourage all orchestra parents to become a member of Music Parents Organization. The orchestra directly benefits from your help and donations to this organization. In addition to the vital assistance, Music Parents is also an important source of revenue for the music department through concession, sales and many other types of fund raising. Our lead orchestra representative will contact you if you indicate you would like to help. The member ship form is available on the music department website or in the Orchestra form packet.
Please help if you possibly can.
Fund Raising
Fund raising is an unfortunate necessity in education today. The orchestra will have one or two fund raisers for general budget and general expenses, for example our orchestra concession stand work at Homecoming and the Craft fair helps with general expenses. We will also offer several optional individual fundraisers for students to help defray personal trip expenses. This year Entertainment book sales, a combination chocolate and food item brochure sale and the annual Florida citrus sale are currently scheduled. Profits from these activities go into an individual account to pay for individual student expenses.
Students must turn in merchandise, orders and money on or before deadlines!!!
Orchestra Travel
The PCHS orchestras travel periodically. Some trips take us across the city, others across the country. Overnight out of town trips are planned every other year. Trips are planned with performances and educational experiences in mind. Trips take a great deal of planning and preparation in view of the large numbers of students involved. We make every effort to include every student in our travels and we make every effort to keep costs as low as possible. This year we are planning a trip to Chicago on April 12-15. We have chosen Chicago for its wonderful musical and cultural opportunities and its close proximity. We must have a firm commitment by early September in order to keep expenses low. We have arranged to maintain last year’s competition and hotel price by this early commitment. We want to make the trip possible for all orchestra students. More information will be sent home soon.
Additional Experiences
Chamber Music
Chamber music participation is strongly encouraged for all orchestra players. Players must be willing to form small groups, prepare music and rehearse together regularly. When choosing chamber music partners, it is important to match personalities, levels of commitments and when possible, playing styles. Coaching can takes place after school or at lab on a sign up basis. Performance opportunities exist for groups ready for polished performance. Small chamber orchestras may be formed as opportunities arise.
Private Lessons
Other Opportunities
Other orchestra ensemble experience is encouraged for everyone. St. Louis has extraordinary opportunities for the motivated high school musician. Webster University Community Music School has 5 levels of full and string orchestras. The phone number is 314-863-3033. The St. Louis Philharmonic, Clayton Symphony, Town & Country Orchestra, Maryville University, Meramac College and UMSL offer additional orchestral performing opportunities for advanced high school string students. Eligible students are strongly encouraged to audition for the renown St. Louis Youth Symphony, St. Louis All Suburban Orchestra and the Missouri All State Orchestra.
The Parkway Central Music Department offers a variety of music course work for the interested student. Two levels of class piano and class guitar, an introductory music theory class and an advanced placement honors music theory class and various others.