“Clef Notes” #1 – September 11, 2020 Abbreviated updates for WSHS Orchestra students and parents Welcome to the first of the 2020-21 WSHS Orchestra “Clef Notes.” These Notes will contain brief summaries of our classroom announcements and other information concerning the WSHS Orchestras. Please take a moment to read through the Notes. With all the changes happening this year, communication is still the key. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Communicate 1. Our website is: www.whitestationorchestra.weebly.com, which includes: - An Updates page for “What’s New,” Assignments, and archived Clef Notes. - A Resources page for practicing help, tuning, links to organizations, and much more. - A Remind page for all three orchestra groups. - A Go Play! Page with links to Auditions, Festivals, and Competitions. If you are new to the WSHS Orchestras, please take a few minutes to look around the site. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, let me know! 2. Our Remind codes are: 6th period: @wshsorc6 7th period: @wshsorc7, and, for all parents: @wsorchpar. Text your code to 81010 or 901-881-9447. You may also register at “rmd.at/classcode.” You can send text messages to me through this service. You are welcome to sign up for your child’s class code, too. Things that are different this year Well, I could go on and on here, but there are a few items I want to mention now. 1. Since all assignments are now posted in TEAMS, the WSHS Orchestra Google folder for assignments will not be updated. The Updates/Assignments page on our website will be maintained. 2. All-West auditions are still going to happen. WTSBOA understands that many students use these auditions for recognition and college resume building. Modifications for this year include: Pre-recording the audition, virtual submission by teachers, no sight-reading, and a January (TBD) deadline. The audition information is on our website under Go Play!/Auditions. 3. Use of online resources. Orchestra Rehearsals make up the bulk of our lessons in a normal year. But we are still String musicians, and there is so much material for us to explore to keep us engaged as strings players. One featured resource is the “With Nicky” (violinist and pedagogue Nicola Benedetti) youtube series. Look on our assignments page for more about Nicky. 4. Flipgrid.com, an online video platform, has replaced the emailed playing test format from the last few years. Go to https://flipgrid.com/wshsorch to see a list of our playing tests, which are called “Topics” in Flipgrid. The first submission is due today, and the second one is due Friday, September 18. 5. Playing along at home. It’s apparent that playing together through any virtual platform is not a realistic activity. We can, however play with others by using pre-recorded parts, click tracks, and other play-along resources. What we have quickly discovered is that some sort of headphones, earbuds, etc., make it much easier to hear the “other” when we’re playing our instrument, too. Until the district is able to issue headphones, please do your best to acquire a set. Class Business 1. We will continue to use Habits of a Successful String Musician as our method book this year. Students should have their own copy by now. We will be using it next week. 2. The first Practice Plan (covering two weeks) will be assigned September 14 and will be due September 28. Students will be setting goals, measuring their progress, and seeking feedback. The Parent’s verification signature is part of the grade. As I stated earlier, we are all Strings musicians, and that has not changed. We play our instrument for a variety of reasons – many of them unmeasurable and undefinable. But we are String players at heart, and we need to play on. It’s going to be a very memorable year in the White Station Orchestras! |
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