A new year - ready to kick off!

Family Orientation

August 24, 2013

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

 

Check-in begins at 9:30 am

Broadway United Methodist Church

609 E 29th Street

Get ready for the best kick off MYO has ever seen! 

 

We'll have prizes, activities, demos, and everything you need to get started with MYO.

 

Bring yourselves - no instruments needed.

 

Chamber Ensembles: We have gigs lined up for September for BOTH chamber ensembles, so we're going to get started rehearsing right away!  Stay for lunch and then rehearse from 12:30 - 2:00 pm on August 24.

 

See you there!

 

 

Orchestra B Reminders - 2/26

Concert Countdown: 2 regular rehearsals left!

Orchestra B is preparing for the Concerto Concert.  I'd like to confirm the pieces that the students will be performing:

• Allegro
• Scherzo
• Witches Dance
• Happy Farmer (not in folders yet)

Sarabande and Allegro Appassionato will be performed with a teacher ensemble to back-up the soloist.  Orchestra B will not need music to these two pieces.

Rehearsal Note: March 12 rehearsal will be held at Broadway United Methodist Church so that we can have extra time to rehearse in this space.

Dress Rehearsal Note: The dress rehearsal for the Concerto Concert for Orchestra B will be held on Sunday, March 17 from 1:00 to 1:30 pm at Broadway United Methodist Church.  The concert begins at 3:00 pm.  There will be NO Orchestra B dress rehearsal held on Saturday.

FAFSA and other college financial aid

A few places to get help figuring out college financial aid:

The Indiana Youth Institute offers a weekly 30 minute program on topics that affect Indiana families. They tackled the subject of college financial aid on February 17.  Follow this link to an archive of their programs and listen in!  http://www.iyi.org/media/kids-count-radio.aspx

College Goal Sunday: Financial aid professionals will be volunteering at 41 sites across Indiana to help college-bound students and their families open the door to financial aid during College Goal Sunday, set for 2 p.m. (local time), February 24, 2013.  The free program is designed to assist Indiana students seeking undergraduate admission to a college or technical school in 2013 in filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  Locate a site nearby to attend here: http://www.collegegoalsunday.org/index.php/locations/south-east/indianapolis-area.  Find more information here: http://www.collegegoalsunday.org/.

Orchestra B Overview - 2/19

Countdown to Concerto Concert: 3 regular rehearsals left!

Other upcoming events:

• Recital on Sunday, March 3 (see e-mail for confirmation of your date)
• Recital rehearsal for those performing on March 3 will be held at rehearsal on February 26 - bring your instrument, your solo part, and the piano accompaniment if not from a Suzuki book.
• Seating Auditions for Orchestra B will be held on February 26 at orchestra rehearsal

Information about seating auditions:

• Please prepare all three pieces (Witches Dance, Allegro, and Scherzo) - you will be asked to play excerpts from one of those three pieces.
• Seating auditions will take place one at a time outside the rehearsal room.
• If you are unable to attend rehearsal on the 26th for any reason, you will be seated at the back of the section for this concert.  Remember that there is still one more concert for which we will do seating (Jazz and Jam) so please do not come to rehearsal if you are sick. 

Mr. Valencia mentioned using a metronome app to help you maintain a steady beat while practicing.  Here is a website metronome that doesn't require anything to be downloaded: http://www.webmetronome.com/.  You can change the tempo and the number of beats to match your music. 

Don't forget - we will be taking the names of students who arrive after 6:30 and who are late returning from break next week.  There is a lot of progress to make before our next concert and we need every minute of it!  Arrive on time, with everything you need (including a pencil!), and be ready to play right at 6:30 pm.

Orchestra B Rehearsal Overview

February 12 -

We're working on accompaniment parts to be performed with soloists.  The music may look easier than usual, but it needs to be very tight in order to provide the most support possible for the soloist.  Take rehearsal time seriously as you are providing support for one of your friends - the soloist.  Practice the music at home, even if it looks easy.  Be certain of each and every note that you will be playing when you come to rehearsal.  Practice the notes (and intonation, etc) at home and then the group can work on putting it all together at orchestra rehearsal. 

Tip of the day!
Bring a pencil, or two, to every rehearsal.  Keep one in your folder and one in your case so that you have one at all times and make sure it gets unpacked when you get your instrument out. 

So far, you should have the following music in your folder:
~ Allegro, Corelli
~ Witches Dance, Paganini
~ Allegro Appassionato, Saint-Saens

You will still receive Happy Farmer and Scherzo in the upcoming weeks. 

Orchestra D Rehearsal Info for 2/9

Repertoire for February 23 performance has been confirmed:

All Orchestras: Aiken Drum (see below)

Dolce Secundo: Flourish
Dolce Primo: Evening Calm, A Mozart Melody, Hot Cross Buns
Debut Green: D Scale, Song for Christine, Natalie's Rose
Debut Yellow: Do Do Do Song, D Scale

Aiken Drum parts:
hair - spaghetti
head - potato
arms - candy sticks
body - marshmallow
legs - celery
feet - hot dogs

Bring us a picture of Aiken Drum on February 16 by either drawing a picture or taking a photograph of him as described in our song!  Prizes may be awarded...

Orchestra A Rehearsal Update (2/7)

Good rehearsal last night!  Perhaps "spirited" is the right word - lots of laughs, that's for sure!

Please be focused this week on practicing the Brandenburg No. 5 and Bach Concerto in A Minor. 

Countdown to the concert: 5 regular rehearsals
Seating auditions will be held on February 28.

Please submit the date and time you would like for your solo recital:
- March 3 at 3:00 pm
- March 3 at 5:00 pm
- April 14 at 3:00 pm
- April 14 at 5:00 pm
We will also need the title of your piece and the composer.

Orchestra A Chamber will be rehearsing on Sunday, February 10 at 6:00 pm.

Orchestra A Rehearsal Review - Jan 31

A few reminders:

• Seating auditions for the Concerto Concert will be held on February 28.
• Be sure to sign up for a recital date:
• March 3 at 3:00 pm or 5:00 pm
• April 14 at 3:00 pm or 5:00 pm

We handed out one new piece of music: Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

Feb 2 Orchestra Rehearsal Location Confirmed

Orchestras C and D:

Your rehearsals will be held at the Key Learning Community as usual on February 2.  No changes expected at this time. 

Be mindful of the weather going into the weekend.  Snow is expected early on Saturday morning.  Any cancellation would be reported on WISH and WTHR.

Orchestra B Overview - Jan 29

Rehearsal Highlights for January 29:

A reminder from Mr. Valencia: be sure to work on long bow exercises at home!

During the second half of rehearsal, Mrs. Perry conducted pieces that the orchestra will be performing next Tuesday.

There is no regular rehearsal next Tuesday.  We will be doing a pre-concert performance in the Hilbert Circle Theatre lobby for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Celebration of Black History Concert. 

Details:
Call time is 6:00 pm.
Enter through the main Hilbert Circle Theatre lobby (particularly large instruments) or the Symphony Centre before 6:00 pm.  The downbeat for rehearsal will be 6:00 pm, so you will need to be unpacked and seated by then. 
Please wear your regular concert attire.
The MYO performance begins at 6:30 pm and will conclude at about 7:20 pm.

The CBH concert begins at 7:30 pm.  This is a free concert, but it is ticketed.  Please call the ISO box office to reserve your tickets if you plan to stay for the performance: 639-4300.  All parents wanting to enter the lobby but not planning to stay for the concert will be issued an MYO sticker to wear while in the building. 
Link to concert information here.

Please bring your instrument, rock stops (if applicable), and your music: Italian Symphony, Dance of the Tumblers, and Andante Festivo.  We also handed out new music last night that we will be performing at this event: Dance and Flourish, Greensleeves, and Minuet.  Copies have been e-mailed to everyone.

Additional Music: We handed out Allegro Appassionato, Allegro, and a packet bow exercises.  Those who missed rehearsal may pick up those additional pieces next Tuesday. 

DP and DS Rehearsal Info (Jan 26)

Rehearsal Update for Dole Primo and Dolce Secundo from January 26:

Mrs. Sieler asked us to post the words to the various rhythm patterns that were discussed on Saturday.

Mississippi Stop Stop
Dune Buggy Dune Buggy
Peanuts and Popcorn and (x2)
Chocolate Chocolate

Have fun practicing this week!

Orchestra B rehearsal review 1/22/2013

Orchestra B rehearsal review (1/22/2013):

1. Keep practicing the Italian Symphony, Dance of the Tumblers, and Andante Festivo.  

2.  Try the slow bow, remembering to divide your bows evenly.  Remember, you have to produce even sound.  I usually start with eight beat bows and go to sixteen, twenty four and thirty two.  You have to use a metronome.  Here is a link to an online metronome. http://www.metronomeonline.com/ 

3. Try to read four measures of unknown music every day.  You have a huge selection of music that we gave you at the beginning of the fall.  Try some of it and it will make your next performance on February 5 much easier.

 

New music: Theme from Witches Dance - to be performed at the Concerto Concert on March 17

Orchestra B will be performing at the Celebration of Black History.  It is a pre-concert performance in the lobby of Hilbert Circle Theatre.  Call time is 6:00 pm.  The performance will begin at roughly 6:45 pm and conclude around 7:15 or 7:20 pm.  Please consider staying for the Celebration of Black History Concert which begins at 7:30 pm.  It is free, but tickets are required (and limited) so I recommend securing those in advance from the ISO box office.  Orchestra B will not have regular rehearsal that evening.  Repertoire will include the three pieces from the Invest in MYO concert last weekend and a few new, easy pieces that will be handed out next week. 

Have a great week and remember to check back here next week for more practice reminders!

Invest in MYO post-concert info

Wow!!!  MYO families are fantastic!  We had a great concert last weekend; the kids performed well, we had lots of volunteers, and it was so much fun. 

I want to take a moment to extend a heart-felt thank you to those who dedicated time (and snacks) to help us on Saturday and Sunday. 

We also had an extra-special group of people in our midst who organized the post-concert reception: the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Association!  Check them out here: http://www.indianapolissymphony.org/support/getinvolved/isoassociation.aspx

Now we are returning to our rehearsal routine, practicing new music in preparation for the ISO's Celebration of Black History pre-concert lobby performance on February 5 (Orchestra B), Art and Soul on February 23 (Orchestra D), and Concerto Concert on March 17 (Orchestras A and B). 

A note about inclement weather: 
We will cancel rehearsal if school is closed at Key Learning Community (IPS) or if the weather takes a bad turn prior to our rehearsals.  Closings for MYO will be listed as Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and will be reported to WISH-TV and WTHR-TV

Watch here for practice instructions each week to help stay on top of your music - especially if you miss a rehearsal!