Orchestra
The High School Orchestra is a 9th through 12th class where students learn about music through hands on activities, performance, music theory, and music history on a weekly basis. Students regularly attend MSBOA Solo and Ensemble Festival, and MSBOA Orchestra Festival, where the best teachers in the state critique them. The program also has several before and after school programs including orchestra committee, fiddle club, musicals, and instrument reconstruction. Many students create lifelong friendships and continue to enjoy music throughout their lives.
Fiddle Club
This after school event is a blast!!! Students will learn fiddle music, watch professionals perform, learn ways to make music more interesting, and much, much more. Students will build upon their skills in earlier fiddle clubs, and learn how to transpose music to allow them the opportunity to play any piece they run across. Just ask someone who has done it in the past, and they will agree that this is the coolest and most exciting after school event an orchestra can provide!! This year’s group will be meeting THURSDAY’S AFTER SCHOOL. We start at the beginning of the year, so if you would like to join, please plan on attending next week, it will be a blast. To create a positive atmosphere during these meetings, snacks would be great. I will take down everyone’s name at the first meeting and devise a list of who will bring snacks when. Please let me know if this is an issue. We should not have more than a dozen or so students at each meeting. If there are more I will let everyone know. I am asking all students who are going to attend fiddle club to bring $2 for each week they attend. I will keep a record book of all the students and their payments. If parents wish to send more on any given week, it will be rolled over for future weeks. (Ex. Bob brings in $10 the first week, and then comes for 4 more weeks free) Next, I will be purchasing books and handing them out on the second meeting. We will use earlier books purchased as well as this new one. Books are $8 and checks should be made out to Kenowa Hills Instrumental Music Boosters. Please let me know if this is not feasible. Students should bring their music, instrument, snacks if it is their turn to do so, and a folder (which I will supply) to each meeting. If they are not prepared, they may not be able to play with the group. This group is something I am very passionate about, and I hope you feel the same way soon. If anyone would like to come in and listen to the group, or help plan future events, please let me know. I am always looking for more support.
Instrument Reconstruction Project
Instrument reconstruction is an after school project that students tackle in the late winter. Students who take on this project are very dedicated to learning the process of fixing and re-varnishing instruments. Students, and teachers, strip violins who would otherwise become firewood, to its varnishless state, make repairs, and re-varnish them over a span of a couple months. Students work on instruments after school, as well as before school, to create the color and texture they desire in their instrument. During this process, students troubleshoot problems, ask questions, and think independently. At the end of this process, students walk away with an instrument ready to play, and an experience many students never experience. 2009 was the first year of this project, and below are the instruments finished that year. Through a generous grant in 2009, we were able to purchase materials, and build a drying box for this process, and establish this as a yearly event. Thanks to the Kenowa Hills Education Foundation for awarding the grant to make this possible. For more information, or for opportunities for your students in this extraordinary endeavor, please contact our director, or ask students who have conquered this amazing project.
Musical Pit Orchestra
Musical happens late in the winter each school year. During each performance, musicians are needed to perform the music while the cast sings and acts out the musical. Students are often the performers of this “Pit” orchestra. The term “Pit” comes from the area which early orchestras performed. In front of many stages is a basement area called a pit, where musicians played while the performers were on stage. Thus musicians refer to this group of performers as simply “The Pit”. High school students who would like to participate in this can sign up during the winter, and, based on the need of each musical, receive music by early February. Rehearsals run after school from the first week music is handed out, until the musical performance dates. This is not just a group of students playing more each week, it becomes another tightly knit group, ready to stand up for one another in time of need (Often it comes in the form of food and candy on tech Friday and Saturday). For further information, please ask your school directors.
MSBOA Festival
MSBOA Festival is an event we participate in where students perform for judges and we receive comments on the pieces we perform, as well as sight-reading two pieces students have never seen before. Orchestras then receive a 1-5 rating, 1 being the best, based on the performance of the pieces and sight-reading. These are then averaged out to give an overall score for the performance day. Orchestras who get an overall rating of 1 or 2 receive medals for their efforts. The comments are then given to the directors and they decided what to do with them. Here at Kenowa Hills, we utilize to do with them. Here at Kenowa Hills, we utilize this information and continue to work on the skills we have not mastered according to these comments. Each year the performance venues and times vary, depending on availability and conflicts. They usually happen toward the end of February, or the beginning of March. Check with your Director to see when festival is this year. PARENTS: We often need chaperones for this event. If you are interested, please contact your student’s teacher for more information on how you can help.
Solo and Ensemble
Solo and ensemble is an event which middle school and high school members can participate. This event is after school, and often on a Saturday. Students who wish to compete in this event must sign up with their teacher in advance. Students at Kenowa Hills have the fees covered by the individual class budgets, which gives many students the opportunity to attend this event when others may not have that financial ability. Students who attend choose a piece to perform on their own, as a solo, or with a group of two or more members, an ensemble. Students practice both during class and on their own, and perform for the class prior to the event. This is a great opportunity for students to play music in small groups and on their own, and also builds leadership skills in many young players. Please take advantage of the checklist below describing the event and what is expected of students, as well as the pianist list if students are playing a solo and need an accompaniment.