2/7/25 - Orchestra Updates

Hello, Orchestra Families!

Lots of bustling activity on the horizon, an exciting time for orchestra students!

• SOLO & ENSEMBLE

  • Saturday 2/15, 8am-4pm

  • Schedule is HERE and is updated regularly

  • We are hoping for YOUR HELP!  We need folks to monitor doors and such.  Please SIGN UP to help us run this important musical day.

• Symphony Orchestra's concert is coming up on Thursday 2/27.  Members of the Cardinal Orchestra and Sinfonia will also perform briefly and are asked to attend.  More details coming after S&E.

• SWEET SOUNDS, the 6-12 Orchestra fundraiser event, is coming up on Friday March 7 6-8pm.  This is for all orchestra musicians and is the primary winter curricular performance for Cardinal and Sinfonia.  See attached flyer!

  
  

   Save the Date! Mark your calendar for a night of music and community support!Join us for the Sweet Sounds Orchestra Fundraiser on March 7, 2025, from 6 PM to 8 PM at Middleton High School!Enjoy captivating performances by the KMS, GCMS, and MHS musicians, along with delicious desserts and drinks. Student performances are free. All purchased item proceeds go toward supporting our orchestra students. Tickets Click Here Pre-Purchase dessert/drink tickets, coffee mugs, and fair trade organic coffee to avoid lines at the door.  Stay tuned for more details!  Please like us on Facebook and on Instagram

• Semester 2 starts with S&E and there are few other orchestra ssignments yet, so this is a great time to give your some refreshers on Orchestra Grading

  • All orchestras use the same grading system.  Just the exact assignments differ.

  • The assignments are graded with a system of marks (not numbers)

    • Basic, Developing, Proficient, and Exemplary are similar to the 1-2-3-4 system

    • At the end of the semester, I determine the A/B/C/D/F letter grade.

    • A student who completes all assignments has a very high chance of earning a grade they will like.

    • Generally, if a student completes all assignments and gets a score of Proficient on every one of them, their semester grade will be A-.  A few Exemplary or Developing or missing assignments pushes that up or down.

  • Assignments can be found (for the most part) in Google Classroom.  All will be listed in Campus before too long.

  • Almost all assginments are due at the end of the semester, and the earlier due dates have flexibility.

  • The most important assignments are SGI, CommConn, DoDi, and Concert Skills.

    • SGI: Small Group Instruction (lessons), done through the school or privately

    • CommConn: Community Connections is service learning for the orchestra classroom

    • DoDi: Peer tutoring (working with other MHS students or with our younger 4th-8th musicians)

    • Concert Skills: Navigating the event of a concert

    • SGI, CommConn, and DoDi have multiple ways to be satisfied

  • Email me with questions.

    
    

  Have a great weekend!

  
  

  SK