Saturday's String Festival Schedule!

ROOM 110:

1:00 Ajay, Jessica, Kendalyn, Isabella

1:05 Mi'Sheanna Harris

1:10 Korey Ristine

1:15 Zuzanna, Matthew, Cally, Allyson

1:20 Julia T, Sarah G

1:25 Jayde Stewart

ROOM 109:

2:15 Tiffany L., Zoe H., Myka M.

2:20 Noah Crouch

2:25 Gabe Cain

2:30 Juan Acevedo

2:35 Mariel Gartin

2:40 Preston Clubb

ROOM 108:

3:00 Liz W., Kaitlyn L.

3:05 Grace W., Deanna V., Kailey A., Chris H., Amanda K.

3:10 Claire E., Shelby N.

3:15 Calvin K., Daryan W.

3:20 Lydia M., Lydia S., Bella, JunBeom, Drew

Solo & Small Ensemble Contest: Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Springfield Public Schools District Solo and Ensemble Festival will be held on Saturday March 10th at Pershing Middle School. Pershing is located at: 2120 S. Ventura, Springfield, MO 65804

· This festival gives individual players a chance to perform solo or small group literature for a judge who will give each performance constructive comments and a rating.

· Students receiving a superior rating will receive a certificate.

· Students who choose to do a solo are required to have a private teacher or meet with Ms. Kamler to prepare their solo. A piano accompaniment is required for all solos, please see Ms. Kamler for details. Students who do duets, trios, or other ensembles are not required to have a private teacher.

· Individual times for solos and ensembles will be given at a later date, but there will be times available for Hickory Hills Students from 1:00-3:30.

· Unlike Federation or other competitions, students participating will need to sign up through Ms. Kamler, and not through a private teacher.

· Any student who signs up to play with a group must be in attendance for the event or they will receive five giant “F”s!!!

Warm up area will be in the cafeteria for ALL students. This is where you will meet Ms. Kamler to tune. There will also be a concession area, if students would like to purchase snacks.

Students should wear their white "Spartan Strings" polo shirts and black pants or skirt.

February Fundraiser

Dear Orchestra Parents, Last week, we began our annual Spring Cookie Dough Fundraiser for the Hickory Hills Music Department (Band/Choir/Orchestra). This is an important part of our yearly funding and helps to pay for music, equipment needs, transportation and repairs. Your help in making this sale a success is greatly needed and appreciated. Here are the details:

• Thursday, February 9th: Sale began and will run for the next week and a half. Just take orders – please do not collect money at this time.

• Tuesday, February 21st: All order forms (both yellow and white copy) will need to be turned in to the Orchestra room.

• Orders will arrive at the end of March, after Spring Break. We do not have an exact delivery date as of yet, but it will be during the final week of March.

• Cookie dough (pre-portioned) will then be distributed and money collected. Money will be turned in to Orchestra room by Tuesday, April 10th.

If you have any questions, please let me know. And, thank you for your support of the Hickory Orchestra program.

Practice Records due Friday, October 21st!

Just a quick reminder- practice records will be turned in THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st. Please make sure that your child is practicing 75 minutes a week!

Practice Records!

Students this year will be required to turn in "practice records"- students will need to log 75 minutes each week to receive full credit. (That's only 15 minutes, 5 days a week!) Practice records will be kept in the students' Orchestra binders. Students will have the opportunity to receive up to 5 minutes of practice time in class every day if they come to class and get started practicing (without talking) before we tune. Students may also use an "Orchestra Pass" to come in to the Orchestra room between 7:30-7:50 AM to fulfill their practice time requirements. I will also be available for tutoring during this time. Individual practice between rehearsals is of great importance if we are to provide a quality music experience for your students. I cannot stress this enough- individual practice is crucial to the success of our Orchestra! I hope you are ready for a great year of musical growth and performance!

Welcome Back!

Parents & Students,

I am looking forward to another great year of Orchestra at Hickory Hills! I have sent the syllabus home with each Orchestra student. Enclosed in the packet is a tentative schedule for the year, as well as an order form for the Orchestra shirt. Please read over it together, sign, and return it by Friday, September 2nd. (You do not need to turn the entire syllabus in to me, just the last page.)

Please check back often to stay in tune with the Hickory Hills Spartan Strings!

7/8th Grade Concert Postponed

Parents,

First of all, I want to thank you all for getting your kids at school on time Friday. I know it was an early morning!! The Orchestra had a wonderful performance and got a 90% and an 86% rating from the judges. I hope we continue improving for our next contest that will be coming up on May 13! I also want to say that the kids were very well behaved at Silver Dollar City and did a great job representing Hickory Hills! It was great to be able to give them such a treat after all their hard work, so thank you for that!!

I wanted to inform you of a change in our schedule. Our concert that was going to take place tomorrow, May 3rd has been postponed due to the track meet that so many of our Orchestra students are involved with. I know this is short notice, but I hope it will work out better for everyone.

This is our updated Orchestra calendar for the remainder of the year:

Tuesday, May 10- 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Spring Concert - 7 PM
(Please have students arrive at the following times:

6:00- 6th Grade
6:20- 7th/8th Grade)

(Orchestra t-shirt and black slacks)

Friday, May 13th- All City 7/8th Grade Orchestra Festival @ Evangel University (Performance will be during school hours- I will send out an updated email when I get confirmation about our performance time)

Wednesday, May 18th - 6th Grade Orchestra Festival @ Drury University (During school hours- performance time will be 11:00 AM- parents are welcome to attend)

Thursday, May 19th- All City 5th Grade Orchestra Concert @ Glendale High School, 7 PM

Also, I just wanted to remind you, if you haven't paid for your child's Orchestra t-shirt, the cost is $8.00- checks can be made out to Hickory Hills. If you do not plan on purchasing a t-shirt, but your child borrowed one for the Silver Dollar City trip, please wash and return it asap.

Thank you for all that you do!

Please let me know if there are any questions about these dates!

Sincerely,
Marcy Kamler
mjkamler@spsmail.org
417-523-7055