November 8, 2023

Hi everyone!

Look below to see the review for your orchestra. Our concert is coming up quickly, so be sure to practice at home!

Beginning Orchestra

We began our rehearsal by reviewing the pieces we already know — Twinkle Twinkle, Rolling Along (aka Mary Had a Little Lamb), and Lightly Row.

Once those were going well, we learned about the notes on the A string from pages 10 and 11. Here are some videos about how to play the “A ladder” on different instruments:

Try to start memorizing where these notes are now, because pretty soon the names of the notes won’t be inside of the noteheads!

Intermediate Orchestra

We gave out new seating charts this week, so thank you to all of you who recorded playing check-ins! We will have only one more playing check-in, focusing on The Christmas Train. The violins and violas will record measures 15-23, and the cellos and bass will record measures 23-33. We will start recording the playing check-ins after Thanksgiving Break.

Here is what we did in rehearsal:

• Rustic Dance — We haven’t focused on this one for a while, so I wanted to makes sure we got to it today. The section between 21 and 29 is sounding a lot better! We definitely need to work on some confidence, especially with the 2nds and the violas. We then worked on having really big dynamic contrasts between measure 29 and 45 — if we only do it halfway, it’ll sound like a mistake! So we need to make those sound really dramatic.
• The Christmas Train — We worked on this for a while, mainly focusing on measures 15-33. Make sure you know these measures! We also had to work on watching me in the beginning and at the end.
• Maiden’s Rescue — This is sounding great! We had to work on the violins and violas not tuning out between 13 and 21 while they have half notes, but once I pointed it out they had no problems. I will bring pencils next week and hopefully we can write in some dynamics to make it more interesting.
• Rain Dribs — We only had time to quickly run through this, but I would like to work on it more in detail in the coming weeks.

Advanced Orchestra

We gave out new seating charts this week, so thank you to all of you who recorded playing check-ins! We will have only one more playing check-in, focusing on Beyond the Thunder. The 1st violins will record measures 62-end, the 2nds and violas will record measures 46-54, and the cellos and bass will record measures 29-37. We will start recording the playing check-ins after Thanksgiving Break.

Also, we are having a party next week! We are extremely prepared and still have several rehearsals left, so we are going to have a pre-Thanksgiving party. Bring a snack or treat to share if you would like, and I will bring some small group music that people can try out. You deserve a break!

Here is what we rehearsed this week:

• Beyond the Thunder — This is sounding great! We had to work a bit on 46-54, mainly because the rhythms are a little weird. The 2nds and violas are doing something totally different from the 1sts and it’s confusing! Other than that, this one is sounding great.
• Appalachian Hymn — I LOVE THIS ONE! And you all are playing it so well. We worked with the violins and violas on measures 69-71 because we had some intonation problems, but other than that I feel like we are ready.
• Velocity — We are losing our tempo sometimes, and I think it’s because our quarter notes are a bit too long. And 2nd violins, don’t forget to be super strong on measures 25-28 — that’s my favorite part!
• Fantasy on Greensleeves — We just played through this one. It’s sounding great, but I have to figure out a way to make it more interesting! You all have done your job, though 🙂