Good afternoon Normal West Orchestra Families,

There's A LOT to report this week, but I'm going to keep the Director's Corner brief -- you can look at all the info below! Today, each orchestra sampled cheesecakes for our annual Cheesecake fundraiser, and we made the decision to proceed with our New York Trip in 2024! Lots of exciting stuff below -- just stick with it!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

We have another playing assessment this week:

• Concert Orchestra -- G Major (1 Octave) due Tuesday, September 11
• Sinfonia Orchestra -- G Major (2 Octave) due Tuesday, September 11
• Chamber Orchestra -- G Major (2 Octave) due Tuesday, September 11

In addition to their scale assessment, students should also practice Hauntcert music:

• Concert Orchestra -- Forrest Gump Theme, James Bond, Harry Potter
• Sinfonia Orchestra -- Forrest Gump Theme, James Bond, Harry Potter, and Aladdin
• Chamber Orchestra -- Forrest Gump Theme, Over the Rainbow, James Bond, Harry Potter, The Avengers, and Aladdin!

It's that time of year... it's CHEESECAKE TIME!

Cheesecake sales kickoff TODAY, September 8 and run until Friday, September 22. All order forms and money collected must be summited no later than Friday, September 22. All checks should be make out to Unit 5 Music Parents (U5MP). Cheesecakes will be delivered on Wednesday, October 4.

IMPORTANT INFO: Cheesecake sales directly impact the student that sells them. For each cheesecake sold, students will get $8.50 in their orchestra student account.

Thank you to all of the families who already completed the interest form for our trip to NYC in the summer of 2024! With the current interest in the trip, we are going to proceed!

Congratulations to all members (past and present) of Normal West Orchestras on being selected for the 2024 Sounds of Summer Festival in NYC! It's a huge accomplishment, and a credit to your talent an hard work!

We will have our kickoff meeting on Thursday, September 14 at 6:30 PM in the West Auditorium. We will discuss the trip itinerary, payment plans, and fundraising options for the fall semester!

Concert dress uniforms (dresses and tuxes) were returned from the dry cleaners today, which means we are going to need some assistance getting the uniforms organized and getting students fitted. Please complete the form below if you are available to assist with uniforms! This will start next week during the school day.

The mission of the Unit 5 Music Parents is to keep music in all Unit 5 children's’ lives by supporting & promoting Unit 5 Music Programs with involvement, financial support, communication and advocacy for students, families and directors. All programs for students from 5th Grade to Seniors in High School.

Meetings

Interested parents can attend monthly meetings on the 4th Monday of each month at 7 PM. These dates include October 23, and November 27. This semester meetings are all at Normal West in the IMC.

Need More Info?

Check out the Unit 5 Music Parents website, view this flyer or contact the current president Josh Jenson.

Want to get involved?

Unit 5 Music Parents is looking for a volunteer to shadow the current planner for the Unit 5 Music Extravaganza, and take over the planning role for the 2024 Extravaganza. If you are interested in this role, contact Miss Boehm or Josh Jenson.

Over the last few weeks, I shared information about how practice strengths neural passages, and even practice times from NPR! This week, we get practice advice from Itzhak Perlman!

From the renowned violinist, “If something sounds great on Monday and it does not sound so good on Tuesday, don’t give up. It means that it’s not yet there. Keep practicing slowly, again and again. And by Wednesday it’ll be slightly better, and by Thursday it’ll be even better, but patience is very, very important.”