Central Choir News
October 3, 2019
Read on!
Fall Concert
Please take a few moments today to read over the following important items that pertain to Monday's concert.
Location
The concert takes place at the beautiful Holy Angels Catholic Church, located at 2309 S A and M Ave. This is in the College Hills area, down the hill from the old H-E-B. You can find it on Google Maps, here: https://goo.gl/maps/5Na5ePiMZQqhpw7s8
Dress Rehearsals
Students will rehearse over at the church during the school day on Monday. Chorale and Bella Voce will take school busses over to the venue at the start of 4th period and will return in time for lunch. 10-12th Grade Men's Choir and Concert Ladies students will take a bus with Mr. Gilmore from CHS right at the beginning of 6th period. 9th Graders will take a bus from CFC with Mrs. Vaught at the beginning of CFC's 6th period. The busses will bring Men's Choir and Concert Ladies back to CHS in time for the final bell of the day. If a student rides a bus home, they will still be able to do so from CHS. If they are being picked up, please plan to pick them up from CHS on that day.
A schedule of how the rehearsals will work can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-0Ybc5OsC7DRwuFYkpCyq08kC_m9cOIW/view?usp=sharing
Uniforms
Students who have paid their $40 Choir Activity/Membership Fee will be allowed to take their dresses and tuxedos home to wear for the concert. Students are individually responsible for their own black dress shoes (and black socks, for boys). We ask that students arrive fully dressed for the concert when they arrive at the church that evening. The exception to that is the boys who will check-out their neck tie at the concert and will check it back in upon the conclusion of the concert. We do that because they lose them too easily. For more information about the uniforms and concert dress code, please consult the online handbook or watch this excerpt from our orientation videos: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rar7ysfxi95ukw9/2019-09-02%2020-44-18.mp4?dl=0
Please keep in mind that we have the students return their uniforms during class time on the days following the concert. This will be for a grade as well. If the students will hang their uniform back up when they get home, it will be ready to return the next day and will not need additional cleaning during the year.
Call Times
Because we will be able to rehearse in the church on the day of the concert, we are having a later call time. We ask that HarmoniCats members arrive by 6:00 pm to rehearse their combined number in the church, and that all other choir members arrive (in uniform) by 6:15 pm. We will wait until 6:30 to open the doors for audience seating and the concert will begin at 7:00 pm. Please keep in mind that a large portion of the student's major grade for this performance will be determined by their timely arrival and concert dress compliance.
Sign-in and Sign-out
First, it is a graded expectation that students are present for the entire duration of each performance. We are here to support all of our students and each of them deserves to have an audience and be encouraged.
We have a pretty efficient system for taking roll and accounting for everyone, if they will follow the procedure. For students to earn full points for timely arrival and for staying until dismissal, make sure they do the following:
- Students arrive prior to the listed call time, in their uniform.
- Students check-in with their class reps, who will be writing down the time each student checks-in. It is important, therefore, that time is budgeted to arrive prior to the call time so they can check-in and be ready for warm-up by 6:15.
- Students sit with their classes and are quiet and respectful audience members for the duration of the concert. Phones, smart watches, etc. are turned in to each classes' jewelry bag.
- Upon the completion of the concert, each class has an assigned clean-up task. Upon completion of that task, class reps will be instructed to start accepting sign-outs. Students must sign-out with their class reps. If a student leaves prior to signing-out or being permitted to sign-out, they will be penalized for leaving early.
Bottom line: students, make sure you listen to directions and sign-in and sign-out.
Booster Club Meeting and Parent Help
Our booster club parents warmly invite you all to attend their first meeting of the year at the church prior to the concert. We will begin at 5:45. More details about what is being discussed can be found further down this newsletter in Booster Club News.
Also, we need at least 5 parent volunteers to sit with the classes during the concert. The parent volunteers are primarily responsible for keeping students seated and quiet during the performances and to hold onto the bags of checked-in cell phones. If you can help us, please send Mr. Gilmore a message and check-in with Mrs. Cobb in the parlor of the church by 6:00 pm. She will have an ID badge for you. Thank you, awesome parent volunteers!
Etiquette
Since this is our first concert of the new school year, we need to make sure everyone is aware of appropriate concert etiquette. Please observe the following rules:
- Thou shalt refrain from talking during the performance. This is the first and greatest rule. This includes whispering to or disciplining other children.
- Thou shalt turn off pagers, cell phones, and watch alarms. Many phones now have a “silent mode”, but it is still possible for those to go off with alerts, alarms, etc. Try “unplugging” for an hour. Your phone battery will thank you.
- Thou shalt not wave or yell to your child during the concert. After all, they already know who you are and that you are here; you most likely brought them to the concert. Love on them and encourage them after the concert.
- Thou shalt not take flash photography. The flash is very distracting to the performers who are intensely focusing on the conductor and the music. In concert settings, the flash usually makes the picture worse anyway.
- Thou shalt not move around the room during a performance. It distracts the performers and other audience members. Keep young children seated and with you.
- Thou shalt not leave as soon as your child’s portion of the concert is over. All of the students deserve a full audience for their performance. Remember: sometimes we save the best for last!
- Thou shalt only applaud at appropriate times. Some music has several sections with pauses between. Remember: it’s not over until all the sections have been performed and the conductor has brought both of their hands down to their side.
- Thou shalt not enter or exit the room during a group's performance. Wait for a break in the concert to visit the restroom, unless you are carrying a screaming child, in which case you should leave as quickly and quietly as possible.
- Thou shalt refrain from unwrapping noisy candy wrappers during the performance. If the composer wanted to include crinkle paper noises with the music, they would have written it into the score.
- Thou shalt go to the concert expecting the best and be supportive of all the students. It takes years to build musical skills but one negative comment can really tear a student down. Let’s encourage and support everyone. We were all beginners at something once.
High School Region Choir Audition Results
This past weekend, 38 students from the Central Choirs traveled to Permian High School for the TMEA Region 6 Choir Auditions. For many students, the audition on Saturday was the culmination of months of hard work and dedication that began with camps during the early summer.
Congratulations to the 13 Central students who were named to one of the TMEA Region 6 High School Honor Choirs!
Soprano 1
- Andi Thompson - 9th Chair / Mixed Choir / Advancing
- Makayla Haire - Treble Choir
- Elizabeth Weinmann - Treble Choir
Soprano 2
- Gloria Trevino - 3rd Chair / Mixed Choir / Advancing
- Caroline Anderson - Treble Choir
Alto 1
- Edith Castaneda - Treble Choir
- Drew Eisenbach - Treble Choir
- Lilli Bright - Treble Choir (Alternate)
Alto 2
- Anaia Dickson - Treble Choir
- Jasmine Gutierrez - Treble Choir (Alternate)
Tenor 1
- Elijah Jackson - 1st Chair / Mixed Choir / Advancing
Bass 1
- Dirk Ross - 13th Chair / Mixed Choir
- Andres Gonzales - 15th Chair / Mixed Choir
Pre-Area Choir Audition Qualifiers
For three of our students, the journey toward becoming an all-state musician continues.
A very special congratulations to the 3 students who are advancing to the Pre-Area Auditions on November 14:
- Elijah Jackson
- Andi Thompson
- Gloria Trevino
9th Grade Region Choir Auditions
BOOSTER CLUB NEWS
Fall Concert Meeting
The following items are on the agenda for Monday:
- Election of officers and appointment of committees and chairpersons
- Last call for merchandise orders
- Military Salute planning
Last Call for Memberships and Merchandise Orders
PLEASE NOTE: Booster club memberships and merchandise orders are due on or before the Fall Concert on October 7.
First, consider joining the booster club. Dues are $10 per family and you just need to turn-in a membership form with your dues by Full Service Saturday. Joining the booster club also allows you to be able to purchase several items for your student like a uniform bag, yard sign, etc. You also get your family's name printed in the concert programs.
Second, consider serving as an officer. We have multiple positions available for people to serve as they are able. Most of our officers also work jobs, so don't think that you have to have a lot of time. There are places for even the busiest of parents to contribute. We will even create positions for people that have the desire to help. We are only limited by our imagination and the willingness of parents to get involved. If you are interested in helping in a leadership position, please send me an email immediately because we hope to vote on officers at the Fall Concert.
The membership and booster merchandise order form is directly below this.
CURRENT FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES
Sponsorships
Sponsors receive a sponsor card to display in their place of business, their family or business is listed in our programs, and they receive a number of free tickets to our annual ticketed events. There are differing levels of sponsorship with each level receiving enhanced benefits. A flyer explaining the levels of sponsorship is directly below this.
Students received sponsorship packets at Full Service Saturday. We are asking for those to be processed quickly. We would like to be able to list as many of our sponsors in our fall concert program as we can. While we have passed the cut-off for names to be included in the Fall Concert Program, please continue to turn-in sponsorships so that they can be included in the other programs for the rest of the year.
Important! Please make sure that each sponsor receives a card and completes a Sponsor Information Form and returns it to the student along with their payment. Any unsold cards should be returned as soon as possible so that we can redistribute them to other students who are experiencing success securing sponsorships. All cards were signed-for and must be returned (if unsold) to avoid being fined for their replacement.
Texas Value Cards Fundraiser
The very last chance to purchase a value card will be at the concert on Monday night. We will have our remaining value cards for sale in the foyer and you may pay for and receive the card right there at the same time. Cards sold at the concert will go toward the general choir fund.
Upcoming Trips and Competitions
TMEA Region 6 - 9th Grade/Junior High All-Region Choir Auditions
Where: Nimitz MS (Ector County ISD) - Odessa, TX
Entry Deadline: Monday, September 23
Fee: $15 (waived for 9th graders who auditioned for the HS audition)
TMEA Region 6 - All-Region Choir Clinic and Concert
Where: Odessa, TX
Fall Semester Performances
Fall Concert
Where: Holy Angels Catholic Church (map)
Cost: Free
National Anthem Performance
What: The combined Central Choirs will perform the national anthem at a varsity football game.
Where: San Angelo Stadium
Annual Military Salute
Where: To Be Announced
Cost: To Be Determined
Christmas Concert
Where: Holy Angels Catholic Church (map)
Cost: Free
Contact Us
San Angelo Central High School Choirs
Email: directors@centralhighchoir.org
Website: www.centralhighchoir.org
Phone: (325) 659-3400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentralHighChoir/
Twitter: @BobcatChoir
Mr. Landon Gilmore
Director of Choral Activities
TMEA Region 6 Vocal Division Chair-Elect
Email: landon.gilmore@saisd.org
Phone: (936) 348-8254
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landon.gilmore
Twitter: @Gilmoro
Mrs. Sunday Vaught
Associate Director of Choirs
Email: sunday.vaught@saisd.org
Phone: (214) 636-1850