Willow Springs Orchestra Newsletter
February 16, 2017
Parents,
The students did an AMAZING job while we are out at our annual Texas Music Educators Association Conference this past week. It is always an experience to remember because of how much we learned to become better directors, but also the inspiring performances. It is a tradition at TMEA that before each All State Performance they share the AVERAGE SAT scores. I religiously write this down every year because I love to share with parents about how much playing an instrument can affect scores on standardized tests. There is so much research about why this happens, and to put it in a nutshell, these students are crossing the midline of their brains 100% of the time when they are playing their instruments. This creates "neural highways" where neurons are constantly moving from the left and right side of the brain. This makes such a difference for brain development in these students as they get older.
Here is the stats on the All State students that I would like to share:
National Average on the SAT: 1090
Texas Average on the SAT: 1020
Average of ALL the ALL STATE MUSICIANS (band, choir, orchestra, and Jazz): 1273
Average of the ALL STATE STRING ORCHESTRA (Orchestra ONLY): 1492
Average of the ALL STATE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (Orchestra and Band): 1382
Average of the ALL STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Orchestra and Band): 1428
The Concert Orchestra will perform next on February 27th at our Winter Concert. This concert will be much shorter than normal because all UIL groups will be performing in a separate performance on a different night. This concert starts at 6:30 p.m. in the LHS Auditorium.
Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra's have 2 performances coming up. The first is our Pre-UIL Concert which will be here in the auditorium at LHS starting at 6:30 on Tuesday, March 21st. We will have judges here to help us better prepare for our contest. Their next performance will be on April 5-6 for UIL at the Allen HS PAC. The UIL times will not be available until about 1-2 weeks before. We will email out these times as soon as we get them!
If you have any questions please let us know!
Mrs. Gearhart
Mr. Sloan
Mrs. Winkler
Ms. Coad
Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra UIL Rehearsal and Pizza Party
Our students are working very hard on their UIL Music and doing a great job preparing for one of our biggest events of the year!
We have been given an amazing opportunity for our students to work with some of the finest directors in our area before we go to contest in April. I am always grateful for the opportunity for our kids to get guidance from some of my colleagues!
We will be adding one date to our calendar in the month of March. It is very important for all students to be at this rehearsal so that we can be at our very best for UIL…and I can guarantee it will be an experience they won’t want to miss and we’ll feed your kids dinner! Here are the details –
When: Friday, March 24, 2017
Where: WSMS Fine Arts Area
Time: 4:30 – 6:00 PM Rehearsal (Students will just stay afterschool)
6:00 – 8:00 Pizza Party and Movie/Game Night
Palio's Pizza Orchestra Spirit Night
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2017, 05:00 PM
Palio's Pizza Cafe Fairview, East Stacy Road, Fairview, TX, United States
Private Lessons
Private Lessons are highly encouraged for every student in orchestra. Private lessons are a one on one lesson with a professional musician.
We have a few teachers who come to LHS and teach privately during class. The lessons are $20 per half class lesson.
Their availability is limited so if you are interested please contact them ASAP.
Here are the teachers and their info.
Trey Anderson - Bass
214-532-4969
Larry Latanzi - Violin and Viola
214-868-6925
Stephen Beall - Violin and Viola
304-376-9077
mrbeallsezgopractice@hotmail.com
Phillip Taggart - Cello
214-418-1278
Also here is a Viola teacher who lives in Lovejoy who teaches out of his house or will come to your house.
Samuel Kuang -Viola
972-467-7613
TUNERS!
Violin/Viola:
Korg Pitchclip: https://www.amazon.com/Korg-PITCHCLIP-Low-Profile-Clip-On-Tuner/dp/B004VVFZHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481643742&sr=8-1&keywords=korg+pitchclip
Tuner AND clip mic (If you choose this tuner/metronome combo you MUST purchase the clip mic): https://www.amazon.com/Korg-TM50BK-Instrument-Tuner-Metronome/dp/B00923H7MA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481643775&sr=8-4&keywords=tuner
Cello/Bass:
Korg Sledgehammer Pro: https://www.amazon.com/Korg-SHPRO-Sledgehammer-Clip-Guitar/dp/B00SKJHD30/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1481643871&sr=1-1&keywords=sledgehammer
Tuner AND clip mic (If you choose this tuner/metronome combo you MUST purchase the clip mic): https://www.amazon.com/Korg-TM50BK-Instrument-Tuner-Metronome/dp/B00923H7MA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481643775&sr=8-4&keywords=tuner
LOVE---Lovejoy Orchestra Vend & Exchange
This venue is for all participating Lovejoy Orchestra families that wish to buy, sell, trade, exchange or donate any orchestra items they no longer need. Items including but not limited to: pleated wing tip tuxedo shirts, instrument, case, bow, ect.
Follow us on Twitter!
If you do not have a twitter account, you can receive our tweets as a text message by texting the number "40404" and in the message field type "follow@LovejoyOrch".