Concert Dress Clothes

As the Director of Orchestral String Studies for the Canyon Music Department, I want to reaffirm the STANDARDS OF DRESS for all concerts. It was the opinion of past and present band & orchestra parents that clear standards of dress for all Acalanes performances should be established. We piloted a program last spring to unify concert attire for the women. Those  students will not be denied from participating in formal concerts due to financial need.  CMS students may borrow gently used, and cleaned, alumni  concert dress  for their concert performances.  Please contact Ms. Dahms privately if you need to borrow concert clothes during the first full week of on campus school.

ONLY students wearing the proper concert attire will be invited to perform at any given concert. This year, and moving forward, Ms. Dahms will be monitoring concert attire in form of Concert Attire Check assignments and in the Green Room prior to performance. IF A STUDENT IS NOT APPROPRIATELY DRESSED, THEY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PERFORM THAT EVENING. This will negatively affect the student's grade and the orchestra's  as a whole, for we need EVERYONE to unify our musical presentation when we perform. Concert attire is not open to discussion or negotiation at the time of any formal performance. Those students who repeatedly disregard the standards of dress MAY  be removed from the ensemble and eventually replaced by another qualified musician.

MY PHILOSOPHY ABOUT CONCERT DRESS: We have an outstanding music program at Canyon Middle School, and the CVUSD Music Program is home to several of the top performing middle and high school musical ensembles in California. With that reputation comes pride in our ensembles, pride in our school, and pride in each other. When you perform in public, you must present the entire package to the audience and the people in contact with you. That means both playing well and looking and acting professionally. Think about it, you wouldn’t think twice about deviating from the accepted/required dress for football players, cheerleaders, soccer players, etc. They simply wouldn’t allow you to participate. Why would gross dress deviations be accepted for musical performances? Therefore, by clearly defining what is acceptable concert dress, I strongly believe I am adding to the overall respect for this quality music program that represents not only our school, but also our community.

Middle and High school instrumental music, particularly when it attains this high level, is an artistic and conservative activity. This is not the place for individualism in terms of concert dress. Dress needs to be conservative, with modest hairstyles, minimal jewelry and  any make-up very lightly done. There are no accessories other than the accepted accessories used in formal attire. Our ensembles need to look uniform, professional, and dignified. The young people in our ensembles obviously have latitude to express themselves through their personal dress everyday of their lives. But for performances, the above are reasonable expectations.

FORMAL WEAR, THE DEFINITIVE DESCRIPTION: Music is not an inexpensive activity, and in many ways is similar to sports and cheerleading (in regards to attire and costs). The formal wear used for evening concert performances (which is similar to local youth orchestras, college wind ensembles and college orchestras) is listed below. It is a long accepted code of concert dress that conveys a serious attitude and respect about one’s musical art. A performance is not the place to be individualistic.

Informal Concert Dress for the 7/8th grades and ALL 6th grade performing groups:

1. BLACK dress slacks (No dark navy, dark grey, nor pinstriping)  OR

2. BLACK street-length (to the ankle) SKIRT PLUS

3. RED CMS Music Polo shirt that buttons properly at the neck, with a WHITE undershirt (No logos on the t-shirt).

4.  Polo shirts must be tuck in at the waist.

5. Polished black dress shoes, and black socks.

6. Make-up, light. Minimal jewelry. 

7. Modest, natural hair color, with long hair (to or past the shoulders) pulled back off the face with a black headband or hair tie.

Formal Concert Dress for the 7/8th grade students:

8. BLACK dress slacks,  No dark navy, dark grey, nor pinstriping.

9. Any belt worn should be black,

10. White long sleeved shirt that buttons properly at the neck, with a WHITE undershirt (No logos on the t-shirt).

11. Polished black dress shoes, and black socks.

OR

1.  Long sleeved (to the wrist) WHITE dress shirt OR blouse (no sleeveless) plus

2. BLACK street-length (to the ankle) SKIRT, OR

3. Separate BLACK street-length dress slacks (NO leggings, jeggings, or yoga pants allowed)

4. Dress/skirt/slacks should cover the knees when seated with your instrument,

5. Dark black hosiery, black dress shoes,

6. Make-up, light. Minimal jewelry. 

7. Modest, natural hair color, with long hair (to or past the shoulders) pulled back off the face with a black headband or hair tie.

   • NOTE: If you are wearing a blouse, it MUST be completely buttoned. 

   • PERSONAL TEST: Can you sit in your seat with your instrument and NOT constantly squirm to “adjust” yourself so that your dress or skirt doesn’t go above your knees. Can you sit there and not have to adjust your dress or blouse constantly?  The dress shirt should have an arm length just slightly past your wrists. The shirt should feel comfortable when seated with your instrument held up (as if you were playing). Is your shirt too tight when you button the very top before putting up your instrument to play? Your slacks should not be so tight to the point of it grabbing uncomfortably at your midsection as you sit in concert chairs.

The dress requirements are very clear-cut and without any ambiguity. You may borrow a slightly used set of alumni concert clothes for the school year concerts. See Ms. Dahms privately for information. 

THE TRUE TEST: If you have a question whether or not your attire is acceptable and conforms to the information on this handout, ask Ms. Dahms directly (hdahms@cv.k12.ca.us). Do not wait until the last minute before asking about appropriateness or in purchasing your attire. That is the formula for disappointment.