Join Orchestra!
Orchestra - Overview.mp4Be a PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL!
Sign-ups for next year's 5th Grade Beginning Orchestra are happening now!
Read through everything below to start your journey!
Dear 4th Grade Families,
We are excited that your student is interested in joining next year's 5th Grade Beginning Orchestra! Orchestra is an activity that everyone can join, and with some support from home (and some work from your student), Orchestra can be a place that your student can succeed, all while developing skills like self-confidence, perseverance, and creativity. In Orchestra class, students find a safe place where they can be themselves, laugh out loud, and be expressive, all during the same class period!
In case you missed the information packet (mailed home to all interested 4th graders), here is the packet:
Selection night
The First Step to Joining Orchestra!
Fill out the Selection Night Registration Form and return it to your school. Alternatively, you can fill out this Google Form to sign up for Selection Night. If your student isn't sure of their instrument preferences, please have them look at the instrument Selection Guide down below on this page.
At Selection Night, students will try out instruments with Chesterton Orchestra Directors to help find the best fit. Every student is different and some instruments work better for some students depending on their personality. It is very important that students try out instruments before making this important decision.
If you are unable to attend Selection Night, we have a couple options for instrument selection:
Contact your orchestra director (Mr. Grenier for WIS, Mrs. Christensen for LIS) to schedule a 1-on-1 instrument tryout.
Contact Quinlan & Fabish Music in Valparaiso to schedule a time to come into the store and try instruments.
Instrument Selection Guide
The Basics (of How to Play)
These four String Instruments are played by drawing a bow over one or more of the four strings. The left hand moves to different positions on the neck of the instrument, while the right hand holds the bow. By holding down the strings with the hand not holding the bow, different pitches can be produced to play complex melodies. The strings can also be plucked with the fingers, a practice referred to as pizzicato.
Summer jumpstart program
Get pumped up for our Summer Jumpstart Program! These five (5), 60-minute classes in early August are a way for all our new Orchestra students to learn how to properly hold and care for their instruments and care for them, as well as how to achieve a characteristic sound on their specific instrument.
Take a look at our Summer Beginning Orchestra Classes Information and Registration Form for more information!