Over the summer, students are encouraged...but not required to continue to rent their instruments. Beginning students have only been playing their instruments for only 8 months now. If they take the entire summer off most of what they learned will be forgotten, especially in the area of technique and reading music. New students (4th grade) are already rented until September, no action is required to continue renting over the summer. 5th grade students, if you wish to continue renting the instrument over the summer, just continue to pay your rental bill as you have throughout the school year.
Being that it's summer, I don't expect students to practice 100-minutes a week and students don't need to record their practice time...there are many other/better things to be doing than all of that. I ask the students to try to pick up their instruments once a week over the summer and play some of their favorite songs from the book. You may also purchase extra books to keep students entertained. One in particular that I like for students in 4th grade to work on over the summer is called "StringTunes." It's at the perfect level for students at this playing level and it has a play-along CD with kids love! Other books recommendations for specific grade levels are available on the sheet music page, and most of these books can be found at the stores on the vendor page. If students are able to pick up their instruments several times over the summer, it reduces the amount of review that we must do in September.
If your child is really enthusiastic about playing and you want to continue to encourage that over the summer, there are several options for you. There are several music camps available in the area for young musicians. Below is camp information and downloadable applications.
Young Musicians Camp @ Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA: Mid-July
Got Strings? Summer Camp, Souderton, PA: Late-July
Private lessons are the most personalized and best form of music instruction for students. Students may also elect to take private lessons with an area music teacher. Many local teachers and high school students make extra spots available in their teaching schedules to accommodate students for summer lessons. You may download our list of area teachers if you are interested.
Community orchestras are a great way to push and challenge exceptional young musicians. Several community groups are listed below. Each group has varying ablility levels and season lengths. If you are interested in particpating in a community group, please contact your music teacher for ideas and help preparing for the audition process. Please Note: These groups should be used in addition to school orchestra, not in place of school orchestra.
Young People's Philharmonic & Junior String Philharmonic, Bethlehem, PA