ETHS ORCHESTRA PROGRAM

PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

The Evanston Township Orchestra Program seeks to provide an enriching and relevant aesthetic experience for every student. Through the study of a varied repertoire of music, students are provided an opportunity to examine society through a unique cultural lens and embrace the unique aspects of those cultures that make every person equal regardless of race, gender, gender identification, religion, or sexual orientation.

Through performance, students will learn to appreciate a wide variety of musical genres and self-confidence as they grow in their own personal musical ability. Through being a part of an ensemble, students will learn the value of teamwork and their role in creating a strong unified ensemble. The ETHS Orchestra Program provides opportunities to be both leaders and collaborators. Through the study of music theory, students will learn the inner workings of music and understand the importance of the foundations of music as they gain an understanding of music as an art form. 

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Evanston Township High School Band Program consists of three curricular Concert Bands, the co-curricular Wildkit Marching Band, and an extensive extra-curricular Jazz Program made up of three Jazz Big Bands and six Jazz Combos. Additionally, our band students hold positions in the Symphony Orchestra, the Pit Orchestra for our annual spring musical, YAMOrchestra (the musical accompaniment to our student written/directed theatre production called YAMO), Basketball Pep Band, and various small chamber ensembles. 

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The ETHS Orchestra Program offers many additional performance opportunities for our instrumentalists such as our Solo and Ensemble Festival, chamber music opportunities, the ETHS Baroque Ensemble, ETHS Mariachi, and the Wildkit String Band. In addition, the ETHS Music Program also provides opportunities to participate in other ways including, YAMOrchestra, the Spring Musical, ETHS Jazz, ETHS Vocal Music, Guitar, Piano, and Music Technology . Our students also represent ETHS in the District 7 Illinois Music Educators Association Orchestra, Honor Orchestra, and Honor Jazz Bands, many of whom go on to represent us at the annual All-State Conference.