RCMS Orchestra News

April - May 2024

The Crownover orchestras have had some great performances and successes the past couple of months, and all of our orchestras are preparing for some exciting spring events. We look forward to seeing everyone at our Spring Concert!

Upcoming Events

April 18-19 - Chamber Orchestra auditions

Saturday, April 20 - Chamber Orchestra performance at Builders' Club butterfly garden ribbon-cutting ceremony

April 22-26 - Guyer Orchestra auditions

Friday, April 26 - Prelude Orchestra after school rehearsal for all field trip participants 3:45-4:30

Wednesday, May 1 - Prelude Orchestra and Fiddle Club field trip to Pride of Texas Contest

Friday, May 3 - Chamber Orchestra field trip to Peak Contest at UNT

Tuesday, May 7 - Chamber and all Philharmonic 8th graders - after school rehearsal for concert 3:45-5:15

Wednesday, May 8 - Prelude Orchestra after school rehearsal for concert 3:45-5:00

Thursday, May 9 - Philharmonic, Chamber, and Fiddle Club trip to NRH2O Contest

Tuesday, May 14 - ORCHESTRA SPRING CONCERT - all orchestras

Field trip attendance - Please note that students who have been unable to fulfill fundamental expectations of our orchestra program throughout the year may have been notified that they will need to sit out of a field trip. This can be due to repetitive trouble keeping up with regular practice time, lack of attendance at major performances, or in-class behavior. Our spring competitions double as reward activities for the hard work of our students throughout the year. We want to ensure that the hard work of our students is represented in their performance and that all students feel that their trip participation is a meaningful reward for all of their hard work.

Fiddle Club

Our Fiddle Club will be participating in both the May 1 and May 9 contests to perform since we already had many fiddle club members attending each of these contests. Fiddle Club remaining rehearsals:

Wednesday, April 24

Monday, April 29

Monday, May 6

Chamber Orchestra Performance - Butterfly Garden Ceremony

Our RCMS Builders' Club has completed construction on a butterfly garden adjacent to Avondale Park, in the old location of the "Chairy Orchard." Our Chamber Orchestra has been invited to perform at the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. Chamber students and parents - please see Ms. Harvey's detailed email about this event. The ceremony begins at 4:00 at 1426 Churchill Dr. Denton, 76209. All are welcome to attend!

Prelude and Fiddle Club to Pride of Texas Contest on May 1 - Alley Cats (Hurst)

Please make sure permission forms and payment are turned in by Friday, April 26 to attend

Prelude Orchestra members have been asked to attend an after school rehearsal on Friday, April 26 until 4:30 to prepare our combined 3 6th grade classes for this performance. Only students who will be attending the field trip on May 1 need to attend this rehearsal.

Parent attendance at contest:

Parents who wish to attend and view the performance may check in and pay to enter at the contest desk inside the front entrance on contest day - no need to pre-arrange entry with Ms. Harvey. Minimum $10 entry - no exceptions (includes access to the buffet). Special parent entry fee of $20 includes buffet and the same activities as the students - a game card with access to most of the activities and arcade games at Alley Cats.

Chamber Orchestra to Peak Contest May 3

Chamber Orchestra will be performing in the Peak Music Contest at the Murchison Performing Arts Center at UNT on May 3. Students will be receiving permission forms for this event this week. No money is due to the orchestra to participate, but students will be taken out for lunch following the performance and should bring their own money for this (see permission form).

Parent attendance: Parents are welcome to view the performance at the contest, entry is free. Our orchestra performs at 8:30 am. Please familiarize yourself with the UNT campus parking information prior to attending.

Philharmonic, Chamber, and Fiddle Club to NRH2O Contest on May 9

Our 7-8th grade orchestras and Fiddle Club will be concluding our contest season at the NRH2O contest. Please make sure that permission forms and payment are turned in by April 29 to register to attend.

Parent Attendance:

We will have a certain number of chaperone spots available at no cost - if you have contacted Ms. Harvey about being a chaperone for us, she will be in touch to confirm and discuss chaperone responsibilities soon. If you are interested in being a chaperone and have not contacted Ms. Harvey, please do so as soon as possible.

Please note - there is NO visitor entry at the park other than through pre-arranged tickets through your director (Ms. Harvey). The park is closed to visitors for student safety and requires that all parents attending purchase their ticket ahead of time through their school program. If would like to attend for fun with your child (not as a chaperone) please let Ms. Harvey know and she will give you details on how to purchase a ticket through the orchestra.

Tuesday, May 14 - SPRING CONCERT

Our final performance of the year will be on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00 pm in the RCMS Cafeteria. All of our orchestras and our fiddle club will be presenting their spring contest music as well as some new selections.

Student attire: Formal concert dress guidelines

After school rehearsals:

Prelude Orchestra - all orchestra members - required rehearsal Wednesday, May 8 until 5:00

Chamber and Philharmonic - ALL Chamber members and Philharmonic 8th graders will be combining on some pieces for our concert. They will have an after school rehearsal on Tuesday, May 7 until 5:15 to prepare. We will also take our 8th grade class photo at this time (casual attire is fine).

8th Grade Students and Parents - please be on the lookout for an email from Ms. Harvey with instructions on submitting photos for our traditional 8th grade slideshow.

Bass Day

On March 7, all of our GHS cluster bass players from 5th-12th grade traveled to Guyer to participate in our annual Bass day. Our students participated in sectionals and master classes with some exceptional guest clinicians, including UNT bass professor Jeff Bradetich as well as Ian Grems - a former Crownover/Guyer orchestra student who is now a professional bass player and holds a master's degree in bass performance.

Eclipse Celebrations

The Friday before the Eclipse, our campus held an eclipse "pep rally" where students heard an original composition called Space Walk by our choir director, Mr. Lotspeich. The multi-song project is themed around the eclipse and involved Mr. Lotspeich's band as well as the Crownover Chamber orchestra and choir. A video of the performance can be found below. The orchestra performs on the first song.

The day of the eclipse, our 6th period orchestra students had fun experiencing this event together.

Eclipse Concert Video

Solo & Ensemble Contest Results

On Saturday, April 6, Crownover had 61 orchestra students participate in the DISD Middle School Orchestra Solo & Ensemble Contest. Our students performed exceptionally well. Crownover had the most 1st division ratings in the district AND the most 1+ Honors Awards in the district.

The Honors Award is a special designation each judge can give to the top few solos and ensembles they hear all day in their room. Each of the 10 judges heard approximately 55 performances throughout the day. Congratulations to the following students for earning Honors Awards on their solo or ensemble:

6th Grade: Elliot Schmidt, Daniela Silva, Joanna Anoop, Melissa Holguin, Sophia Kennard, Oliver Hollingsworth, Jinny Choi, Merida del Carpio, Grace Yoon

7th Grade: Jacob Summers, Jeremiah Wells, Victor Columna, Ashley Bird, Paola Rivera Caratachea, Nolan Bonham, Anthony Navarro

8th Grade: Olivia Baldwin, Ashley Jimenez, Alaina Beeks, Tina Yang, Bennett Ray, Mark Eads

Quartet Visit

The week of Solo & Ensemble Contest, the Crownover orchestra program was excited to receive a visit from a UNT string quartet that travel to schools in the area to perform an informational chamber music presentation.

IMG_3007.MOV

Fine Arts Signing Day

At the annual Fine Arts Signing Day held at Guyer (and each of Denton ISD's 4 high schools), Crownover Orchestra had 3 former students recognized for their acceptance into college fine arts programs. Approximately 20 students were represented at the Guyer signing day event and it was determined that as a group they have earned over 5 million dollars in scholarship offers.

Summer Camps

It is time to begin planning for your child to attend an orchestra summer camp if at all possible. Summer music camps can be a great way for students to keep up their skills over the break, meet new friends, and learn from guest instructors.

We have a recommended Summer Camp List on our website. Some information may be out of date, Ms. Harvey will be updating as regularly as possible.

GHS Orchestra Booster Club

Are you a parent of a current 8th grade student going to Guyer next year?

Consider participating in the Guyer Orchestra Booster Club. The booster club is a parent organization that supports various activities and needs of the high school orchestra program. The booster club officers would love to be able to contact potential incoming volunteers prior to the start of next school year. If interested in learning more, please send an email to ghsobc@gmail.com

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