Looking to Join Ashland Orchestra?

Orchestra Informational Meeting

There will be an informational meeting for students and families interested in joining orchestra on April 26th in the Little Theater at AHS at 6pm. This meeting will answer any questions you may have about joining orchestra, as well as give your student the opportunity to try out the different instruments to see which instruments they may want to play-- completely free of charge!

How to Join

Beginning orchestra is offered to any incoming fourth grade students in Ashland City Schools. No prior experience is required: students of any level of musical experience are welcome!

Guardians of students who are interested in joining orchestra in 4th grade must fill out the google form. This allows us to contact you with necessary information. This is not set in stone, so even if your student is on the fence, please still fill out this form. Your student can always change their mind later, but is very difficult to join beyond the deadline due to class scheduling. This google form must be filled out for your child to be registered for orchestra.

The deadline to complete this google form is June 1st, 2024. After that date, the director will send out information on what your student will be playing and what materials you will need to get for class.

Want to join later than 4th grade?

Given that each year of orchestra builds upon the last year, starting at a later grade as a total beginner is not recommended. However, your student may be very driven to join beyond fourth grade, or has previous experience in a different orchestra or playing a string instrument. If this is the case, contact the director, Ms. Taylor (jotaylor@goarrows.org), as soon as possible. A time to listen to the student playing their instrument will be set up prior to the start of the school year to make sure they are sufficiently prepared.

It is recommended that your student takes private lessons to catch up with the other students in the class if they are new to the instrument.

How Orchestra Works

At Taft Intermediate, your student will have orchestra during their specials time during the school day. The class is 40 minutes, twice a week.

They will bring their instrument to school (unless they are using a school instrument) on those days. They will then take them home to practice on the days they do not have orchestra to maintain the skills they practice in class. This is functionally the "orchestra homework."

There are periodic performances for students to showcase the work they have done

Getting an Instrument

Below are some of the places that offer instruments for rental or purchase. It is highly reccommended that beginners rent an instrument, since students will need larger instruments as they get bigger. All rental programs will exchange your student's instrument for free when they need the next size up, and often offer repair services and needed accessories such as cleaning clothes, rosin, shoulder rests and rock stops, etc., included.

It is not recommended that you purchase instruments online from retailers such as Amazon or Ebay. Often the instruments are very cheap, break easily, are in need of repairs, or do not sound good. Sometimes, they are not even functional. If you have any questions about whether an instrument is a good option for your student, contact the director Jocelyn Taylor at any time.

Camp Overture

Camp Overture is a summer camp offered for students who are joining band and orchestra for the first time. Camp Overture 2024 will be held from July 22nd to July 25th, from 1pm-4pm each day. It is completely free!

Students get to: