While your attendance at this meeting is important, we understand that schedules can be tricky to work out at times. If you are unable to attend, your student will stil be able to participate in picking an instrument for next year.
Students will receive a 30-minute lessons on their instrument, each week as well as participate in rehearsals and concerts with the band or orchestra.
Students can choose from violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, *french horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, and percussion.
After attending a performance at the middle school on 5/17, and an assembly on 5/20, the students will make their top 3 choices for instruments. The band and orchestra teacher will give students the opportunity to try their top 3 choices in small groups. Please be sure to fill out the parent survey!
Please know that while you might not get your first choice of instrument, we determine which instrument the student would be most successful on based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, physical features, pitch matching skills, rhythm skills, balance within the ensembles, and access to instruments at home. We always work hard to give students one of their top choices.
Once all students have been assigned an instrument it is extremely difficult to make changes without effecting the overall music making experience for all students. We are confident in our selection process and are very detailed for this reason. Most students end up loving their instrument even if it wasn't their first or even second choice!
We understand that everyone’s situation is different. You can decide what is best for your family at any time, but if you have ANY interest at all in playing an instrument next year, we encourage you to go through the process and talk to your music teacher about any concerns. We can often times help! Your final commitment to playing an instrument next year will be much later in the process, giving you time to see if it's really for you!