About the Program

The Talkington Orchestra program began in the 2009-2010 school year with 28 beginner students.  Since then, the program has flourished and now offers several middle school and high school courses.  These are outlined below.

Beginner Orchestra

It all starts here!  In Beginner Orchestra, students will learn the basics of music notation, rhythm, and performance on one of the following instruments:  violin, viola, cello, and string bass.  No prior experience is needed.  In addition to performing in all campus-based concerts, at the end of the school year, the Beginner Orchestra participates in the Irons Festival.  Beginner Orchestra is for 6th and 7th grade students only.

Intermediate Orchestra

The Intermediate Orchestra is an ensemble for students with at least one year of playing experience and having met all of the prerequisite skill requirements from Beginner Orchestra..  In this group, students continue developing and adding to concepts from the Beginner Orchestra.  Students learn more complex and challenging performance techniques and further develop skills in reading music notation.  In addition to required campus-based performances, this group competes  in UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation as a non-varsity MS orchestra, participates in the LISD String Fling, and competes in the Irons Invitational.  Students are also encouraged to audition for the Region 16 MS String Orchestra.  

Advanced Orchestra

The Advanced Orchestra is for students with at least two years of playing experience.  Students will enhance their comprehension of musical concepts, hone their skills in sight-reading, and focus on repertoire performance and ensemble skills.  In addition to required campus-based performances, this group competes  in UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation as a varsity MS orchestra, participates in the LISD String Fling, and competes in the Greater Southwest Music Festival in Amarillo.  Students are also encouraged to audition for the Region 16 MS Symphony Orchestra.

Talkington Sinfonietta (HS Varsity)

The Talkington Sinfonietta is the High School varsity orchestra.  High school students with at least three years of playing experience and capable of demonstrating prerequisite skills from advanced orchestra level playing may audition for acceptance into this ensemble.  The Sinfonietta is currently the top competing performance orchestra at Talkington.  Students in the Sinfonietta focus on developing a mature tone quality, advanced instrumental techniques, and growing a repertoire of varied reputable performance pieces.  In addition to required campus-based performances, this group competes  in UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation as a HS varsity orchestra, participates in the LISD String Fling, combines with Estacado HS Band students to perform as the East Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (ELSO; Winter and Spring Concerts), and many other minor performance opportunities.  Additionally, students in this ensemble are strongly encouraged to audition for the Region 16 High School Symphony or Philharmonic Orchestras.

AP Music Theory

The AP Music Theory course is offered to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  Focusing on theoretical concepts of music composition, construction, and notation, as well as the development of aural skills, this course is designed for the advanced musician desiring to “look under the hood” of music to understand how it all works together.  Students considering a major or minor in music are strongly urged to enroll in APMUTH.  AP Music Theory is only for music students, and is a great way of adding AP credits not available to every student.