Murray Middle School Orchestra

Orchestra Newsletter

October 2nd, 2026

Scroll to see specific information for each grade level! Please reach out if you have any questions or need clarification.

Carley Gerdes - carley.gerdes@nhcs.net

Calendar of Events ● MMS Orchestra Handbook ● Boletín en español

🎵6th Grade🎵

Reminders

Students should be taking their instruments home to practice!

If you have turned in the instrument check-out form, your student may take home a school instrument.

Violins & Violas may take home their instrument any day

Cello & Bass may take home their instrument on weekends

About 2 hours a week outside of school will set you up for success and keep you ahead of the class!

What you can practice at home

Plucking and bowing open strings

Any of the exercises from the book up to #19

Proper posture and instrument care

What we're learning in class

How to be successful in orchestra

Classroom expectations
Rehearsal Etiquette
Instrument care

Fundamentals of playing a string instrument

Playing posture
Bow hold
Open string names
Plucking and bowing the open strings

Musical literacy

Reading and counting rhythms
- Quarter note, quarter rest, eighth note
First 5 notes on the staff
Playing D, E, F#, and G

🎵7th Grade🎵

Reminders

Students should be taking their instruments home to practice!

If you have turned in the instrument check-out form, your student may take home a school instrument.

Violins & Violas may take home their instrument any day

Cello & Bass may take home their instrument on weekends

About 2 hours a week outside of school will set you up for success and keep you ahead of the class!

What you can practice at home

Any of our concert music!

Especially: March of the Shadows & Midnight Echo
Think about "chomping" the string.

New finger patterns: L1, H3, X2, X4

What we're learning in class

How to be successful in orchestra

Classroom expectations
Rehearsal Etiquette
Instrument care
How to practice effectively

Fundamentals of playing a string instrument

Posture
Intonation
Listening to the ensemble
Rhythm and steady beat

Musical literacy

G Major finger patterns
Eighth note and rest rhythms

🎵8th Grade🎵

Reminders

Students should be taking their instruments home to practice!

If you have turned in the instrument check-out form, your student may take home a school instrument.

Violins & Violas may take home their instrument any day

Cello & Bass may take home their instrument on weekends

About 2 hours a week outside of school will set you up for success and keep you ahead of the class!

What you can practice at home

Any of our concert music! or All County music

Especially: Zombie Tango
Any of the scales and excercises from the book

What we're learning in class

How to be successful in orchestra

Classroom expectations
Rehearsal Etiquette
How to practice effectively

Fundamentals of playing a string instrument

Posture
Intonation
Section independence
Ensemble blend

Musical literacy

A Major finger patterns
Sixteenth note rhythms

All County Information

I'm glad to see so many Murray students will be representing us at All County! Here is the schedule and info if you didn't keep the upper portion of the permission slip:

Monday, October 19th, Hoggard HS Band Room*** 6:00-7:15 p.m.

Friday, October 23rd, Minnie Evans Arts Center 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Students need to pack a lunch. They will return to class after rehearsal ends.

Saturday, October 24th, Minnie Events Arts Center 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Please arrive by 8:15 to tune.
- The concert will begin at 2 p.m. Concert dresscode is the same as our concerts.
- Students may pack their own lunch, or pay $5 to MMS Orchestra to have lunch provided (pizza, chips/snacks, drinks)

***Yes, we are aware the Hoggard band room is going through mold remediation. If the room is not safe by then, the location will change to the AHS band room. We will let you know at least a week in advance if the location changes.

We will be rehearsing after school Monday of this week and next week for those who would like dedicated practice time.

Orchestra Advocacy

Thank you to everyone who wrote a testimony to share to the NHCS Board of Education! Your words are so powerful, and I am so appreciative of your support.

If you would like to attend the board meeting, you are more than welcome to come out:

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. at the NHC Board of Education Center (1805 S. 13th Street Wilmington, NC 28401)

I hope to see some of you there! There is a maximum capacity limit for the meetings, so I would recommend trying to get there early if you'd like to attend. Let me know if you have any questions about this.

📅Calendar of events📅

October

Monday, Oct 12 - Fall Fundraiser Begins

Monday, Oct 19 – Q1 Test

Monday, Oct 19 - All County Orchestra Rehearsal

Friday, Oct 23 - Saturday, Oct 24 - All County Orchestra Clinic

Wednesday, Oct 28 - Fall Orchestra Concert

Friday, Oct 30 - Fall Fundraiser Ends

December

Friday, Dec 4 – Q2 Test

Wednesday, Dec 16 - Winter Orchestra Concert

February

Friday, Feb 12 - Murray Arts Valentine’s Day Dance

Thursday, Feb 25 – Q3 Test

March

Monday, Mar 1 - NHCS Orchestra Festival (6th & 7th Grade only)

Saturday, Mar 6 - JERO Auditions

Wednesday, Mar 10 - Pre-MPA Orchestra Concert (8th Grade only)

Monday, Mar 15 or Tuesday, Mar 16 (TBA) - Eastern Regional Orchestra MPA (8th Grade only)

April

Saturday, Apr 24 - Busch Gardens Trip (8th Grade only, date tentative)

May

Saturday, May 1 - JERO Clinic

Monday, May 3 – Q4 Test

Tuesday, May 18 - Spring Orchestra Concert

June

Wednesday, Jun 2 - Murray Arts Awards Night

For descriptions of the events, click here.

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