We are excited for a great year in orchestra!

Practice Records!

Weekly Practice Records

We have started weekly practice records in **every** class. All students should be developing consistent practice habits and taking responsibility for documenting their work each week.

Students in All Classes Should:

Practice daily. Even though beginners have not taken instruments home yet, they are currently practing bow holds and music reading at home.
Record their practice minutes and activities in the practice log each day.
Finalize their total minutes and comments on Sunday night.
Ask an adult at home to sign the practice record only after the week’s practice is complete, on Sunday night or Monday morning.
Turn in their completed practice record with an adult signature every Monday in class.

Practice records turned in on Tuesday will be accepted for a reduced grade of 80. Practice records will not be accepted after Tuesday unless the student was absent.

Chamber Orchestra

While students in Chamber Orchestra do not have written practice records, they are expected to practice their music as needed to be fully prepared for rehearsals and performances. New Chamber students will likely need to spend significantly more time practicing their music than students who have been in the ensemble longer.

For Chamber students, accountability will be assessed primarily through preparation and performance during small-group and full-ensemble rehearsals. Students should be able to demonstrate that they are practicing sufficiently to learn their assigned music and contribute successfully to the ensemble.

All Region Audition - Entry Fee

The $20.00 All Region Orchestra Audition Fee is now available to pay in Rycor "Student Quick Pay". We ask that all payments be made using this system.

All Region is not for beginning orchestra students.

Please read carefully before paying the fee!

Signing up for the audition is a two part process:

Pay the $20 in Rycor "Student Quick Pay" (see the link below for help if needed)
Turn in the audition contract with your Rycor ReceiptID and Rycor Reference Number (see the bottom of the form).

Both parts of the process and your director's approval are required for entry.

This audition is required for students in Chamber and Advanced Intermediate. Please go ahead and pay the fee in Rycor now.

This audition is optional for students in Advanced and Prelude. Students in Etude should consult with Mrs. Bradley.

***You must meet your director’s preparation requirements in order to audition. Please understand that if you sign up and pay but are not fully prepared on the audition material, you will not be allowed to audition and your fee will not be refunded. Please think carefully before paying the fee. ***

Due: September 29

The last day to pay is September 29th. After this the payment portal will shut down and no payments will be accepted.

For some students in Advanced and Prelude, it may be beneficial to wait and see how you progress through the audition packet before paying the fee. I would suggest setting a reminder for September 20th to reassess your progress and decide whether auditioning is the right choice for you.

Instructions on how to set up an account can be found below:

https://sites.google.com/d/1zId22l7W1EkBDZHnZA8w6m1YO3S623sG/p/1UlRF_rXsfs8-OpYRy6v3puvJpZgeqcI4/edit

Supplies!

Please check your student's supply check grade in Skyward!

Etude, Prelude, Advanced Intermediate, Advanced & Chamber Orchestra Students

Ensemble Supply Lists

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Beginning Orchestra Students (1st, 6th, and 8th periods)

Beginning Supply List

Rental Companies

Important Reminders:

If you have not yet rented your instrument, please take care of that as soon as possible so you don't fall behind.

2026 - 2027 Dates

Friday, August 21st - Welcome Packet Due!

Thursday, October 1st - Fall Concert @ Robinson Fine Arts Center (Everyone)

Saturday, October 24th - All Region Auditions (not for beginners) @ Allen High School

Friday/Saturday, November 6th & 7th - All Region Clinic and Concert (for students who make All Region after audition) @ Lowery Freshman Center

Thursday, February 4th - Plano West Sr High TMEA Preview Concert (not required)

February - PreUIL TBD

Wednesday/ Thursday, March 10th & 11th - UIL for Chamber, Advanced, Advanced Intermediate, and Prelude

Saturday, April 24 - Solo and Ensemble Festival @ Plano West Senior High School

All Region Orchestra 2025 @ Lowery Freshman Center

Practice Records (Etude, Prelude, Advanced, AI)

All students are expected to turn in a weekly practice record every Monday. This practice record should accurately reflect the time spent on orchestra or private lesson materials at home. Parents, please only sign completed practice records. Repeated zeros on practice records negatively impact a student's grade. ***Chamber students have a different accountability procedure in place.***

Supplies

Advanced Intermediate

Advanced

Chamber

Rental Companies

Rice MS Orchestra - Rental CompaniesPlease plan on renting (not buying) an instrument from one of our recommended vendors. These vendors have worked with Plano ISD for a number of years and offer quality instruments at a competitive price. Violins and violas will rent an instrument to be carried back and forth between school each

Congratulations to the 2025 Rice Chamber Orchestra on a wonderful TMEA Honor Orchestra Performance.

Congratulations S&E Participants!

This year's Solo & Ensemble was a huge success. Thank you to all who participated.

Rice orchestra students earned 126 superior awards and 26 exemplary awards. Congratulations!

Plano West Orchestra Students Earn Top Honors

I’m happy to share that 4 PWSH Orchestra students are in the TOP 10 of their graduating class, including Valedictorian!

Why? As you know, several years ago, PISD changed how they calculate class rank. The new formula no longer rewards dropping fine arts classes to take AP classes purely for the GPA boost they used to provide. Now, all students are evaluated on a core set of classes that are common to everyone. It's not at all surprising to see this result, and best of all, these outstanding scholars have proven that you can do music AND compete at the highest academic level. The new plan has worked, because previously, our students VERY RARELY placed in the top 10…….. not at all due to ability, but simply because of the old GPA game that punished them. Now, our students are disproportionately represented in the top 10 every year, including several years of Valedictorian and Salutatorian.

Secret Santa 2024

Chamber Viola Section

Viola pride at All Region!

New Orchestra Student Info

We are excited to meet all our new orchestra students. If you missed the 5th Grade Instrument Selection Event, don't worry. You can still be in orchestra! We've created some onlines resources to help you navigate the process of selecting an instrument at home. It is important that you pick your instrument and start the rental process before school begins in August. ***Do NOT purchase an instrument.***

Please locate "Incoming Students" in the navigation bar above for everything you need to get started. We look forward to seeing you soon.

We had an EPIC time at the Epic Waters Music Festival!

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