MS Honors Orchestra

The 2025/26 MS Honors Orchestra Chair is Sara Jager. Please direct any questions to sjager@4hcs.org

Oct 3, 2025 Update:

EVENT DATE and LOCATION

Saturday, Jan 10, 2025 

Rockford Public High School Auditorium  

SCHEDULE

9:00-9:15am Arrive at Rockford High School

9:30 Sectional

10:45 Break/Move

11:00 Rehearsal

12:30 Lunch (food/drink provided)

1:00 Rehearsal

2:30 Break/Tune

3:00 Concert

3:30 Done

GUEST CONDUCTOR

Mr. James Gross, Retired Orchestra Director from Grosse Pointe 

FEE

$25 Total for each student (includes a pizza lunch)

LITERATURE

• Presto from Symphony No. 1 K16 Mozart, arr. Granta, 

• When Lighting Strikes - Silva 

• Lake of the Clouds - Michael Hopkins 

• Power Shift - Kathryn Griesinger 

NOTE: Pdfs with preferred fingerings and bowings will be provided when student roster is posted. 

TIMELINE

Oct 3  - Nomination form sent to District 10 directors

Oct 24  Nominations due via the Google Form

Nov. 21  - Roster Sent to Participating Teachers/Schools; Music parts (PDF) available online

Dec 19 - Confirmation and Payment Due for school's participants (no cash please!)

               (Late payments will incur a $10 per student late fee.)

STUDENT NOMINATIONS

Please note that we offer one honors ensemble each year. Teachers may feel free to nominate your most accomplished students, regardless of whether they are in 7th or 8th grade. In order to keep the orchestra at a manageable size and in order to better represent the distribution of our orchestra students throughout District 10, we are again using a “tiered” nomination system, like the honors band uses. The number of students you may nominate will depend on the number of total 7th and 8th Graders you have enrolled in your school’s orchestra program:

     - Programs with 40 or fewer students may nominate up to 2 students. 

     - Programs with 41-80 students may nominate up to 3 students.

     - Programs with 81-120 students may nominate up to 4 students.

     - Programs with more than 120 students may nominate up to 5 students. 

Each middle school is encouraged to nominate up to 2 alternates as well, that may get selected based on instrumentation needs. Please enter your most deserving students first in the nomination form. Please also try to prioritize violins, as our nominations have been bottom heavy the past several years. As you nominate, know that it's often likely that we can only accept one cellist from each school.

* Students should confirm with you that they are able to attend the event BEFORE you nominate them in the Google form.

**You should only nominate students who will be able to prepare the music independently and accurately ahead of time. (All First Violin nominations should be comfortable playing in 3rd position/and higher if possible) Students need to have a private teacher or orchestra teacher that will help them prepare the literature, so that all notes/rhythms/fingerings/bowings are learned in advance of the event date. If a student doesn't have a private teacher, this helper is YOU.  :)

Here is a link to the google nomination form: 

Nomination Form

Here is a link to a sample nomination letter to give to students and families. Please feel free to use it if you'd like. 

Nomination Letter 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks!

• Sara Jager  (chair)