Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year; I hope that everyone had a fantastic summer! I'm excited for what's in store this year. School is obviously going to be different, so I wanted to write a little bit about what to expect.

First and foremost, my top priority is creating a community where students can share life and enjoy music together. Students will likely spend so much more time by themselves this year, so I want to focus on the communal aspect of music as much as possible. In a "normal" year, the orchestra classroom would be the central hub at VVHS for all things orchestra. I can't tell you how much I miss students filtering in and out of the room during lunch and after school, playing away in the practice rooms. While we won't have the orchestra room, we will have a virtual space for the class community via Google Classroom and flipgrid.

My next priority will be giving students the tools and skills necessary to be independent and successful musicians. I want to teach myself out of a job! Since we won't be playing together in class, I want students to play their instruments every day, even if it's only for a few minutes. After all, what's the point of being in orchestra if we aren't playing music?

Finally, I want to help students listen to music thoughtfully and intentionally. Like playing music, listening to music is a skill that should be developed through practice. Listening to music together is also one of the oldest and best ways to build community.

I ask that all of you read the VVHS Orchestra Handbook and Syllabus, which can be found here. This contains the nuts and bolts of how orchestra will work in a virtual setting. Also, be sure to turn notifications for Google Classroom on so that you don't miss essential communications.

This school year is going to be awesome; it's great to be a Hawk!

-Mr. Neely