Honors Course Outline

Welcome to the WA Chamber Orchestra!

I hope that you return to school happy, rested and ready to go. I am looking forward to our work together and am excited about the music we will be playing.

Please come talk to me if you need help, have questions, comments or suggestions. I will do my best to make Orchestra a class that you look forward to, while maintaining a balance between group, individual and educational needs.

Make sure that your parents see this page! Enrollment in Chamber Orchestra signifies that the student and their parents agree to the policies and guidelines in this course outline and that the student will hold him or herself to the highest standards of conduct and educational achievement.

Permission forms will only be used when required for field trips etc. and will be downloaded from the web site or picked up from Mr. Culver. It is my hope that web site communication will be a great benefit to our class.

In an effort to make information easier for students to access, all class communication and documents will be put on Google Classroom and this website. Students are responsible for checking Google Classroom and their WA Gmail account daily for new information, assignments and to stay up to date with all class communication.

Curriculum

Orchestra is a performance based class. The repertoire is different every year and the course work is planned around the performance schedule. Performances will be scheduled throughout the school year and attendance is expected at all after school rehearsals and concerts.

Repertoire choice is somewhat flexible throughout the year and depends on student progress. Pieces are chosen based on pedagogical needs including technical requirements and challenges, musical affect of the work, and instrumentation. Care is also taken to balance the genre, historical period and style of our repertoire. In addition to the repertoire work a portion or rehearsal time is used to cover technical and musical topics such as scales and arpeggios, composer histories, performance practice and tuning.

In learning each piece students will move through a spiral curriculum that comprehensively addresses all areas of that pieces performance: learning the notes and fingerings, rhythms, dynamics, articulations, appropriate phrasing, balance, style, etc. Students will be assessed during rehearsal and at the concert.

Grading Criteria

I will use following list of criteria to determine student grades during each term of the school year. Please come talk to me if you need any clarification of my expectations.

  • Performance - 70%
    • Performance criteria include posture, technique, tone, sight reading and musicality. Stu- dents will be evaluated during rehearsals and performances. Excerpts and rubrics for solo performance evaluations will be announced in advance.
  • Participation - 15%
    • Students are expected to be on time to all rehearsals and performances with their instrument and music folder, prepared to do their best. All daily rehearsals will begin 3 minutes after and end 3 minutes before the bell. Be warmed up and in your chair with your folder for tuning, at which time we get down to business. Students who are tardy for three or more times will serve a teachers detention.
    • Students are encouraged to keep a regular practice schedule in order to learn their parts and be prepared for performances. Please plan ahead to avoid conflicts that may come during busy times close to concerts. Students who are unprepared will be asked to arrange a time to get extra help.
  • Classwork - 15%

Internet Policy

Students may only use internet devices during individual or small group work sessions and only for academic purposes related to the class.

Notes

  • Instruments must be picked up from the instrumental room by 2:10 unless you make other arrangements.
  • Homework may include written work on music theory, terms and definitions, research projects and selected readings.
  • Students may wait at the bottom of the stairs when released from rehearsal to take care of their instruments.
  • At the end of the day, NO STUDENT may leave the building until the final bell. Students may wait for the end of day bell at the bottom of the stairs or in the instrumental room.
  • Formal dress is required at all evening concerts. Details can be found here.
  • Rehearsals of the combined orchestra with winds will be published on the web site well in advance. These mandatory rehearsals are very important as we will not have regular rehearsals with the winds.
  • Music folders are expected to be neatly kept with at least one sharpened pencil and eraser at all times. Instruments need to be kept in good playing condition. Please keep your case stocked with everything that you need for class and let me know if your instrument needs maintenance or repair. I’ll be happy to help.


kc, 8/27/18