NYSSMA

This year's NYSSMA Solo Festival will be held at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School on Friday and Saturday, April 16th & 17th.

Each year, more than 1,000 students across New York State perform at NYSSMA Solo Festivals. These events, sponsored by the NYS School Music Association, offer an opportunity for our young musicians to perform for a certified adjudicator. For the evaluation, each student performs a selected solo, three scales, and a sight-reading example. The performance is only heard by the adjudicator and encourages our young musicians to strive for their very best performance.

Listed below are guidelines that will help insure a successful experience for our young musicians:

Select music carefully with your teacher.

Purchase original printed copies of the music for the performer and adjudicator. Photocopies are not permissible.

Know your scale requirements:

Level I-II: Any 3 Major Scales

Level III-IV: Any 7 Major Scales

Level V-VI: All 15 Major Scales (to perform 3)

Begin preparing early, and practice playing all the way through the piece.

Perform the piece for friends and relatives to build confidence.

Fees for participation are:

Solos and Ensembles, Levels I-IV $10

Checks can be made payable to Farnsworth Middle School.

Return the registration form to your music teacher as soon as possible. Registration for the Solo Festival closes on February 10th.

Chamber Strings - 10th Rehearsal

Dear Chamber Strings Musicians & Families,

Our first performance will be on Wednesday, February 10^th at 7:30pm in the FMS Cafetorium. On this evening, all of the Farnsworth Middle School Select Ensembles will perform for family and friends. Here is some important information you should know:

Ø Arrive at 6:45pm and report to the Orchestra Room.

Ø Wear your best dress clothes! Please, no sneakers or jeans.

Ø The concert is free, and no tickets are required.

Ø The Select Ensemble performances should be no longer than 1 hour.

In addition to our concert on the 10^th, Chamber Strings traditionally performs at the Young People's Concert. You may remember attending this concert when you were in elementary school, and now it is your turn to perform for Guilderland's beginning musicians!

The Young People's Concert will be held on March 22^nd at 12:15pm. The Young People's Concert is an opportunity for us to play in the auditorium at Guilderland High School for a large and excited audience.

Please fill out and return the permission slip for this performance. Permission slips are due by March 1^st. I look forward to showing the Guilderland community the results of all of our hard work!

Sincerely,

Miss Ellis

Monday, January 25, 2010

In attendance were:

Arianna Barnum

William Wang

Bill Dong
Erin Templeton

Rachel Swyer

Marko Crnkovic

Catie Rafferty

Naila Brown

Andrea Long

Cody Ingraham

Thank you to those who attended today's rehearsal. I know that midterms and illness made this a small, unbalanced group, but we were able to get some good work done.

Our concert is on February 10th! This means we only have 2 regularly-scheduled rehearsals left, and I will not be at one of them. Due to a multitude of after school activities that would conflict with an additional rehearsal during an activity period, stop by the orchestra room on Thursday, February 4th to pick up your pass for an in-school rehearsal. This rehearsal will be 40 minutes long beginning at 9:30am on Friday, February 5th. Please talk to your teachers on Thursday about this absence on Friday.

We ran through the program today. Our performance on February 10th will consist of: Die Forelle, Allegretto from Op. 16, and Winter. Each of these pieces needs individual attention in some capacity.

Here are the most noticeable areas for improvement and/or changes we made this rehearsal:

Die Forelle - dynamics! This is a piece that is 1st violin-centered (i.e. the first violins have the melody throughout). However, bring out the small sections (single measures here and there) that we have discussed for each of the other parts. It is very important that we stay below [dynamic] the first violin part. Make sure the ritard is marked in the last 2 measures, and put a fermata over the last note.

Allegretto - I will not be conducting this piece. Take some time to copy in the markings I gave to the principal stands regarding rhythms to listen for. We will repeat Allegretto at least once, so it is important that you know how to take that repeat. Again, check with the principal stands if you are unclear, but we changed the last measure from a dotted quarter note tied to a quarter note to a dotted quarter note tied to an eighth note and added an eighth rest to give us time to catch the pickup note on the repeat. The additional change to Allegretto is that the cellos will cue us. They have the melody, so it makes more musical sense that they show the preparatory breath.

Winter - Specific sections of this still need a lot of individual work. Cellos, make some mark in your part to keep you from changing chords too early in the beginning of the piece. It is exhausting to look at so many eighth notes in this tempo, so you have to either practice very carefully, count, or know what to listen for. Violas, I will cue the entrances that are confusing to you, so don't worry -- just watch. Violins, I know I have said this over and over and over again, but there is no better way to get better at your part than to work with a metronome (and to be at the correct part of the bow)! The 32nd note parts were extra messy today for a few reasons:

1. You weren't listening to each other. Listening is crucial!

2. You weren't watching each other. Don't watch me. Watch the people next to you, the people in front of you, and the violinists in the other sections so that you can match their bowstroke and rhythm.

3. The bowing is still uncomfortable for you at various tempos. In rehearsal, we try to vary the tempo to reflect any speed that might occur in performance, but the fact is that when adrenaline is racing, so might our tempo. If you can't play those double down bows slowly with precise rhythm, you can't play them quickly. If you don't practice these passages with a metronome at varying speeds, you will not have the flexibility to play with others.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Our next rehearsal will be: Monday, February 1st (with substitute)

POPS Goes to the Movies!

Featuring:

GHS Music Department - Bands, Choirs & Orchestra, Jazz, Small Ensembles & Rock Bands

Saturday, February 6, 2010

GHS New Gym 7:30 p.m.

All Tickets $6 – Available in the HS School Store
At the door or call 861-8591 x1106 for tickets and information

Proceeds support the Guilderland Music Program K-12

This year the Guilderland High School Music Department celebrates with the “Pops Goes to the Movies”. This annual concert held on Saturday, February 6, 2010, features performances by all of the high school music ensembles – over 400 talented students – in the Choirs, Bands, Orchestras and Jazz Band. This year, small vocal and instrumental ensembles will also be performing as well as several of the high school rock bands.

This event is the major fund raiser for the music booster organization, the Guilderland Music Parents and Friends. The Music Parents use all funds raised from the Pops Concert to provide scholarships, enrichment activities, assembly programs, guest clinicians, NYSSMA solo medals, and other resources for students of every age throughout the Guilderland school district.

For this concert, the High School New Gym is decorated and set with tables and chairs. Eighth grade waiters and waitresses serve light refreshments that are available for purchase.

Come enjoy the music of “2010 Pops Goes to the Movies” on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets are $6 with table seats available on a first come, first served basis. Tickets are available for purchase in the school store at the high school, or contact Guilderland Music Supervisor Lori Hershenhart at 861-8591 ext. 1106 for tickets or additional information.

Chamber Strings - Monday, January 11th

In attendance were:
Joe Sipzner

Arianna Barnum

Katie Gonick

William Wang

Bill Dong

Erin Templeton

Marko Crnkovic

Emma Pearson

Karthik Ramesh

Catie Rafferty

Andrea Long

Cody Ingraham

Rehearsal began with intonation work. We played the first four measures of Song Without Words in F Major. It is important for the upper strings to listen to and match the intonation of the lower strings for uniform chords. We will continue to work only on these four measures as a warm-up and a focus-in during future rehearsals.

After a brief discussion of Allegretto, I heard the best playing that I have heard from Chamber Strings yet! Please continue to remember what to listen for as you begin this work.

Are you the melody? If not, who is?

How does your part fit into the melody?

How would you describe the character of your musical line? The articulation?

What part determines the tempo? (Remember that we determine tempo based on the smallest division of the beat)

What is your dynamic?

Who will you watch for the cue/breath?

If you perform Allegretto the way I heard it during this rehearsal, I will be very proud.

Not only did Allegretto sound great, but we almost got all the way through Winter! The only parts continuing to give us difficulty are those with repeated notes in soft dynamics. Individual counting is very important! Mark your music in any way to help yourself!

I experimented and only cued sections for entrances and changes in Winter, and it worked quite well. I think I get in the way of your group energy when I try to keep a pattern, so I may only return to patterns if I feel the ensemble is rushing or in danger of separating.

Please arrive on time and ready to play at our next rehearsal! Due to holidays and other necessary absences, we will only have 2 rehearsals left before our performance on February 10th! If you have missed more than 2 chamber strings rehearsals, plan on playing your parts for me sometime before our performance.

Fresh Start

As we move into the first Wednesday of 2010, I'd like to reflect on some of the changes that are taking place in orchestra:

1. Binders Everyone should have one by now, 3-ring (anywhere from 1/2" - 1.5" is ideal). They will hold the packets that 7th and 8th graders have received, practice music, and worksheets for rehearsals. Bring your binder to class every day to receive full participation credit and to stay organized for the rest of the year.

2. Attendance & Preparation As stated earlier and already practiced in class, full attendance and preparation now includes instrument, pencil, binder, and shoulder rest/sponges for the violinists and violists.

3. Listening Examples We explored some recordings during December, and I'm excited to continue providing audio examples of relevant music each day. Listening, like any skill, must be cultivated. Approach each listening example with an open mind, and do your best to be free from distraction as they are being played. I highly recommend closing your eyes -- you may be surprised at how focused your attention can become. A very short discussion will take place after each example, and the best way to make contributions to this discussion is to pay attention to the example. Please refrain from unqualified responses such as you liked or disliked it; rather, tell me what about the piece you liked or didn't like. Listen for familiar techniques, harmonies, melodic patterns or other aspects you find musically interesting.

4. Jeopardy I understand that some classes have had more time to experience this game than others, but I would like to incorporate Jeopardy into a rehearsal each week. Seventh and 8th graders have the term list in their packet, and I can provide extra term lists to 6th graders upon request. Remember that each student will be called on at one time or another to answer a term and a rhythm question. Also, once a term has been asked, it will not be asked again in that particular orchestra. Study the list so that no term takes you by surprise! Sixth graders should focus on the 100 and 200 levels. Seventh graders should be familiar up to the 250 level, and 8th graders should be comfortable up to the 300 level.

5. Practice Goals In the past, I have provided practice logs with specific directions for individual attention. Use old practice logs as guidelines as you create personal goals (i.e., write goals that focus on only a small number of measures at a time or a skill that can be mastered within a week or two). Your practice logs have space for up to 4 personal goals. Write the specific goal in the space provided, and use the chart to log minutes spent working towards this goal. In lessons we have discussed ways to write memorization, posture, and position goals. As we add repertoire to our concert program, align your goals to our classwork and to the amount of time you can dedicate to your instrument each day.

6. Posture Think of 2010 as the "back to basics" year. Just as professional musicians warm up with the scales they learned back in 6th grade, we can make great progress by reminding ourselves of the lessons we learned when we started. In lessons, we will explore body usage and how the way we stand, sit, or hold our instruments (we all play two instruments! one for each hand!) affects our sound. Many upper-string players have already had a basic (re)introduction to posture, and they can attest to the yoga-like approach. My approach has been shaped by two major factors: The Inner Game of Music, a book by Barry Green which discusses mental interference in music mastery and the Alexander Technique, exercises in body awareness for proper functioning. I am by no means a certified Alexander Technique teacher, but my knowledge and experience with the approach is sufficient for our purposes.

Chamber Strings - 9th Rehearsal

Performance opportunities are quickly approaching, and so this is the time to focus attention to detail. Chamber ensembles are wonderful learning experiences for young listeners whose individual preparation can allow them to look past the notes on their own pages and recognize what is going on around them.

As you practice, think about the music that is happening around you:

Is yours the most important (melodic) voice?

Are you providing the ensemble with divisions or subdivisions of the beat?

Is your articulation the same or different from that of other sections?

What can you do (especially as a harmonic/bass instrument) to help establish a phrase?

As we rehearsed Allegretto, we discussed some of these concerns. While the concertmaster cues the ensemble, the busy notework in the violin sections are really divisions of the beat and should be beneath the viola/cello melody.

Technical concerns were mostly a result of pizzicato vs. arco in the opening section. Violists and cellists should take the 8th note pickup as an up-bow in the lower half of the bow. This way, it sounds like a pickup and the bowing does not cause the tempo to drag. Conversely, pizzicato has a tendency to push ahead, so violinists must listen to how their part fits in with the melody.

We will continue to play in small groups, with various leaders until our listening skills improve.

I was very pleased with the run-through of Winter. Continue to practice not only the passages in the lower half (the 32nd notes), but practice getting to the lower half of the bow in the measures prior.

In attendance were:

Joe Sipzner

Ali Gohlke-Schermer

Katie Gonick

Arianna Barnum

William Wang

Bill Dong

Marko Crnkovic

Rachel Swyer

Erin Templeton

Emma Pearson

Catie Rafferty

Karthik Ramesh

Andrea Long

Cody Ingraham

Naila Brown

We're sorry we missed:

Gloria Zhao

Katie Yang

Violin Fingerings

Having a little trouble remembering where your fingers go? Violinonline.com has many wonderful resources to guide your study, but I especially like the Interactive Violin Fingerboard. Here, you can see the note names, roll over them with your mouse to see the finger pattern (and staff notation!), and even click on the notes to hear a MIDI tone of that pitch. My only complaint about the diagram is that the notes seem like they are spaced far apart, when in reality each one is only a half-step (and thus, a very small space -- if any) apart. However, this is not too much of a problem since the picture shows hand positions on the actual instrument.