On the Move Update - 1-18-12

Just a few updates from this week, including the times for the performance on January 31.

Celebration of the Arts Performance Times

Our choir will perform during the two assemblies held during school on January 31. The times of those assemblies are at 9 am and 2 pm. I am working on a letter to give to the school offices at Morgan Elementary and Morgan Middle School in order to excuse them at the proper times. If I need to meet additional requirements in order to get them excused (like parental permission) I will let you know. As I mentioned before, I will need those parents with children at MGES to excuse their own children and provide transportation to and from the performance. I have been told that the entire assembly should not be more than one hour long. I am not sure when we will be performing on the program, but choir members will be excused to return to class right after we perform. For those who home school as well as those bringing children from Mountain Green, if you could have your children at Morgan Elementary (in the gym) at 8:45 for the morning performance and at 1:50 in the afternoon. If you have to choose between the two performances, I would prefer to have more attend the morning performance. Please contact me if you have any other questions or concerns about this.

Election Results

We held our elections for choir presidency yesterday and our new choir president is Sage Earl, and our secretary is Meagan Durrant. They will both do a great job! Thanks to all others who ran! We really do have great choir members and they all do so much to make our choir run smoothly and be successful!

Solo Auditions

We have a few solos for this season. Solo auditions will be held on January 31 during the 15 minutes prior to rehearsal as well as during the last 5 minutes of rehearsal time. I have asked those who are auditioning to be prepared to sing the first 8 measures of "Homeward Bound" for the audition. They each received the music to this song and we went through it at our rehearsal yesterday. I have also included a practice track on the website so they can listen to it and practice at home. We do not have as many solos at this concert as we did at the last one. I will try to accommodate those who audition, but we usually have so many that audition, that some may not receive a solo this time around. Please try to prepare your child for that. There is only so much I can do to add solos and still make them special. Thank you for your understanding.

That is all I have for now. As we near our first performance of the season, please check your email often for updates and additional information.

Thank you!!

Practice Tracks

I have just updated the practice tracks with the songs we will be doing this season. Please allow your child to listen to these recordings often so they can retain the things we are learning in choir. They are found under the "Practice Tracks" tab at the top of the page.

Marcato On the Move - Update 1/4/12

I can already tell that this is going to be a great season!! The theme I have chosen for the season is "On the Move!" We had a great first rehearsal yesterday and accomplished a lot. There are a few items of business that we talked about at rehearsal yesterday that I need to pass along to you:

1 - Performance 1/31 - Morgan Elementary School has asked us to be part of their "Celebration of the Arts" assembly on January 31. I do not have the exact times yet, but they hold the assembly at two different times during the day (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) to accommodate all of the children in the school. I have talked to Mr. Wolff at MES and he will excuse all choir members from his school for both assemblies. I will be talking to Mr. Madeo at the Middle School about excusing the choir members for one or both of the assemblies. However, since there is an element of travel for the students at MGES, I will need those parents to talk to Mr. Murdock about excusing their child during at least one of the performance times. As soon as I find out the exact times, I will pass them along to you.

2 - Choir Presidency - We will be electing a new choir presidency on January 17. If your child would like to be considered for choir president or secretary, they need to send me a short write-up about why they would like to be in the presidency. This needs to be completed and to me prior to rehearsal on January 17. Here are the requirements for the presidency:

President:

-Be in either 5th or 6th grade.

-Arrive 5-10 minutes early to assist the conductor with room & music folder preparation.

-Act as a role model and leader to other choir mates.

-Serve on the Activities Committee (with a parent) to plan choir parties and events.

-Help conductor as needed.

Secretary

-Those running for secretary can be any age.

-Take attendance at each rehearsal.

-Help conductor collect music folders after each rehearsal.

-Help conductor as needed.

3 - Calendar - I have attached a rehearsal schedule and performance calendar to this email. It can also be found on our website. Please refer to it so that your child will be at each rehearsal. I will also be posting it on our choir website, and will be making changes and additions to it on the website.

4 - Choir Website - Our choir website is http://morganvalleychildrenschoir.blogspot.com/ Please check it often for updates. I will be sending out emails with important information, but for the latest news and information, please check the website. 

Thank you for signing your child up for our choir. I am really looking forward to this season! As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Here We Go Again!!

Our first rehearsal of the Spring season will be tomorrow, January 3, from 4-5 pm at the Middle School. I'm looking forward to working with your children again! It will be a really fun season with a lot of great music. Please tell your friends to sign their kids up (and have your kids tell their friends to join us!).

See you tomorrow!!