Hermanson's Orchestral Wonders

8th Graders:

Practice Records are due Monday!
All Disney forms and payment are due no later than Friday, February 6th.

6th Grade Homework:

Practice Record (due 2/2): (All blank spaces are opportunities for students to pick what they want to practice)
Download 6th Grade Practice Record 2-2

6th Grade and 7-1 On-line homework:

Total # Correct must be 30 or more. Percentage must be at least 85.
If you get 100% correct, it will be extra credit.
Results Page Printout (or screenshot e-mailed to McClureOrchestra (at) gmail (dot) com) Due Monday, February 9th

To access the website:

Log on to www.musictheory.net

Under the “Trainers” pull down menu, select “Note Trainer”

Click on “Settings” (right side of screen) and follow the instructions for your instrument below:

Violins:  Set note ranges from open G to A on the E string.

Violas: Disable the Treble Clef by clicking on it. Click on your (Alto) clef (bottom left).

Set your note range from open G to high D.

Cello and Bass: Disable the Treble Clef by clicking on it. Click on your (Bass) clef (top right).

Set your note range from low G (bottom line of staff) to high D.

Enjoy reading.. these will also be posted under "The Journal" section of the webpage for future referencing.

Interesting Quick Reads:

Classical Music, the Affordable
Alternative, (http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/02/02/090202crmu_music_ross)

The
image of the classical concert hall as a playground for the rich is planted
deep in the cultural psyche. When Hollywood filmmakers set a scene at the
symphony, twits in evening wear fill the frame, their jaws tight and their
noses held high. The monocle returns to fashion for the first time since the
death of Erich von Stroheim. One day, an intrepid art director will come to a
concert and discover that the classical audience is well populated by
schoolteachers, proofreaders, students, retirees, and others with no entry in
the Social Register. They can afford to attend because classical events
aren’t nearly as expensive as most people assume, especially in
comparison with the extravagant pricing schemes for élite pop acts.

Who’s Conducting, Doc? (http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1378742.html)

Nineteenth-century
German composer Richard Wagner would likely not have been pleased to know that
his "Ride of the Valkyries" would be referred to someday as
"Kill the Wabbit." Still, Wagner could do worse than being linked
through the ages to legendary animation genius Chuck Jones, who incorporated
classical music into some of his most dazzling Looney Tunes cartoons –
think "The Rabbit of Seville," "What's Opera, Doc?" and
"Long-Haired Hare," all starring that wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny.

To let all student (and parents!) know, the schedule for next week is much different than normal.

Due to early release for conference week, students will only be attending 1 connections class a day. The schedule runs as such:

Monday – 1st hour brings instruments
Tuesday – 2nd hour brings instrument
Wednesday – 1st hour brings instrument
Thursday – 2nd hour - No one bring instruments
Friday – 1st hour – No one bring instruments

To put an additional twist on the schedule, the Georgia Music Educators Association's conference is held Thursday-Saturday of that same week, which means I will only be in the classroom Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday…which means I only get to see 2nd hour once next week! We will be be squeezing a lot of information into a very small time slot, so come prepared.

Also, I wanted to make you aware of a petition that is circulating in the Arts world. We are asking the Obama administration to form a "Secretary of the Arts" to help oversee the cultural aspects of this country – music, visual, dance and so on. I would be very appreciative if you would simply look at it and do what you think is best.

Here is an article about the movement from the Washington Post.

Have a wonderful weekend!

These are going home Friday with all 7th and 8th grade students. Please mark your calendars now (if they are not already written down, that is!)

It’s that time of year! Festival is approaching quickly, and I want us to sound the best we can. Sectionals allow me to work with individual groups of instruments in a more one-on-one environment, letting us concentrate on only those passages that need attention for any specific group.

Upcoming Dates (Updated for early release!)
1st Violins: Tuesday, 2/3; Wednesday, 2/18; Tuesday 2/24; Wednesday 3/4
2nd Violins: Friday, 2/6; Wednesday, 2/18; Tuesday 2/24; Wednesday 3/4
Violas:Friday, 2/6; Wednesday, 2/18; Tuesday 2/24; Wednesday 3/4
Cello/Bass: Thursday, 2/5; Wednesday, 2/18; Wednesday 2/25; Wednesday 3/4

All Students: Pre-Festival Clinic with Dr. Michael Alexander of KSU: Monday, 2/23 from 4:30-6:30. Family members are welcome to attend!

Students are required to attend the clinic in order to perform at CODA.

CODA Festival: Tuesday, 3/10 at Lovinggood Middle School. Time: TBA

It’s that time of year! Festival is approaching quickly, and I want us to sound the best we can. Sectionals allow me to work with individual groups of instruments in a more one-on-one environment, letting us concentrate on only those passages that need attention for any specific group.

Upcoming Dates:
1st Violins: Tuesday, 2/10; Wednesday, 2/18; Thursday 2/26; Thursday 3/5
2nd Violins: Wednesday, 2/11; ; Wednesday, 2/18; Thursday 2/26; Thursday 3/5
Violas: Wednesday, 2/11; ; Wednesday, 2/18; Thursday 2/26; Thursday 3/5
Cello/Bass: Thursday, 2/12; ; Wednesday, 2/18; Friday 2/27; Thursday 3/5

All Students: Pre-Festival Clinic with Ashley Scott of GYSO: Monday, 2/23 from 4:30-6:30. Family members are welcome to attend!

Students are required to attend the clinic in order to perform at CODA.

CODA Festival: Monday, 3/9 at Lovinggood Middle School. Time: TBA

We are well into the new 9 weeks and just beginning Festival season for those of you in 7th and 8th grade. What an exciting time to be a part of Orchestra!

As you are practicing your music, I want to let you know where you can find recordings of your music online:

www.jwpepper.com and www.lucksmusic.com are both sites that have free streaming audio of the pieces we are playing (if one site doesn’t have the audio, the other does!). If you want to, you can even check out other pieces of music and send me recommendations for the May concert.

So far, the pieces we are playing are:

7th Grade

• Song of the Sea Mariner
• Vivald’s "Concerto in D" (arr. Bob Phillips)
• Dorian Variations

7-1 has a pass-off Thursday on #135 in book 1
7-2 has a pass-off Thursday on #79 in book 2

8th Grade

• Vivaldi’s "Spring" (arr. Richard Meyer)
• Danse Infernale

8th Grade has a pass-off and written quiz Thursday over Third position fingerings and harmonics

Use these to search under "Title/Composer" to find the recordings. Make sure the arranger is the same if there is one, or it won’t sound right.

6th Grade

We are moving swiftly along! You amaze me every day and brighten my afternoons with your enthusiasm. I cannot wait for Jamboree in March!

To help you along your way, please see the attached practice record. It is due Friday, January 23rd. I don’t see you but 3 times until then, so please let me know if you need any help in the time we have before homeroom begins.

Download 6th_grade_practice_record_123.doc

How wonderful it has been to see everyone again this week! I’m so glad to see how many people played for your families over the break – one of the biggest reasons we play is to perform, is it not?

Now – I have a performance you don’t want to miss!

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 10th.

FREE CONCERT!

Albert Laszlo, Professor of Bass at Julliard School of Music, University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music Festival (all very big names in our world)

is performing at Kennesaw State Univerisity at 2:00 in the Bailey Arts Center. For Free!

What a great opportunity to hear a fantastic player on the largest instrument in our string family. I sincerely hope you are all able to attend – it is so close, and did I mention it is free?

I will see you there tomorrow!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing break! It’s time to step into gear again as we look forward to our next set of concerts and new skills and pieces to learn. We had a fabulous concert, and I can’t wait to build on that success as we progress in our abilities. 

We WILL be playing on Tuesday, so don’t forget your instruments!

An update for the 6th Graders:

In your first concert of the year, I said that we were a part of the Daniel Pearl World Music Days. I wanted to let you know that we were not alone. In fact, you were a part of something huge – this event reached every state in the US and many countries outside America:

7th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days Reaches Record Audiences

Using music to promote tolerance and international friendship, the 7th
Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days, October 1-31, 2008, inspired
1,040 concerts in 59 countries, including every state in the U.S.
Participating Artists
reflected great diversity at youth and interfaith events, as well as
performances spanning musical genres from classical and jazz to hip-hop
and ethnic world beat. See
Press Release.

Throughout October, the "Harmony for Humanity" eStage, a streaming
Internet radio station, broadcast music inspired by Danny’s legacy.
eStage features Danny’s own recordings, original compositions honoring
his life and mission, and music
by members of the
Honorary Committee,
as well as winners of the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin. A related
Multimedia Gallery in the theme of "Harmony for Humanity" is posted on
eStage World Music Days website.

In response to requests from musicians who wished to dedicate
performances outside the month of October, Daniel Pearl World Music
Days has continued to register such performances and designate them as
Tribute Events. For a list of the October and year round concerts, visit our
Calendar of Events. 

World Music Days Highlights

• Among this year’s participating artists were Honorary Committee
members Salman Ahmad, Herbie Hancock, Alison Krauss, R.E.M., Tania
Libertad, Yefim Bronfman, Ida Haendel, Mark O’Connor, Theodore Bikel,
George Pehlivanian and Zubin
Mehta, as well as Steve Reich’s "Daniel Variations." In addition to
numerous symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles and the Daniel Pearl
Memorial Violin winners, other noted artists included Matisyahu, Dave
Koz, Ozomatli, Jason Mraz,
Wire, Laurie Anderson, The Kronos Quartet, Kathy Mattea, Michel Camilo,
Doug Kershaw, India’s Jazz Junction, and Cesaria Evora, to name just a
few.