Honor Orchestra Musicians
Playing an audition takes courage. While many people may have confidence while playing in an ensemble setting, it is another thing entirely to step forward and have the courage to perform alone in an audition. I am always proud of every student who elects to participate in this process, regardless of the outcome, as I know there is much that can be learned from the experience.
... but certainly I am thrilled when so many find success.
So, congratulations to the 13 student-musicians who were selected to the 2014 edition of the San Diego Unified School District Honor Orchestra! Namely, congratulations to: Isaac (violin), Anna (violin), Betsy (violin), Kana (violin), Madeline (violin), Trisha (violin), Kayla (violin), Allison (viola), Laura (viola), Roselynn (cello), Patrick (cello), Adam (bass), and Thomas (bass).
The honor concert, which will feature (extensively) students from our music program will take place at the recently renovated Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Center at Copley Symphony Hall on Sunday, March 16th, at 3:00 PM.
Admission to the concert is free - so feel free to join us for an afternoon of music with San Diego's finest student-musicians.
Playing an audition takes courage. While many people may have confidence while playing in an ensemble setting, it is another thing entirely to step forward and have the courage to perform alone in an audition. I am always proud of every student who elects to participate in this process, regardless of the outcome, as I know there is much that can be learned from the experience.
... but certainly I am thrilled when so many find success.
So, congratulations to the 13 student-musicians who were selected to the 2014 edition of the San Diego Unified School District Honor Orchestra! Namely, congratulations to: Isaac (violin), Anna (violin), Betsy (violin), Kana (violin), Madeline (violin), Trisha (violin), Kayla (violin), Allison (viola), Laura (viola), Roselynn (cello), Patrick (cello), Adam (bass), and Thomas (bass).
The honor concert, which will feature (extensively) students from our music program will take place at the recently renovated Joan and Irwin Jacobs Music Center at Copley Symphony Hall on Sunday, March 16th, at 3:00 PM.
Admission to the concert is free - so feel free to join us for an afternoon of music with San Diego's finest student-musicians.
Shrek the Musical
As I type this update, our student-musicians are hard at work - even on the long weekend! This year's musical was very well received, and I want to thank our string students for doing their part to make this Performing Arts Department production a success.
So, on behalf of Mr. Kriley, Mrs. Christensen, myself, and everyone who enjoyed the sold out shows - thank you Anna, Madeline, Trisha, Kayla, Aaliyah, Judy, Patrick, and Adam!
As I type this update, our student-musicians are hard at work - even on the long weekend! This year's musical was very well received, and I want to thank our string students for doing their part to make this Performing Arts Department production a success.
So, on behalf of Mr. Kriley, Mrs. Christensen, myself, and everyone who enjoyed the sold out shows - thank you Anna, Madeline, Trisha, Kayla, Aaliyah, Judy, Patrick, and Adam!
Symphony Orchestra | Video Excerpts
Assessments in our program are used to guide instruction. While assessments may be correlated to academic marks (they certainly are not one and the same), the real value in assessing performance is to evaluate where current proficiencies are and identify areas in which continued progress can be made.
Students (and teachers) who regularly assess their own practice learn to monitor and evaluate their performance, and then are more readily capable of guiding their own musical development. Simply put, the student becomes their own best teacher.
This week in class our Symphony students will be submitting video assessments which will be viewed almost immediately, and individualized comments will be uploaded to PowerSchool on the day of the submission. The excerpts have been included below.
On the Horizon
A few opportunities that are quickly approaching:
Assessments in our program are used to guide instruction. While assessments may be correlated to academic marks (they certainly are not one and the same), the real value in assessing performance is to evaluate where current proficiencies are and identify areas in which continued progress can be made.
Students (and teachers) who regularly assess their own practice learn to monitor and evaluate their performance, and then are more readily capable of guiding their own musical development. Simply put, the student becomes their own best teacher.
This week in class our Symphony students will be submitting video assessments which will be viewed almost immediately, and individualized comments will be uploaded to PowerSchool on the day of the submission. The excerpts have been included below.
On the Horizon
A few opportunities that are quickly approaching:
- String Quartet Concerts - Quartet Nouveau will at the Encinitas Library pm Friday, February 21st and at the Hope Uniter Methodist Church on Bernard Heights Parkway on Sunday, February 23rd. More information is available on Quartet Nouveau's website.
- Bass Master Class - Bassist Susan Wulff of the San Diego Symphony will be presenting a master class at San Diego State University at 4:30 PM. The masterclass is open to the public and will be held in room M1114 at San Diego State University's School of Music.
- St. Petersburg Philharmonic Concert - We have acquired a number of tickets to bring our students to the Balboa Theater to see the world renown St. Petersburg Philharmonic under the direction of maestro Yuri Temirkanov (who is fantastic). Again, thank you to the La Jolla Music Society. Concert information is here - but all you need to know is that they will be playing Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2... Rach 2, people!
- Solo & Ensemble - We are looking to provide students the opportunity to showcase their talents at a Solo & Ensemble concert, to be held on Thursday, April 10th (tentatively). An application has been attached below. We will see where se stand with applications in a week or so!
- Civic Youth Orchestra - The Civic Youth Orchestra, which rehearses up the street in Escondido, would like to extend an invitation to our Mira Mesa string players to join this semester, with no audition required! The group is currently working on Schubert's Symphony No. 4, Finlandia by Sibelius, and Lizst's Preludes. There are tuition scholarships available. Students should see Mr. Mulvaney for a recommendation and more details (conductor contact information, which ensemble is available, etc).
- Articulation - If students or parents have any questions during the articulation process as we head towards 2014-15, please let me know as I am happy to help.
Thank you for staying up to date - there is a lot going on!
| Symphony Excerpts (Capriol Suite) |
| Solo & Ensemble Application (2014) |
Disney Photos | California Adventure (2014)
