This month is Black History Month and to celebrate, the SC Orchestra will prepare Lift Every Voice and Sing to record for the Fine Arts Virtual Presentation.
After the Winter Break, I want us to try after school rehearsals on Tuesdays. Tentatively, the first rehearsal will be February 23rd from 3:45-4:45. This will be open to all orchestra members from each class (Intermediate, Advanced, and Mastery), including both face to face and virtual students. We will rehearse in the PAC so that everyone will be spaced apart per CDC guidelines. This is also registration week. Please sign up for the appropriate class so you receive your first choice options. If you are not sure which class to sign up for, please send me an email. I will begin placing students in the appropriate section after the auditions; the information for auditions can be found in the documents section on this website.
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I sent a previous message but it did not save so this will be shorter. For the majority of the semester, we will work as a full ensemble to simulate a regular rehearsal. Sorry for a shorter message this time, next time I will make sure the site does not log me out before I post the newsletter.
This week will be the beginning of our hybrid classes! I am so happy to have some of you in the classroom, and I believe our new class format will be exciting for students that are still in the remote setting.
For All-State students: I found out the GMEA number I mentioned is something that will most likely be assigned once I submit your registration. Sorry there was some confusion, but there were numerous emails that were sent to the directors the past few days with adjustments to their instructions. Thursday is the date to bring your check to the school and address the check to South Cobb Orchestra in the amount of $25. For cellists and bassists: There will be enough school instruments so you will not have to bring the large instrument "to school and from" home. I am asking that you bring your bow and rosin though. Violinists and violists will need to bring your instruments each day and you will be assigned a locker. We will go over the process for loading instruments during class so we can maintain social distancing. Please be sure to bring your own rosin because we cannot share items during the pandemic. Again, I am really looking forward to the slow path to normalcy for our orchestra. See you all soon! Hi everyone! I am not sure how many people are checking the orchestra blog, but I wanted to post updates for our program. For now, this will be a monthly update that I will try to post the first Sunday evening of each month. Eventually, I would like this to be weekly, but I need to get some stats to see how many are seeing the messages before I increase the frequency.
If everything remains steady, many of you will return to South Cobb High School and the Orchestra Room in one month. I am really looking forward to meeting everyone, even though there will still be some distance for safety. Please check over the handbook again so you have everything you need for class. There will be some members that remain remote, but you will need all of the materials so you can keep up in class. I am awaiting further details about how this will work before I give out more information. The same is true with LGPE and All-State. For now, we are preparing to participate in both LGPE and All-State. I am looking into some ways that each student can receive a time slot for mini lessons. Or, possibly some sectional work. For the next few weeks you all will spend a great deal of class time working on music in SmartMusic. I am checking that the pieces we will play for LGPE match the piece for the material on the state list (not just the title but the publisher, arranger, etc.) Once things return to normal, this Update will provide important information such as dress rehearsal times, performance times, fundraisers, etc. For now, I just want people to get used to where the information can be found. This is also a way for me to communicate with parents. Typically for parents I would send out an email, but there have been many emails that were undeliverable through Synergy. I hope to have a parent meeting one day soon when it is safe so we can plan out the beginning stages of ways for parents to support the orchestra at SCHS. Until then, feel free to email me when you have questions. Looking forward to seeing everyone in class! Results
Violin ***Kennedy Ragin **Alexa Carmona Laila Sabree ***Carolina Mendoza Sydni Kennedy (President) **John Yeboah Chelsea Gyawu (***for Int. Orch) Lizty Cervantes Briana Thomas Maurice Palomino (** for Int. Orch.) Alejandra Henriquez Giovanna Palacios Kennedy Levister Angie Deleon Castillo (*** for Int. Orch.) Kris Hollingsworth Christian Arriaga Isaac Cherry Yolanda Mauricio Joy Okonji Alan Cervantes Jaden Tarver Jasmine Brown Nathalie Diaz Brenda Jimenez Hernandez Deborah Tsigbey Christian Mendoza Avery Adams Deniya Thomas Ashley Ramos Chinazaekpere Chukwunenye Leonela Garcia Ximena Medina Omo Ethumetse Marelyn Castro-Benitez Destiney Espinoza Neshaun Pierre Daniel Tyson Janica Dameus Lauryn Hampton Galilea Oliveras Arieonna Massey Anna Hollingsworth Endia Ervin Opeyemi Ajetunmobi Jamiah Maxima Michael Chaves-Avalos Christopher Avalos Viola ***Sydney Testman **Catherine Verdeflor **Makayla Ragland Ximena Prado (***for Int. Orch.) Page Thomas Sade Cabell Elio Suarez Kimberly Garcia Olufunto Adewunmi Breanna Reid Joi Gala Nyla Thompson Alana Bursey Iris Garcia Tracy Gyawu Tolu Rufai Jamiah Maxima Dasia Williams Harp Breanna Goodwin Cello ***Kayla Verdeflor **Uriel Silva Evelyn Hague Emoni Bland Samir Rivera Camille Fishley Sebastian Durzynski Josuha Silva (***for Int. Orch.) Lord Arhin Dy'Nasty Bennett Keziah Chebe Erika Avila Samantha Luft Esmeralda Molina Bass ***Janett Enriquez Devion Collins Skye Jefferson (***for Int. Orch.) Kelvin Gyawu Kaylee Reyes Malachi Carter (*** Denotes Principal, ** Denotes Assistant Principal, *will denote Chamber) This part of the webpage is for moments that the system might go down and I need to send the zoom link manually. Hi everyone, I hope you had an awesome weekend and you are excited about our first day! There might be some hiccups along the way, but we will get though them. (For example, as I was working on the original version of this blog entry my computer ran out of battery and the charger is at the school, so I am starting this post over). You should see your classes in CTLS and I started a new section. About 10 minutes before the class begins I will enable the "Go Live" function. Instead of you receiving a Zoom link, you should be able to log into CTLS and see the class. You should also receive a notification that will announce the class is live. If for some reason that does not work, I will then email a Zoom invitation. Be sure that your email is correct so you can be connected. I will use Remind as an emergency back up, as well as this blog page. I am thrilled to have the honor to work with you all very soon!
Dr. Jackson I received a great set of questions from one of our orchestra members. I am going to post the Q & R because it might help many of you.
1. how does an online orchestra class work? how does one learn orchestra.. without an orchestra? Excellent question, and one that I have asked for the past few months. There have been hours and hours of webinars I attended to get the answers to these questions. But the answer seems to be making the best of the situation until we can resume full ensemble rehearsals. But there are SO many topics to work on that will expand the scope of what performers learn in a traditional orchestra setting. I will discuss some of these ideas in class next week. But this will also give us an opportunity for each individual to receive help that can strengthen their ability. Usually, we are so focused on preparing for a concert or LGPE that individuals that could use extra help may not receive it, but we will have the time to build a solid foundation for everyone. I was surprised to hear Itzhak Perlman in an interview say that he still works on intonation. It helped me to not be as hard on myself with my own practice. The online orchestra class will be different, and mistakes will happen, but that is ok...we will come out better and have a product that will be better than imagined once we can resume face to face meetings. (and) what do you expect from us this year? The main thing I expect for all students is to develop a true sense of musicianship. Although we will examine each person's technique, this will only be to improve the musicality of each person, which will then produce a better full ensemble sound. 2. How much is the required method book? where do we go to purchase it? This will be the required book: https://www.jwpepper.com/Habits-of-a-Successful-Middle-Level-String-Musician/10844326.item#/, but I do not want people to purchase the books yet. Once I can assess each person's level, we might skip to the next level book. Also, I am hoping the district might be able to purchase the books for our class. 3. Are there any playing techniques we should definitely already know? I hope each person has a solid grasp of basic bowings, but we will still examine each technique because I want to try getting each person to play without tension. I would also like to focus on vibrato this year and at least begin to incorporate this into our daily regime. Right now it is a little hard to assess the level of each person, but I plan to hear everyone for a better idea. I also want to see each person play/learn all of the scales (3 octaves, with exceptions for bass) and be comfortable with shifting and string crossings. 4. If we don’t own some of the materials listed above, would they be provided to us? Before I can answer this with a 100% guarantee, I have to wait for more information from the district. I am hoping everything lines up so that we can provide materials, but I only like to give a "yes" when I know without a shadow of a doubt that everything will line up. Hello Eagle Strings members!
I want to introduce myself to you all as your new orchestra director! I am extremely excited to begin this journey with you all and to now call Georgia my home. Things are different right now with the virus for sure, so I am really looking forward to the day we can all meet face to face. The fall of 2020 is going to be an exciting time for our school as we continue the proud tradition of the South Cobb Orchestra! It’s time to continue the legacy of the program and bring it to the next level. Each rehearsal, each exercise, and every note in between will require us to demand excellence in ourselves. We are thrilled to welcome so many new faces into our family. The team at South Cobb High School is excited with anticipation as we prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. You are about to begin an experience that will be with you for the rest of your life. The concert season is going to be an enjoyable experience where you will create life-long memories. We are striving to create a positive place where we have a good time sharing the gift of music and entertainment with ourselves and our community. Feel free to reach out and let me know if you have any questions! |