Congratulations IMEC Bound Chamber Orchestra!

Congratulations to the NCHS Chamber Orchestra on being selected to perform at the Illinois Music Educators Conference in January of 2023!!!  The group began working on their audition recordings and submission materials this past January and have earned the honor of performing for a conference that involves over 12,000 students and educators throughout the state.  The orchestra program is deeply indebted to the senior class who helped us reach this goal - their leadership and dedication will be greatly missed, but will serve as a shining example to those who will carry the torch forward across the finish line.  Our orchestra is "state-bound" and we could not be more proud!!!  #ChooseExcellence 

Spring Concert Update

 

Date: Thurs, May 19

Call Time:  6:00 pm

Concert Time:  7:00 pm

Dress:  full orchestra uniforms (formal wear for SENIORS ONLY)

Dress Rehearsal:  NO DRESS REHEASRAL ON WEDNESDAY!!!

Uniform Collection:  ALL tuxedos must be turned in immediately following the concert and students with those uniforms should plan on bringing clothes to change into (the Green Room will be unlocked).  This is part of the concert grade.  Dresses need to be returned ONLY if the student in not enrolled in the program next year.  If a student with a dress is returning to orchestra next year, please launder the dress and keep over the summer.  This ensures that students who have had the dress hemmed don't have to do it again.

BCME Apparel

The Unit 5 Music program is excited to be recognized as one of our nation's 2022 Best Communities for Music Education, a designation awarded by the NAMM Foundation.  To commemorate this achievement, Unit 5 Music t shirts and hoodies are being made available.  If you would like to place an order, please do so no later than Friday, April 29 so that delivery can occur before the end of the school year.  Make sure that you include the name of your student's school for delivery purposes.  You may shop at tinyurl.com/unit5musicshirts  Thank you for your support!

NCHS Music Department Fundraiser

Come to Musical Mayhem this Friday night to support the NCHS music programs and see the wide range of talents from our musicians! There will be a variety of classical and modern from singers, strings, band instruments, and more! All proceeds will go to the NCHS music programs.  Please see flier for more details! 

U5 Board Meeting Reminder

 

Don't forget that the Unit 5 school board will be meeting this Wednesday to vote on cutting the 5th grade instrumental music program and the reductions in force of three music teachers.  The meeting will be held at Normal WEST High School at 6:30 pm in the auditorium if you would like to attend. 

Unit Orchestra Updates

 

See information below regarding the Unit orchestra rehearsal schedule and concert information.  Please note that the rehearsal this week has been shortened to ensure that all students and parents are available to attend the board meeting on Wednesday.  Reminder: personnel for this concert involves Concert, Sinfonia, and Intermezzo orchestras only.  Chamber orchestra is NOT involved in this concert.

Wed. March 9th  4:00-5:15 pm - rehearsal at NCHS (students will NOT be going home after school as it will be all hands on deck to set up for the event before West arrives)

Mon. March 14th  4:00-6:00 pm - rehearsal at WEST; students must provide their own transportation and will be given a pass to get out of 8th hour 5 min early to ensure that they can quickly and safely get out of the parking lot

Tues. March 15th  7:00 pm - Unit Orchestra concert at WEST; dress is concert uniform; call time is 6:15 pm

**All students must bring a folding music stand to each of these events.  Please make sure that both parts are labeled with the student's name. **

Musical Arts Extravaganza Final Wrap Up

Please see the following note from our Unit 5 Music Parents regarding the wrap up of the U5MAE fundraiser.  As always, thank you for your support of the NCHS orchestra program!

Dear parents,

    Thank you so much for your support of music in Unit 5!  I hope that you were able to attend and enjoy the recent performance. Thank you so much to those who have donated as part of this fundraising event!!  If you meant to donate, but it got lost in the shuffle, the site (link below) will be remaining open until this coming Monday, 11/15.
Thank you, and have a wonderful upcoming holiday season!

Unit 5 Musical Arts Extravaganza

Musical Arts Extravaganza Update

A correction was just made to the last blog post - the Musical Arts Extravaganza is November 8th, NOT the 15th.  Sorry for the confusion!

Thank You!!!

Deepest and most sincere thank-yous for everything you did to make the 27th annual Hauntcert! There's just no way to put on such a big production without the help of a fantastic group of parents, and the NCHS orchestra parents were absolutely amazing. Thanks so much for sharing your time and talents with us!!!

U5 Musical Arts Extravaganza (formerly known as the Spaghetti Supper)

Due to COVID restrictions, the annual U5 Music Parents' Spaghetti Supper has changed, and has now become the U5 Musical Arts Extravaganza.  It will be run very much like the Spaghetti Supper, just without the meal. In lieu of purchasing food tickets, we are simply asking for donations this year.  What follows is all pertinent information for the evening:

Date:  Monday, Nov. 8th

Location:  NCHS Auditorium

Time:  5:30 performance (students will have rehearsal after school and should plan on staying after school until the performance)

Dress:  New grey orchestra t-shirt and jeans

Personnel:  Required event for all orchestras

Volunteers:  Even though we aren't serving food, we still need a number of volunteers throughout the evening.  We would be extremely grateful if you could help us out and work a shift.  Click here for the SignUpGenius.

Donations:  All proceeds that you donate and ear-mark for our group come directly to us.  We use funds like these to purchase new music, instruments, supplies, etc. for the ensemble.  Click here to donate to the NCHS Orchestra program.  Feel free to share this link with friends and relatives who might also be interested in donating.  Your generosity greatly appreciated - thank you!!!

Trip Fundraiser - Bagging for Tips

There are still a number of slots available for Nov. 7th trip fundraiser bagging for tips at Hy-Vee.  Click here for the SignUpGenius and instructions.  

Hauntcert Update & Volunteer Instructions

 

Please see below for some final information regarding next week:

• Click here for a reminder of the week's rehearsal schedule
• If you have signed up to volunteer (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!) please click here for a link to the volunteer instruction document.  This is a Google Doc that I can continue to edit and you can keep up with any changes.  If questions or changes arise this week, I will highlight additions or corrections in yellow.
• We are still in need of several more volunteers to work the show (most urgent need is someone to record the shows) and to distribute candy to Trick or Treaters. Just click on the links to sign up.
• If you signed up to bring candy and have not sent it to school yet, please do so no later than Monday so that the orchestra can purchase anything remaining.
• We are still in need of battery donations for stand lights, but are GREATLY in need of power strips and extension cords that we can borrow.  If you are able to help us out with either of these, please send items to school on Monday (label power strips and extension cords you would like returned)

Poinsettia Fundraiser $ and Order Forms Due

Don't forget that all poinsettia orders are due on Monday, Oct 25.  Please make sure that you have followed all instructions from the previous post and that everything is contained in an envelope with your student's name.

Upcoming Schedule

Please see the information below for details regarding the schedule for the upcoming two weeks:

Mon, Oct 18 - Combined Rehearsal (3:30-6:00)

Mon, Oct 25 - Combined Rehearsal w/ Percussion (3rd-6th hours)

Tues, Oct 26 - Dress Rehearsal (6:00-9:00 pm) **street clothes - no uniforms

Thurs, Oct 28 - 27th Annual Hauntcert (shows at 6:00 & 7:30 pm - CALL TIME 5 PM) **dress code is full uniform**

**Cellos please continue to bring instruments to events**

Batteries, Power Strips, & Extension Cords

As we bring all of our stand lights out of storage for the Hauntcert, we would appreciate any battery donations (AA, AAA, and C) that you could send to school for our battery powered lights and are looking to borrow power strips and extension cords for our electric lights.  Please make sure to label the power strips and extension cords so that we can get them back to you.  Items can be brought to school this week.  Thank you!