Dine to Donate - Papa John's

Mark your calendars for an evening of not having to cook dinner for the family!  Our first Dine-to-Donate night is scheduled for Oct 31st (Papa Johns).  The proceeds from our Dine-to-Donate nights will be going toward helping off-set expenses for our upcoming performance at IMEC in January.  More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to the date, but in order for Papa John's to allow us to move forward with the fundraiser, we need to get a number of people to commit to purchasing pizza that night.  We're asking everyone to click on this link as soon as possible so that we can continue to plan the event. Just enter your name and email address (this does NOT have to be a firm commitment at this time). 

Orchestra Updates 10.7.22

TRIP
We are happy to report that based on the feedback on our trip survey, there is enough interest to plan the following 2 trips:

• Summer 2023: Memphis & Nashville, TN
• Summer 2024: Europe!

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There are no details yet on either trip, but as soon they become available, information will either be emailed out or an informational meeting scheduled.

FUNDRAISERS

There are currently three fundraisers available for individual student trip accounts, two of which are due on Friday, October 28. All monies raised from these fundraisers go directly to student accounts to help offset expenses for trips. The current fundraisers are as follows:

• Beef House Rolls / Strawberry Jam / Apple Butter.  If you've never been to the Beef House in Covington, IN (just across the border from Danville), you are missing out! Besides being known as the "Best Steakhouse in Indiana," they are also well known for their delicious dinner rolls, strawberry jam, and apple butter. The rolls come frozen and are sold by the dozen. This is the perfect fundraiser for holiday meal tables. Please note: Delivery will be on November 14, and if the rolls can't be delivered to buyers that day, you will need to store in the freezer - they can't be left out.  We cannot store any rolls at school - they must go home with sellers.
• Living Color Poinsettias+: This is the same fundraiser we did last year, and the plants are beautiful and last a long time. I personally suggest the amaryllis bulbs if you're not good at tending to live plants...you simply place it on a surface and it grows on its own - no watering!  Delivery will take place between November 28-December 10. 
  
• Bagging for Tips: new dates have been added for the Bagging for Tips at Hy-Vee, and some slots are still open.  Click here for the Sign-Up Genius link. 

NOPA

Don't forget our upcoming NCHS Orchestra Parents Association meeting will be this Tuesday (Oct 11) in the orchestra room (50) - doors J around the back will be open.  We would love to love to see a full house - all orchestra parents are welcome!!

HAUNTCERT APPAREL
A reminder that Sunday (Oct 9) is the deadline to order Hauntcert apparel if you are interested.

Hauntcert 2022 Apparel

The portal is now open for students and parents who wish to pick up some Hauntcert gear!  The order deadline is midnight, Sunday Oct. 9th.  Items will be delivered to school, so please make sure to add your student's name and building to the order form in the appropriate drop-downs.  

Rehearsal Schedule Change, Uniform Information, & Extravaganza Update

There has been an important change to next week's Hauntcert rehearsal schedule - the Tuesday after-school rehearsal on the 4th has been moved to Thursday, October 6th and will take place DURING the school day.  The auditorium became unexpectedly available and this change will allow us to have one more rehearsal on the actual stage before Hauntcert tech week without having to move the entire theater set for the fall play on their dark day.  The rehearsal scheduled for October 18th after school will now be in the cafeteria instead of on the stage.  Don't forget that these rehearsals involve Chamber, Intermezzo, and Sinfonia orchestras only.  Concert Orchestra is not involved in these events.

Hopefully students with tuxedos have brought home the new black shirts we just got in.  I must know by Monday if something doesn't fit correctly so that we can get another ordered asap.  

We now have our time slot for the "Spaghetti-less Spaghetti Supper Extravaganza" and the orchestras will be performing at 5:30 pm.  The concert will involve all orchestras, dress will be the new orchestra long-sleeve t-shirt and jeans, and after-school rehearsal times for combined groups will be forthcoming.  

NOPA Update

Don't forget that our next NCHS Orchestra Parent's Association meeting will be Tuesday Oct. 11th at 7 pm in the orchestra room (room 50).  Doors J around the back of the building at the end of the music hallway will be unlocked.  We would love to see you at the meeting and will be finalizing Hauntcert preparations and continue our fundraising discussions.  

We still have a number of spots available on our Hauntcert volunteer list - if you would be able to donate a few hours of your time, we would be forever grateful!  

Hauntcert Volunteer List

The Hauntcert volunteer list is now available, and we would love to have it filled as quickly as possible. We need many volunteers to make the show happen and are hoping that you would consider volunteering a few hours of your time. There are many different jobs available and this show is a fun endeavor for both the students and the community. Simply clickhere for the SignupGenius link to help with Hauntcert 2022: Judgment Day. As always, please let me know if you have any questions - thank you in advance!

Orchestra Calendar Correction

Please note that there was an error in the calendar contained in the syllabus.  Our spring concert will be on THURSDAY May 18th (not Tuesday).  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Upcoming NOPA Meeting

Don't forget that our first NCHS Orchestra Parents Association's (NOPA) meeting will be this Thursday night in the orchestra room (room 50) at 7:00 pm.  Doors J around the back of the building will be unlocked.  This group is open to all NCHS orchestra parents and we would love to see you there!  We'll get the conversations rolling on Hauntcert, fundraising, and look to fill officer positions.  Come meet some other orchestra parents and play a part in helping us offer all of the little extras to our kids that only a strong parent group can!

Welcome Back!

Hope everyone's school year is off to a great start!  If you are receiving this blog post in your email, congratulations - you are successfully signed up for the orchestra blog :-)  So you might have received this information already via Infinite Campus.  But after the next week or two, this will be the only method of communication (without the redundancy).

Our first project of the semester will be a fundraiser in conjunction with choir and drama.  Here is the link of the concession stand slots that we need to help fill with students and parents for this Friday night's football game (Sept 2).  This is a great activity to work alongside of your student, please just make sure that you note there are two different shifts and are some slots that can only be worked by adults.  If we get down to crunch time, adults can fill student slots but NOT vice versa...

The Unit 5 music staff is placing another order for the Best Communities for Music Education apparel to commemorate last year's award that the district won.  So if you missed that order last year and would like to show the community your support of the program (and brag on us a little...) you can click here for the link.  Orders are due by Sept. 9.  Students also have the link in Google Classroom.

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. **