Mesquite High School Orchestra

Dear MHS Orchestra Parents,

Thanks so much for your support of our students this quarter. Here are some items of interest for you with upcoming activities and results with the students :

String Extravaganza – Thank you to everyone who came out and supported MHS orchestras on Tuesday at our first Texas Roadhouse String Extravaganza! It was a fun-filled evening and I heard many positive comments about the evening from both MHS orchestra parents and string parents from other schools. Thanks to our orchestra boosters who organized the event and did a wonderful job in doing so. Special thanks goes out to Gwynne Fullmer, Trudie Hawkes, Jen Ritter, Dorothy and Don Cloud, Grace Ann and Jarod Skousen, Lyn Munoz, Lolita Lee, Sally & Joe Breyer, Sylvia Holloway, Amy Johnston, and many more for their individual efforts. This was a joint fund-raiser with the feeder schools and the MHS orchestras earned $1895 from the event!

Central Region Honor Orchestra & Solo & Ensemble Results – Auditions were held last weekend and congrats to all who participated in these events. It is truly a worthwhile experience just in auditioning and preparing for the event, and all students from MHS Orchestras receive letter points just for auditioning. Congratulations to the following students who made the 2010 Central Regional Honor Orchestra : Alyson Bevan, Ariana Qayumi, Constance Lee, Kristen Susong, Samuel Park, Susanna Fullmer, Brooke Robinson, Cassandra Sunga, Grace Wan, Justin He, Justin Nguyen, Keelan Howell, Sean Ryan, Rajan Kapoor, Sarah Ann Skousen, and Miranda Groff as Alternate. These students will be going to rehearse with an esteemed conductor and clinician on Feb 19th, and perform in the Honor Orchestra on Feb 20th at Saguaro High School. Congratulations as well to Tyler Morgan, Kenny Hayes, Susanna Fullmer, and Hallie Graves for a Superior rating at the Solo & Ensemble Festival. Way to go wildcat orchestra!

Strolling Strings Performs Tonight (2/5) at District Variety Show – The Strolling Strings have been invited to perform at the 1st annual Gilbert Vocation Education Scholarship Variety Show held at Campo Verde High School. The group will perform at 7:00pm after a brief introduction from our Superintendent. Tickets are $5 each and all proceeds will go towards GPS scholarships. Students are to be at CVHS no later than 6pm in order to tune and warm-up before their performance.

Carnegie Hall Preview Concert – The Symphonic Strings are hosting a special engagement concert featuring the repertoire they will be performing at Carnegie Hall. This preview concert will be on Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00pm in the Firenze Ballroom of the Villa Siena reception center. This is a ticketed event and tickets are available starting the week of February 8th for $10 each. Promotional fliers will also be available the week of the 8th, and please consider inviting all friends, family, and supporters of your student to this event. We anticipate that the tickets will go fast as there is limited seating of 300 people, and the tickets are first come, first serve. A special cake reception will be held in the students honor after the performance, and will be provided by Cathy’s Rum Cakes Worldwide. We are short of our fund-raising goal, and donations will grateful be accepted at this event. To purchase tickets please send check or cash with your student to the orchestra office and they will be given the amount of tickets needed for you.

MHS Symphonic Strings promoted on News Channel 3 on January 30th – We were contacted to do a promotional segment during the morning show on News Channel 3 recently. The principle players of the symphonic strings and I went down to the station along with their parents, and were featured both in performances and in speaking about the upcoming trip and fund-raisers. It was put together very quickly but it went very well, and we received great publicity. Special thanks to Teri Roller for your leadership in making this happen. The segment aired on the 30th of January around 7:30-8:00 in the morning.

Spring Concert – Concert, Chamber, Symphony, and strolling Strings groups are all doing really well in preparations for our upcoming Spring concert on March 2nd at 7pm. Since March is Music in our schools month we are combining concerts with Mesquite Junior High. This is a great opportunity for the young musicians at the Junior High to see the talent and interact with our high school students. Please plan on attending and we look forward to Seeing you there!

See’s Candy Fundraiser – Back by popular demand, the See’s candy student fundraiser started this week. This fundraiser is solely for the students, and all profits earned go directly into their individual orchestra accounts to be used for their specific needs such as trip fees, dues, etc. The fee’s are cumulative from year to year so students can earn money in their account this year and use it for next year if they so choose. Order forms and collection packets were sent home with students this week (if they chose to participate as it is not mandatory). Orders are due the week before Spring Break so we have enough time to get the product in and delivered to the correct individuals. Order forms are still available if needed so please ask your student about this if you need one.

Thanks for your support and please let me know if you have any questions.

Amber Dudley
Director of Orchestras
Mesquite High School

Here is an update on the proposed elementary school Specials.

Band and Strings are affected under the proposals.

We encourage all to attend this meeting to learn the facts.

I’m including a message that went out from GAME over the weekend. Can you share this with your parents? We have important news to share with you regarding proposed changes to the elementary school Band and Strings programs.

A work study session is scheduled for Tuesday, January 26, 2010 from 6 to 7 PM at the Gilbert School District.

The School District will present to the Governing Board proposed changes to the elementary school programs regarding Band and Strings, PE, Library and General Music. The proposals will not be voted on at this meeting. A part of the proposal recommends eliminating the 5th and 6th grade Block time currently set aside for Band and Strings classes. The Band and Strings classes then would share a five day “Special” rotation with PE and Library. Band and Strings sectionals (woodwinds and brass, and high and low strings) are eliminated under the proposal. The public is welcome to attend the Work/Study session on Tuesday to hear firsthand the reasons behind the proposed changes and understand the details of the proposals. The meeting is not open for public comment. We encourage you to attend the session to hear the facts first hand. Many important reasons drive the need for scheduling changes. The Governing Board is faced with the challenge of balancing these needs in a schedule that works for our students. The Board does not take this challenge lightly. An unintended consequence of the proposed change is a reduction of as much as one third instruction time for Band and Strings.

We hope to continue a collaborative effort with the Board in reviewing options relating to this reduction. We need your ideas and suggestions on how the proposal can be developed further to enhance the overall elementary schedules while preserving quality Band and Strings class time. Please let your friends and neighbors know about the upcoming Work/Study session so that they too can learn firsthand the facts and issues.

You can follow us at www.GilbertMusicMatters.com as well as through the following Facebook groups: Gilbert Music Matters; Gilbert Advocates for Music Education; and GAME. Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to our website, to GAME@cox.net and to any of the Facebook groups.