WMS & WHS Orchestra Jan Newsletter
November 2023
Each spring, the Watertown Middle School 7th and 8th Grade Performing Ensembles participate in a music festival in western Massachusetts. This year, the WMS 7th/8th Grade Choir, Band, Jazz Band, and Festival Orchestra will be performing at the for our Music in the Parks adjudication on Friday, May 17, 2024.
The cost of the trip (including transportation and admission to the park) is $140 for students. This can be paid by check or by money order, with payment made out to City of Watertown. If your family can donate any extra funds to help a student in need, please add it to your check and make a note on the bottom of this permission slip.
Payment Schedule:
Deposit of $50 due February 15th, 2024
Second payment of $50 due March 15th, 2024
Final (third) payment of $40 due April 10th, 2023
Permission slips will be passed out in class and can also be found here.
The WHS performing arts ensembles travel to NYC every other year to participate in the Heritage Music Festival, where we perform music for judges who give us feedback and offer a quick clinic with the students. We stay from Friday - Sunday, taking in the sights, seeing a Broadway show, and going on a dinner/dance cruise around the Statue of Liberty with other schools that participate in the festival that weekend.
We are currently looking at a weekend in late March 2025 and can confirm the date once it's booked.
Students currently in grades 8 - 11 will be eligible to attend next year, so long as they are enrolled in the ensemble. I'm hoping to put together fundraising activities starting as early as late spring; feel free to reach out with any ideas or connections in terms of fundraising for an event such as this. The trip will likely be between $850 - 900 without any fundraising, but we can't be totally sure about that until we know how many buses we need/how many students plan to attend.
Shoulder Rests
As our upper string (viola/violin) players start to move up into the full-size instruments, they should be looking into getting a shoulder rest. These are items that hook onto the lower bout of the instrument to help players support the instrument in their shoulder vs. with their arm and hand, allowing for more flexible motion in the wrist and fingers. You can get them for any size instrument, but they typically make adjustable sizes for 3/4 - 4/4 violins and 15 - 16" violas. All upper-string players should be using a shoulder rest by the time they get to the full-size violin (4/4) or 15" viola to help with posture and avoid back/neck pain.
I recommend Everest (pictured) or Kun (both under or very close to $30), but there are many options. Let me know if you have any questions!
Local Symphony Performances
Being near the city we have lots of amazing orchestras performing all of the time! These groups are made up of community members; all musicians, but not all musicians in a professional sense. It's always amazing to see the Boston Symphony, but our local groups showcase how we can continue being musicians as a hobby throughout our lives, while still working in our chosen field.
- Firebird Pops (all pops, all the time!): Keep an eye out for upcoming events
- Kendall Square Orchestra: Fri. Dec 15 @ 7:30 PM/Kresge Auditorium, Cambridge, MA
- Lexington Symphony: Dec. 8 & 10, Holiday Pops!/Cary Hall, Lexington, MA
- Brookline Symphony: Sat, Dec 16 @ 8PM/All Saints Parish, Brookline, MA
- Longwood Symphony: Sat, Dec 2 @ 8PM/Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
- Waltham Philharmonic: Sun, Nov 5 @ 3PM/Waltham Gov't Center, Waltham, MA
- Rivers Symphony Orchestra: Sun, Nov 12 @ 3PM/Needham Town Hall
- Boston Civic Symphony: Sun, Mar 3, 2024 @ 3PM/Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Ms. Culley Byham
Culley Byham (rhymes with Sulley) is our string and orchestra teacher from grades 4 - 12 in Watertown. She grew up in Pennsylvania and began playing the viola in the third grade. She played in school and youth orchestras through elementary, middle, and high school before attending Penn State to study Music Education. Ms. Byham taught middle school music and orchestra in South Carolina for five years before moving to Watertown, where she is now in her eleventh year of teaching music.
In addition to teaching, Ms. Byham has continued playing viola in community orchestras. She is currently a member of the Brookline Symphony here in the Boston area. She also enjoys taking long bike rides, walking her dog, hiking, and practicing photography.
Her absolute favorite thing about teaching string and orchestra classes is watching her students go from having no idea about the instrument, to being able to play with ease and confidence. She loves that she gets to work with the students for so long, seeing them grow and learn over the course of many years, making friends, and building community along the way.
Our string program in Watertown is open to all students in grades 4 - 12. Though we begin our program in the fourth grade, students can join in at any level - it's never too late! It is not necessary for students to know anything about music or playing an instrument in order to sign up, we'll teach them everything they need to know.
Check us out on Instagram: @watertownorchestras