As Fine, Applied, and Performing Arts Educators, it is our mission to inspire and guide every student to be active participants in the Arts through the use of a sequential, academic, and creative curriculum that nurtures the human spirit and promotes cultural relevance.

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Great job to all of our students who participated in the String Spectacular in March. It was so fun to see and hear everyone playing together and I thought each group did so well. I appreciate the time and help from all parents, caregivers, teachers, and students who stayed after school or came to the dress rehearsal to help with check in, tuning, general crowd control, etc. It would be impossible to do this without you!

Click the button below for photos from the event.

Video coming soon!

• Tuesday, April 9th: Art Show Opening Reception
• Volunteer to perform in a large or small group during the reception time (6 - 6:30)
• Watertown Mall
• 5 - 7 PM
• Wednesday, May 22: WMS & WHS Combined Orchestras Spring Concert
• Watertown Middle School Auditorium
• All students from grades 6 - 12
• Dress Rehearsal 5:15 - 6:30
• Concert begins at 7:00 (will end by 8:00)
• Concert dress is dark pants (dress pants if possible), black shoes (dress shoes if possible) and a black shirt on top.
• Friday, June 7th: WHS Graduation
• WHS Orchestra + interested 7th/8th graders
• 5 - 7 PM at Victory Field (or...?...if rain)

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.

Quick facts about the WHS Orchestra:

• Meets every day for an hour
• Drops every seventh day of the schedule, so typically is four days a week
• Ms. Byham is (still) the teacher
• Students can continue to participate in choir once a week
• Graded on a regular grading schedule: A, B, C, D, etc
• Typically does not require a lot of work outside of the school day, may have appx. 1 - 2 assignments per month depending on time of year
• Opportunity for more difficult music, learning advanced techniques, learning chamber music, etc due to extra time spent together compared to middle and elementary school
• Lots of fun! Relaxed environment where we learn nice music and build a kind and welcoming music community
• Year-long class barring special circumstances
• Honors option for students willing to put in a little extra work/effort to be section leaders, take on harder parts, fill mentor roles, help with tasks, etc.
• NYC Trip!

If nothing else, I recommend trying it for a year to see how you like it. Let me know if you have any questions! Students will be signing up for classes with guidance over the next month or so.

The performance music classes have switched over to a standards-based grading system so students will be graded on their progress toward a mastery objective. The categories are Outstanding, Satisfactory, and Unsatisfactory.

Mastery Objectives we're working toward:

6th grade...

...using consistent bow speed and weight to produce a quality tone

...recognizing notes on the G, D, and A string

...sight-reading rhythms using quarter, eighth, half, and whole notes

...slurring notes with consistent bow speed

...performing dynamics as written in the music, using the bow to articulate a crescendo or decrescendo

...performing four part ensemble music

...arriving to class with all materials, consistently (instrument, music)

...fully participating in class by playing their instrument and following instruction

7/8th grade...

...recognizing notes on all four strings on their instrument

...articulations using the bow such as staccato, legato, accent

...phrasing their music using dynamic changes

...performing music at a grade level 2 - 2.5, which includes songs in B-flat and G major and their corresponding relative minor keys

...shifting into 3rd position with appropriate hand motion

...arriving to class with all materials, consistently (instrument, music)

...fully participating in class by playing their instrument and following instruction

In the past, students have been given binders to keep their music organized. Many of our students have lost these binders. I ask that students obtain a 1/2" - 1.5" binder specifically for their orchestra materials so that they have an easier time keeping things organized and flat (there are lots of crinkled, folded music sheets being pulled out of cases, making it really hard to read the music). Please let me know if you need assistance in obtaining a binder for your orchestra student.

Students will be asked to put their phone in the phone tree after tuning. If the phone is not put in the tree, and the student uses it inappropriately during class, they will get one warning to put it into the tree. If there is an argument about whether or not the phone should go in the tree, it will be sent to the main office for pick up after school.

Students should have the following materials for class...

• Instrument
• Pencil
• Binder
• Music (all music has been uploaded into Google Classroom as well)

WMS Orchestras: Click the link to copy to your calendar

• 6th Grade Orchestra meets on WIN A days
• Week of April 1 - M/W/F
• Week of April 8 - T/Th
• Week of April 22 - T/Th
• Week of April 29 - M/W/F
• 7/8th Grade Orchestra meets on WIN B days
• Week of April 1 - T/Th
• Week of April 8 - M/W/F
• Week of April 22 - M/W/F
• Week of April 29 - T/Th

WHS Orchestra

• Meets every day except day 7
• Day 7s in April: Tuesday, April 9; Thursday, April 11; Monday, April 29

Practice Club: Click to copy to your calendar

Open practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:15 - 3:00. This club is free to be a part of. Players can attend as often as they like.

This website has lots of helpful videos, such as links to various metronomes and tuning apps, and videos showing you how to tune your instrument. I recommend checking it out!

I will add links to specific events and lessons to the newsletters; however, in order to add these to your personal calendar, you must subscribe to the FAPA calendar (linked above). You can hide the FAPA calendar so your personal cal is not clogged by superfluous events, while only adding the orchestra events to your cal when the links are shared in the newsletters. Let me know if you have any questions about this!

7/8 Band, 7/8 Choirs, 7/8 Orchestra, Jazz Band to Six Flags - Friday, May 17, 2024 (optional)

• Click to add to calendar
• All day
• Open to all students in 7/8 Performing Arts Ensembles (+Jazz band members)

WMS & WHS Combined Spring Orchestra Concert (required) - Wednesday, May 22, 2024

• Click to add to calendar
• Dress rehearsal 5:30 PM
• Concert 7 - 8 PM
  
  

Graduation (8 - 11th grade): June 7

• Arrive 5:30
• Graduation 6 - 7pm

I encourage students to practice tuning at home if they feel comfortable. They should only use the fine tuners when getting started, and when they get comfortable with that, they can move on to using the pegs. We try to discuss this in class, as well, but tuning can be an intricate process so it's always good to practice it at home, too.

There are many tuning apps or devices to help students tune. I recommend the following:

• Smart Metronome and Tuner (Ms. Byham's favorite!)

  • iOS

  • Android

• INStuner

  • iOS only

• KORG tuner with clip

• SNARK tuner

MATERIALS FOR STRING LESSONS:

Most music shops will carry these items, or you can order online.

Here's an Amazon list with the items listed

You can also check out Shar Music for these items

• Instrument
• Cellos: Button stop or strap (button/rock stop is more versatile)
• Violin/Viola: Shoulder rest (3/4 - 4/4 violin or 15 - 16" viola only)
• Music stand (for home practice)
• Extra rosin
• Extra strings (Prelude is a great quality brand at a reasonable cost)
• Pencil
• Binder (we have ordered binders to hand out)

Check out our new website!

CLICK ME :)

• Class schedules
• Lesson make-up days
• Videos and photos from concerts
• Sign up for the program
• Rental information
• Lessons, camps, and more
• Information for band and orchestra students

Mostly loaded with elementary information right now, but will be adding more resources for 6 - 12 students soon!

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!

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
• Boston Civic Symphony: Sun, May 12, 2024 @ 3PM/Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
• Kendall Square Orchestra: Sat. June 8th @ 7:30 PM/Kresge Theatre Cambridge, MA
• Brookline Symphony: Sat. May 18th @ 8PM/All Saints Parish, Brookline, MA
• Longwood Symphony: Sat, May 11 @ 8PM/Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
• Rivers Symphony Orchestra: Sat. May 11 @ 7PM/Rivers School, Kraft Dining Hall, Weston
• Lexington Symphony: Sat. May 11, Sun May 12 @ 7:30PM & 3 PM/Cary Hall, Lexington, MA
• Waltham Philharmonic: Sun, May 19 @ 3PM/Waltham Gov't Center, Waltham, MA

If your child is really enjoying playing their instrument and wants some additional play and instruction time outside of the school day, we recommend looking to private or small group lessons.

Here is a link to private teachers in the area

You can also check out Attacca School of Music in Belmont (at the Trapelo/Bartlett intersection near CVS) or Powers Music School in Belmont (on Concord Street near Belmont Center).

Friends of Watertown Music

The Friends of Watertown Music is a parent organization that has been a major supporter of the fine arts program in Watertown for over ten years. FoWM is beginning to plan for our first MusicFest since 2019 and invites all parents who would like to help in any way. Email HelloWatertownMusic@gmail.com or call Chris Lowry at 617-923-0502 to learn more.

Practicing

We recommend students play their instrument 3+ times a week for at least 10 - 15 minutes each time to build muscle memory and reinforce habits taught in lessons. You can see what we worked on in lessons and what students should be practicing by clicking the button below.

Note Reading Game

• Staff Wars is an interactive app-based game to help students learn how to read the notes on their staff. It is $0.99. Absolutely not required, but a fun learning tool if interested.
• Apple devices
• Android devices

Helpful Links and Resources

• Tuning your instrument at home: follow this YouTube tutorial
• Here is a tutorial on how to hold the bow
  
• Here is a list of private teachers in the area
  
• Rhythm Packet #1
• Rhythm Packet #2
• Sight Singing Packet #1
• Sight Singing Packet #2
• Ms. Byham's favorite metronome app for iPhone
• Ms. Byham's favorite metronome app for Android

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