Instrumental Music Notes

Welcome back to school for the 2024-2025 school year! If you are receiving this newsletter, then your child is enrolled in the instrumental music program at their school. They have, or very soon will, receive a folder with a welcome letter and information to get us started. 2nd year students should be practicing their summer packet music and getting ready to review the 1st year curriculum materials to ensure they are ready to move onto the 2nd year. Last week, we traveled to your child's elementary school and demonstrated instruments to 4th and 5th graders. We will be covering important information for our beginning musicians and their families at an informational meeting on Thursday, September 5 (more details below). If possible, you should wait until after this meeting to get supplies, as there are many things to consider when renting or buying an instrument. After reviewing the information and attending our new family informational meeting, please contact us with any additional questions at christina.caulfield@fcps.org and michele.delarosa@fcps.org. Since we teach at 5 different schools, please include your child's name and school in the email.

Welcome to our student intern, Mr. Zachary Griffin, who will be joining us in instructing your children through mid-October. Mr. Griffin is currently a student at Towson University who is finishing up his Music Education and Music Performance (saxophone) degree this term. He has already been working with us since the start of the school year and is excited to start working with the students. We hope that you get a chance to meet Mr. Griffin, but wanted to let you know he was here for when your students start talking about all the great things he is teaching them!

We will have a meeting for students and families who are new to our instrumental music program. Please join us on Thursday, September 5, 2024, 6:30pm in the Tuscarora High School auditorium, located at 5312 Ballenger Creek Pike, Frederick, MD 21703. Enter on the side of the school nearest to the tennis courts. In addition to an informational presentation in the auditorium, representatives from our local music stores, Duet with Music and Music and Arts, will be available to answer your questions about instrument rental and availability of supplies. You will receive the most information by attending the meeting in person, but in case you have a conflict, we will be emailing out the slide show used the day after the presentation.

We hope that our 2nd year students have been practicing over the summer. Everyone had received a summer packet at the end of 4th grade. At our first lesson we will jump right into playing music from that packet.

Before we get going again, please consider the following:

• Make sure all instruments are in working order
• Clarinets and Saxophones should be playing on 2.5 reeds (unless you have been advised otherwise).
• String players should have been re-measured over the summer to make sure they are on the proper size instrument.
• Make sure you have all needed accessories and books-folding music stand, binder with sheet protectors, book "Sound Innovations" for instrument (percussion also needs "Rhythm Reading for Drums"), and a pencil. Also, remember your instrument specific accessories such as reeds, valve/slide oil and rosin.
• All 2nd year students will be evaluated in our first 2 lessons to make sure they are ready to proceed with 2nd year material.

These links below are the recordings to the music we are performing at our feeder pattern concert on January 9, 2025:

Union March

Spring

The Ruins of Tulum

Aspire (Combined piece with middle and high school students)

As you can hear, these are more challenging pieces so please practice so you are familiar with the music.

Below are the days we are at each school for the 2024-2025 school year:

Monday-Butterfly Ridge ES-starting 9/16

Tuesday-Carroll Manor ES-starting 9/17

Wednesday-Orchard Grove ES-starting 9/18

Thursday-Tuscarora ES-starting 9/12

Friday-Ballenger Creek ES-starting 9/13

Specific group listings and schedules will be emailed out to all parents and teachers. Students will receive a hard copy of the schedule at their first lesson.

Please make sure you bring all needed materials for lessons on the proper day.

As a reminder, any day a student has school, they will also have lessons. This includes days where we have field trips and any sort of late start or early dismissal.

Mark these dates in your calendar for our Rehearsals and Concerts-

• Monday, January 6, 2025-6:00-8:00pm at Tuscarora High School-Feeder pattern concert rehearsal-Mandatory for students in our 2nd year groups. Students must be at the rehearsal in order to perform at the concert.

• Thursday, January 9, 2025-7:00pm (students should report by 5:45pm) at Tuscarora High School-Feeder pattern concert-Mandatory for students in our 2nd year groups
  

• Tuesday, May 20, 2025-Mandatory Spring Band Rehearsal and Concert for all woodwinds, brass and percussion-5:00pm (rehearsal for students only), 7:30pm-concert (doors open at 7:15pm for audience) Students must be at the rehearsal in order to perform at the concert.

• Wednesday, May 21, 2024-Mandatory Spring Orchestra Rehearsal and Concert for all strings-5:00pm (rehearsal for students only), 7:30pm-concert (doors open at 7:15pm for audience) Students must be at the rehearsal in order to perform at the concert.

• Students should wear concert attire for all performances-black dress pants/skirt, white dress shirt, black socks/stockings, black dress shoes. Please no t-shirts, sneakers, or jeans

Mrs. Caulfield- @FCPSCCaulfield

Mrs. De La Rosa- @FCPSband