Sleigh Ride

I hope that you enjoyed the trip to Orchestra Hall to hear the Minnesota Orchestra perform their concert Sleigh Ride. Which version of Sleigh Ride to you enjoy the most? It's tough, but I think my favorite was Prokofiev's Troika. Choose your favorite in the poll at left and post your comments on the concert here. The Minnesota Orchestra is one of the best orchestras in the country. They were recently nominated for a Grammy Award for their recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. If you get a chance to hear them again, take it.

Great Concert!

6th grade band members...thanks for a great concert last night! Your hard work and consistent practice paid off. The jazz band also did a good job with some outstanding soloists. I look forward to the continued growth of all 6th grade instrumentalists as the year continues and we encounter new and more challenging music. Keep up the fine work.

Band Stuff

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day! There is a lot of 6th grade band stuff happening in the next two weeks. First of all, 6th grade jazz band will rehearse the next two Tuesday mornings for our performance at the band concert on Tuesday, December 4th. We will be playing "Lunch Detention Blues," "Rock the House," and "Holiday Jam" Please ask Mr. P if you will be a soloist. For all 6th grade band kids, the November practice calendar is due Thursday, November 29. Please make sure that your name is on it, your minutes are totaled, and it is signed by a parent/guardian. The band concert is Tuesday, December 4th at 7:30 p.m. Remember to meet at 7:00 wearing black on the bottom and white on the top. Mid term grades will come out that same week so please make sure that all of your band lessons are made up. Finally (at least for this post) all 6th grade students from West will be attending a Minnesota Orchestra concert on Thursday, December 6th. Please be sure to bring back your signed permission form and $9. All right, all right...enough already! Go back and enjoy some more leftovers!

Falcon Music VFT Final Question

6th hour Purple Falcon music class...this message is for you! Today when you have completed all of the questions on your Virtual Field Trip (VFT) to San Francisco (or Dallas or Baltimore), please respond to the following question by posting comments to the blog. Are you ready? Okay here is the question: What two musical things did you learn on this VFT? Please answer in at least two complete sentences. Thanks. By the way, did you play Beethoven Baseball?

Keep Practicing

Here is a quick update on what music the Cougars and Falcons should be practicing. In Musical Magic Book 2 most lesson groups are working on pages 3 & 4 through exercise #16. In Essential Elements all students should be practicing page 26. Check an earlier post for the list of full band songs we will be performing at our concert on Tuesday, December 4 at 7:30. With relatives and friends around during Thanksgiving, there are many great opportunities for informal recitals. Perform something that you are really proud of for your grandpa and grandma or your aunt and uncle, and as a bonus...count it as practice time on your practice calendar! November practice calendars are due November 29. Have a great Thanksgiving break!

Test...what test?

Okay, okay...so the instruments of the orchestra test has been postponed until Monday. I'm sure everyone is really disappointed. I made the decision that spending two days on our virtual field trip was more important than having the test today. If you want to check out some more of the great activities from the VFT here are two of the links that we used: www.sfskids.org and www.dsokids.com. So, in a nutshell, we will review the instruments of the orchestra today and take the test on Monday.

Orchestra Test

Okay 6th grade music kids...it looks like our Instruments of the Orchestra test will be on Friday 11/16. Cougars and Eagles will be spending Wednesday and Thursday in the media center participating in a virtual field trip to San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. We will be listening to the instruments, composing, and experimenting with music. Hope the Falcons had a great time at Deep Portage. You will be reviewing for the test on Thursday. Hope everyone was a wild Wednesday!

6th Grade Band Concert

Hey band kids...be sure to mark your calendar for our upcoming concert. It will be Tuesday, December 4th, 7:30 p.m. in the CMSW gym. Plan to be at school by 7:00 so that we can warm-up and tune. You should also wear black pants/skirt and a white shirt/blouse/sweater. Guys, ties are optional. The following pieces will be performed that evening: To A New Beginning, Patapan, Celebrating Chanukah, Champions, Clouds, And the Bells Shall Ring, and Westwind Overture. Make sure to include these songs in your regular practice sessions. Thanks for your great music-making so far this school year!

Instruments of the Orchestra

Hey 6th grade music students, don't forget to tell your families about the unique things we've learned in music class: Osmo Vanska is the conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma is a world famous cellist, and Iccolo Miccolo played the piccolo in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Falcons will be taking their orchestra test next Friday, 11/16. The Cougar and Eagle schedule is still up in the air. I hope you are enjoying listening to all of the unique sounds in the orchestra. Does anyone have a grandmother named Viola?

School is almost here!

Hope summer has been great. Dust off those instruments, find some reeds, valve oil, and drumsticks and get playing. Great music will soon be happening at Chaska Middle School West!