Choir parents and families,
- Here's this week's newsletter. Key points and new information are in bold type.
A link to each post will be sent through the choir Twitter and Facebook accounts, to whatever parent emails I have on file, and to the students through Google Classroom.
The beginning section will always be about curricular choir and the following information will pertain to the extracurricular activities, so you only need to read what applies to your student. The most updated and comprehensive calendar is always on bataviamusic.org. - Curricular Choir:
- The BHS Open House is scheduled for next Thursday, January 21 from 6:30-8 pm. I'll be here, but as choir is a year-long class I don't anticipate any new parents. As such, I will not be conducting a presentation about the class. I will be here of course, but there won't necessarily be any new information passed out at that time. All of the music teachers will be meeting in the Band Room if you want to say Hi.
- Assignments: Students in all choirs can be working on the MusicTheory.net due Tuesday and the Sight Reading Factory due next Thursday. Any past due assignments from January only are fair game as well.
- Delays in grading: This week has been especially full for me, so I'm behind on the grading. If your child's Powerschool grade doesn't match what they expect, be patient and I should be caught up by Tuesday.
- Difficulty level progress in SRF: Students are able to choose their difficulty level on their SIghtReadingFactory.com assignments. I've encouraged them to move up to the next level as they improve, just as they would "level up" to harder challenges in a video game. I had a chance to crunch the numbers over break, and I'm please to see many students and classes taking on the challenge. The average level for all 125 students moved from 1.26 in the first week up to 2.6 on yesterday's assignment. Very few students are at level 1 (though, I'm happy they are if it is the appropriate challenge for them!), and many students are regularly working at level 4 or even 5. SRF has 6 possible levels, so there's plenty of room to grow, even for our most advanced singers. Here are some breakdowns: All 9th graders are averaging 2.26, Varsity is 2.06, Treble is 2.36, and Chamber is 3.73.
- The list for Illinois State Scholars has been announced, and Adi Alley, Maren Flessen, Xander Heine, Amanda Maher, and Ben Zinser were all named, as was the "friend of the program" Mikkel Knutson (Mikkel has been in choir, and was one of the serving peasants at the Festival of Carols this year). We have some smart cookies in choir!
- Our focus for this concert cycle will be on vowel shape and tone quality. While we always want to get the notes right, we'll be paying special attention to our blend and healthy tone production. Wish us luck!
We are starting a new extra-curricular Pop A Cappella group, in the style of Pentatonix, Pitch Perfect, and the Sing-Off. To audition, they will create a video in Screencastify, which will be them singing a verse and chorus of a pop song, similar to what you see in the first round of American Idol auditions. After reviewing those videos, I'll choose 20-30 students to meet together for second round audition where I'll determine how well students voices blend. Full details will be up in a Google Classroom with instructions on how to audition. I'll send the link to the new Classroom to the students once the audition information is ready. I anticipate that this new group will perform at the Gala! For more on what this might look like, here are a few videos I recorded last year with my group at Oswego East.
Tickets are now on sale for the Batavia Music Buffs 7th Annual Gala Benefit!
- The Annual Gala serves as a significant music booster event that raises funds to support the Batavia Music Programs.
- This year’s theme centers on Batavia High School, recognized for the 3rd straight year as a Grammy Signature School Semi-finalist!
- Have an enjoyable evening out while continuing to support our excellent Music Education programs - with a plated dinner, live music, dancing, raffles, auctions and much more!
- The Gala will be held on Saturday, February 27th at the beautifully renovated Fishermen's Inn in Elburn, IL. For event details and to purchase your tickets go to https://www.bataviamusicbuffs.org/product-category/2016-tickets/. See you there!
- Help! At the Gala, we will be auctioning off baskets full of goodies. These baskets are put together to represent each choir, band, orchestra, etc. I need help in two areas: We don't have a coordinator for the Varsity Choir basket, and while we have a coordinator, we need more donations for the baskets for each of the other baskets. Please consider helping! No donation is too small!! We are asking $20 per family in cash or in kind with a deadline of January 22nd.
Showchoirs
- I sent a separate email to showchoir kids and families affected by the scheduling troubles. Please check your emails and let me know if you have additional questions.
- Several parents have emailed or called, asking how they can help. We will need at least two, or ideally four, parent volunteers for each competition. We ask that they ride the bus with us both ways, monitor the homeroom, and on rare occasions, deal with ill children. They will, if they ask, be able to watch the show from out in the audience and then meet back up with us after, and they will get free admission to the competition as our chaperone. The dates we have available are January 23 (Crete-Monee), February 13 (Chesterton), and March 5 (Glenwood). Email me at peter.barsch@bps101.net if you are able to help or if you would like clarification.
- Please get those participation fees in. Note that the $135 building fee is assessed through Powerschool. None of that money goes toward the Showchoir itself; it goes to pay for the facility, lights, heat, etc. The $300 fee is how we pay for the music, choreography, costuming, etc. To pay this, please enclose a check to Batavia High School in a labeled envelope. Have your student drop it into the black lock-box in the choir room. The fee was due by the start of rehearsals on November 9. Any show choir student who has not paid the fee by the first competition will not be allowed to compete. For information about the BPS101 fee waiver policy, please see this page.
2015-16 Concerts
Did you notice that Gala tickets are on sale? Good!
- Tuesday, February 23: BHS Music Festival Concert 1 (Chorale & Alpha)
- Wednesday, February 24: BHS Music Festival Concert 2 (Treble & Varsity)
- Thursday, February 25: BHS Music Festival Concert 3 (Chamber)
- Tuesday, May 3: Spring Choir Concert (Please note this change)
- Tuesday, May 17: Music Senior Awards night (Please note this change)
- Other Important Dates:
- Wednesday, March 2: Showtime!
- March 7-11 Curricular Choir Placement Auditions
Did you notice that Gala tickets are on sale? Good!
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