Choir Newsletter; November 6, 2015

Choir students and families,
Here's this week's newsletter. Key points and new information are in bold type. 
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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:

• Many BHS students are performing this weekend. Tonight and tomorrow (11/6 & 11/7) Batavia High School Theatre will be presenting a fabulous production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" . Don't miss it!
• One of our Chamber Singers, Erika Mansfield will be running with the Cross-Country team at the State meet this weekend. Good luck, Erika!
• Tomorrow, November 7, is the ILMEA Senior Festival for Choir, Band and Orchestra. BHS choir has eight students participating in the Senior Chorus (by audition) and four students in the 9-10 Choir (by nomination). Congrats! 
• MusicTheory.net (MTN): Students will periodically have assignments on MusicTheory.net to work on issues like note ID, key signature ID, Intervals, ear training and more. It will all be set up through Classroom. We walked through a couple assignments this week. Those will show up in PowerSchool under the "Written Assignments" category. Here's a link if you want to give it a try!  From now on, MusicTheory.net assignments will be due every Tuesday.
• The Grade Level Expectancies (GLE's) will also use SightReadingFactory, as it is important for the test to look like what they've been practicing. On weeks when GLE assignments are due, the normal Thursday assignments will no be there. Instead, students will have two SRF drills that are matched to the difficulty level of their choir. These GLE drills will be due on certain Fridays at 5pm. The next GLE is due on November 13, it is now available on the student's Dashboard.  Also, SRF now has an iPhone app, so assignments can be completed that way. No Android yet!
• The syllabus for all choirs is on the choir page of the BataviaMusic.org. Students received a hard-copy in class. You should have been shown the syllabus and signed off on it. You can see if your student has turned theirs in by checking PowerSchool for the "Syllabus Contract" assignment, due 9/4.

Save the Date! The Batavia Music Buffs presents "A Night at the Grammys", this year's Gala event. 

• In its 7th year, 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 2nd time 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! 
• Watch the Buffs website for more Gala details as they become available at bataviamusicbuffs.org.
• It takes over 50 volunteers to make this event a reality, so we'd love to have your help! 

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Help wanted! 

• I'll need a few more people to help take leadership in specific ways and make Festival of Carols a reality. Please read the Madrigal section below. 
• I'd love to update the website and social media with pictures from last year. If you have any you would be willing to see displayed publicly, even if it is a student who has graduated, please send me the picture or a link.
• If you are willing to help in any way, please contact Mr. Barsch at peter.barsch@bps101.net or sign up directly at www.bataviamusicbuffs.org (click "Volunteer Sign-up" from the home page).

Showchoirs

• Showchoir rehearsals will start on Monday! 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 is 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. 
• We had a Parents' Meeting about Show Choir in the choir room on Thursday, 10/8. Here is the Powerpoint from that evening.  

• The most updated and comprehensive calendar is always on bataviamusic.org. Just select the groups you are interested in, and you'll see their rehearsal and performance schedule. If you find what you believe to be an error or discrepancy, please bring it to my attention!
• Volunteer sign-ups will be set up on www.BataviaMusicBuffs.org soon. 

2015-16 Concerts

• Thursday, December 3: Madrigal singers (Chamber & Treble) visit Storm, AGS, & Grace McWayne elementary schools. 
• Tuesday, December 8: Kaleidoscope Concert Dress Rehearsal – During school day 
• Wednesday, December 9: Music Department Kaleidoscope Concert 
• Thursday, Dec 10: Festival of Carols Dress Rehearsal at Shannon Hall (TBA) 
• Fri-­Sat. Dec 11-­12: Festival of Carols at Shannon Hall (Chamber & Treble) 
• 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) 
• Thursday, May 5: Spring Choir Concert (This date is still tentative)
• Thursday, May 12: Music Senior Awards night (This date is still tentative)
• Other Important Dates:

Saturday, November 7: ILMEA Senior Festival               
Saturday, November 14: ILMEA Jazz Festival               
Wednesday, March 2: Showtime! 
March 7-­11 ­Curricular Choir Placement Auditions

Madrigals

• Madrigal Season is fast approaching! Initial plans for the event are under way. This year, every student in Chamber and Treble Choirs will be performing at this magical event. 
• We had a Parents' Meeting about the Festival of Carols in the choir room on Thursday, 10/8. Here is the Powerpoint from that evening. 
• We still need a few parent volunteers to help with this event. More specific requests will come soon.
• All volunteer sign-ups are on the www.BataviaMusicBuffs.org (Click Volunteer Sign-up). If you have any questions about how you might help, please contact Mr. Barsch at peter.barsch@bps101.net. 

Did you notice...

• ...that Show Choir rehearsals start Monday? Good! 

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