Newsletter #24

Within this newsletter:


1) Thank you for a great concert at Capital Manor!
2) Festival/Competition here at West April 17 and 18 - West performances!
3) Save the date - Friday, May 15 - State Competition at OSU
4) PRE-STATE CONCERT - CHANGED DATE... April 30, 7pm!!!
5) Possible gameplan for Period 6 and 7 final performances


1) Thank you to all the students and parents who helped to make the wonderful concert at Capital Manor happen last Wednesday (April 8). The residents and the organizer were so incredibly pleased with our performance. They mentioned how great the music was, how nicely dressed our students were (yay!), and how much they enjoyed watching the students interact with one another. I look forward to having the students play for the Manor residents again.

2) Friday April 17 and Saturday April 18 are going to be busy days here at West! The Salem-Keizer Invitational Orchestra festival and the Central Valley League Band contest occur at West this year. Wind Ensemble plays on Friday after dinner (exact time to be announced Monday in class) and we have 2 groups performing on Saturday. All the other local schools (South, North, McKay, McNary, Sprague) and a few other invited guests will be performing as well - it'll be 2 great days of music!

Here's some important information - more info will be emailed and posted these next few days.

Students -
Friday April 17th I need help around the school from 1pm - 9pm - there will be a sign up sheet in the orchestra room by Tuesday. Also, if you are not in Advanced Orchestra or Symphony, please come support your colleagues by attending the concert at West at 8:30am and 1:35pm.

Here's the schedule for performers Saturday:

Advanced Orchestra arrive, dressed and ready, at 7:15am - official warm up at 8:00 - on stage performance 8:30 - sightreading at 9:00 - you are officially done at 9:30am. But, all students are required to see 2 other groups play. It's my recommendation that you plan to spend the day seeing all the groups perform!!!

Advanced Symphony arrive, dressed and ready, at 12:30pm - official warm up at 1pm - on stage performance at 1:35 - sightreading at 2:10 - you are officially done at 2:50. But, all students are required to see 2 other groups play. It's my recommendation that you plan to spend the day seeing all the groups perform!!!

Student assignment - all students must complete 2 adjudication sheets (for 2 groups). This assignment is due Monday 4/20. This may be complete with any 2 groups that perform on the 17th or 18th. If a student absolutely is unable to attend 2 groups, there will be an alternate assignment available, due 4/20.

Adults - Please come support West by being in our audience at 8:30am and 1:35pm on Saturday April 18. Also, I need some volunteer help in increments of 2 - 4 hours on Friday the 17th. We will be running concessions, monitoring doors in the auditorium (all performances are recorded - so there need to be no interruptions), and we need help at the check-in table. I will send out an plea in the next few days - please volunteer to help if you have time. We want to be organized and efficient for this festival! We're honored to have such great music happen on our own campus.

3) Good news - at the Monmouth festival last week, both Advanced Orchestra and Advanced Symphony qualified to participate at the Orchestra State Championships in Corvallis on May 15. The times won't be announced for another few weeks. But, it's likely going to be sometime between 9:30am and 6pm - please join us in Corvallis to pack the crowd with West supporters - it's so great to play to an adoring crowd!

4) The Pre-state concert (featuring all the groups that qualified to go to State - all the advanced groups in orchestra, band and choir at West have qualified) will be April 30... not May 4 as stated in the orchestra handbook. Please make a note.

5) The last concert of the year on the books is June 1 but that concert will now only be for Advanced Orchestra and all graduating seniors. It will be a concerto concert featuring talented West Salem advanced instrumentalists.

Period 6 and 7 students will be required to attend this concert to support their colleagues.

Period 6 and 7 students have elected to try to organize a 'day in the elementary schools' as their final performance. I am working to find a day in late May when students in periods 6 and 7 will travel by bus to the 4 west area elementary schools to perform for students. Parents are welcome to attend those performances - schedule to be announced. If parents wish, we could also repeat the performance at West in the evening... please let me know if this is of interest to you.

Thanks all! See you next week... hopefully!
~Daryl S.