Newsletter #27 (Pre State Concert Tonight!)

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Here is your weekly West Salem High School Titan Orchestra Program newsletter! These should arrive weekly around Thursday. Please read all the way through... there's a video link at the bottom for your enjoyment! ~Ms S

Forward to a Friend Coming up... Google Calendar click here Week of  May 6 Mon  Chamber to 4 Tue   Sym Dress! Wed Thur STATE Fri       *SAVE THE DATE* May 16  Orchestras of the West May 24  Orch Awards 3pm June 3   Final Concert July 8-18 Summer strings Aug 19  Chamber retreat Aug 20 - 23 Boot Camp! Current Fundraisers <<>> www.titanorchestras.com Titan Orchestra Newsletter #27 Contained within... 1) Pre-State concert tonight 2) Did you know? 3) Hunchback of Notre Dame - GO SEE! 4) 4th Grade String festival tomorrow 5) Theory assignment due Monday 6) Boot camp dates - August 19/20 - 23!! 7) Check out this video...  (Hunchback of Notre Dame)  1) Pre-state concert tonight Students in Chamber Orchestra and Symphony perform tonight at the pre-state concert. Dress is full black. This concert is a great concert for parents and those not in Symphony or Chamber to come see. Pre-state concert features all the groups going to OSAA State Championships - Choir, Chamber, Symphony and Wind Ensemble/Band. Concert starts at 7pm. Musicians are expected to stay for the entire concert. Chamber plays 2nd on the concert, Symphony 3rd. Students - call time is 6:45pm to prep your instruments in the orchestra room. Sit in the auditorium by 6:55pm to watch the choir. I will send a detailed email out next week regarding all the information for State competition May 9. 2) Did you know? There was an article in the Statesman Journal recently about recreational music groups in town. I emailed reporter Barbara Curtin to thank her for writing that public interest story and she emailed me back something I didn't think about. Here's what she wrote to me, "For some reason, music/arts readers don't tend to use the online "comments" and "recommend" functions. But these days, web hits, comments, etc. are counted. Each time an article is read or commented on, it's like a vote for coverage of that topic. In this rapidly changing era for communications, the higher-ups watch this when deciding what to expand or cut down upon."  So, if you see an article, especially about the arts and music, please make sure you're commenting or recommending! 3) Hunchback of Notre Dame - GO SEE! The neatest cultural event is here in Salem this weekend - Master Chorale and Salem Chamber Orchestra have combined forces, with the beautiful big organ in Hudson Hall at Willamette University, to put on an event not to be missed. The 1920's silent film Hunchback of Notre Dame will be run on a screen above the musicians and we will be playing 2 hours of music as a soundtrack to this movie. The music selected by Dr. Klemme for this project is fantastic - works by Berlioz, Brahms, Beethoven, Poulenc, Faure... amazing music - lots of cool organ solos too! Students may review this for credit. You have 3 opportunities to see this incredible program: *Friday night (5/3) is the dress rehearsal at 7:30pm - students can get in for free, adults are $5 (here's the link for vouchers for students http://wp.me/a2m6oh-bc) *Saturday night (5/4) the concert is at 7pm (I just saw a Groupon yesterday that offered tickets to this concert - GREAT way to save some $!) *Sunday afternoon (5/5) the concert is at 3pm (but this one might be sold out - check the SCO website for more info:www.salemchamberorchestra.org) 4) 4th Grade String Festival tomorrow Students in Chamber Orchestra and Symphony put on the 4th Grade String Festival tomorrow. Here's the schedule: 12:30pm   Call time in the orchestra room for students (we'll work Pirates and go over the day's schedule) 1 - 1:30pm  4th grade students arrive 1:30 - 6  Festival (pizza and snacks will be provided) 6pm Concert  - 4th grade performs first, Chamber plays Shostakovich, then Symphony plays Pirates Concert concludes by 6:45pm (West students responsible for putting chairs and stands away) 5) Theory assignment due Monday There was a theory assignment that was supposed to be turned in May 2 - I've extended the deadline to Monday May 6. This is the last theory assignment - and it will be checked thoroughly by me. Students will be given an assessment of how good their rhythm skills are - this will help me plan for next year's theory packet. 6) Boot camp dates - August 19/20 - 23!!! Orchestra Boot Camp is always 2 weeks before the start of school. Chamber retreat is on Monday August 19. Everyone else comes Tuesday Tuesday August 20 through Friday August 23 9am - 12pm. Chamber stays until 1pm Tuesday - Friday. This is a very important part of the Titan Orchestra spirit and musical culture. Students playing in any orchestra next year are 'required' to attend Boot Camp. The camp fee is $40, can be paid either at the end of this year or at Boot Camp registration, can be paid out of your student account, and can also be waived (4 hours of extra volunteer hours will be required of the family). Please mark your calendar now! 7) Check out this video... (Hunchback of Notre Dame with different soundtrack)  Here is the movie that you'll have the opportunity to see this weekend with the Salem Chamber Orchestra at Willamette's Hudson Hall - this is a totally different soundtrack then what you will see on Friday/Saturday/Sunday (in fact, I think what we're playing is way better), but it'll give you an idea of cool this will be: http://youtu.be/o792vRfkKu0 Thanks for reading the newsletter all the way to the end - now you're informed and up-to-date!!! Please don't forget to check the website for more information.  ~Ms S (Daryl Silberman)

forward to a friend  Website: www.titanorchestra.com Ms. Silberman: silberman_daryl@salkeiz.k12.or.us Orchestra Booster President: Carrie Winkler wsorchestraboosters@gmail.com Student Accounts: Todd Canfieldtitanorchstudentaccount@yahoo.com

Newsletter #26 (4.25.13)

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Here is your weekly West Salem High School Titan Orchestra Program newsletter! These should arrive weekly around Thursday. Please read all the way through... there's a video link at the bottom for your enjoyment! ~Ms S

Forward to a Friend Coming up... Google Calendar click here Week of  Apr 28 Mon  Chamber to 4 Tue   Chamber to 4             (no Sym) Wed  6:30am Chamber!! Thur  2:30 Sym          7pm Concert Fri      12:30pm 4th Grade           6pm Concert   *SAVE THE DATE* May 2   Pre-State Concert May 3   4th Grade String Fest              (Symphony!) May 3  SCO Dress rehearsal              (free voucher!) 7:30pm May 4  OSAA State Solo May 9  OSAA State Orch May 16  Orchestras of the West May 24  Orch Awards 3pm June 3   Final Concert July 8-18 Summer strings Aug 19  Chamber retreat Aug 20 - 23 Boot Camp! Current Fundraisers <<>> www.titanorchestras.com Titan Orchestra Newsletter #26 Contained within... 1) State performance May 9 - info 2) See yourself on TV - CCTV channel 22 3) Thank you Beacock Music and Patrick Clark 4) Auditions begin for next year's groups 5) May 2 and May 3 6) Boot camp dates - August 19/20 - 23!! 7) Check out this video...  ( )  1) State performance May 9 - info On Thursday May 9 Chamber and Symphony are off to Corvallis for the 2013 OSAA State Orchestra Championships. Students will have to miss school for the day. Here's the schedule: Period 1 and 2 - Symphony rehearses on Stage Period 3 - Chamber rehearses on Stage (Sinfonietta Symphony students can either watch that rehearsal or go to class for Period 3) Bus leaves for Corvallis at 10:30am Chamber performs at 1:40pm Symphony performs at 7:35pm The buses will return somewhere around 10:45pm - parents are welcome to take their students after we sight ready for Symphony (done around 8 or 8:15pm) but the Awards Ceremony begins at 9pm and we'd like all students to stay for the awards, if possible. Keep in mind though that Friday May 10 is a regular school day (Choir OSAA Championships though). 2) See yourself on TV - CCTV channel 22 Here's the schedule for seeing yourselves play on CCTV Channel 22 (Sinfonietta will be one of the first groups, Chamber about 2 hours and 30 minutes in, or so): Orchestra - April 27 at 6pm, April 28 at 8:30pm, April 29 at 4:30pm Symphony was this past week... 3) Thank you Beacock Music and Patrick Clark Thank you to Beacock Music from Vancouver, WA and Eastman Music Company for bringing violinist/fiddler Patrick Clark to play for our students. The instruments Beacock brought down were beautiful - they would like to try to have this kind of sale at least once per year, maybe twice per year. So, for those of you who didn't have a chance to try the instruments out, we may do this again in the Fall.  4) Auditions begin for next year's groups Auditions begin next week for next year's Sinfonietta and Chamber groups. Some of the auditions can happen during class time, but it would be easier to hold some auditions after school or during lunch. Lists will be posted in a few weeks. Happy practicing! 5) May 2 and May 3 May 2 (Thursday) is the Pre-State concert. Students in Chamber and Symphony are expected to stay for the whole concert. Parents are encourage to attend! This is a showcase of all 4 music groups going to State championships - great music! I believe the order will be choir, orchestra, symphony, band - but that is subject to change. Concert begins at 7pm and each group will play 10-20 minutes. Symphony on this day will be at 2:35 (rather than at 4pm) on Stage. May 3 (Friday) is a no-school grading day. But Sinfonietta Symphony and Chamber string players are required to come in at 12:30pm for the 4th grade string festival. At 12:30pm we will meet in the orchestra room to go over Pirates of the Carribean. Then we'll go over what we'll be teaching the 4th graders. Pizza will be provided for dinner. Concert is at 6pm and is usually over by 6:30 or 6:40pm... then a quick clean up and we're done.  6) Boot camp dates - August 19/20 - 23!!! Symphony Orchestra Boot Camp is always 2 weeks before the start of school. Chamber retreat is on Monday August 19. Everyone else comes Tuesday Tuesday August 20 through Friday August 23 9am - 12pm. Chamber stays until 1pm Tuesday - Friday. This is a very important part of the Titan Orchestra spirit and musical culture. Students playing in any orchestra next year are 'required' to attend Boot Camp. The camp fee is $40, can be paid either at the end of this year or at Boot Camp registration, can be paid out of your student account, and can also be waived (4 hours of extra volunteer hours will be required of the family). Please mark your calendar now! 7) Check out this video... (Copland's Hoedown - String Orchestra version)  We're going to work on Aaron Copland's Hoedown for the May 16 Orchestras of the West concert - here's a great string orchestra version:  http://youtu.be/bY_Xd5tejQs Thanks for reading the newsletter all the way to the end - now you're informed and up-to-date!!! Please don't forget to check the website for more information.  ~Ms S (Daryl Silberman)

forward to a friend  Website: www.titanorchestra.com Ms. Silberman: silberman_daryl@salkeiz.k12.or.us Orchestra Booster President: Carrie Winkler wsorchestraboosters@gmail.com Student Accounts: Todd Canfieldtitanorchstudentaccount@yahoo.com

Newsletter #25 (4.18.13)

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Here is your weekly West Salem High School Titan Orchestra Program newsletter! These should arrive weekly around Thursday. Please read all the way through... there's a video link at the bottom for your enjoyment! ~Ms S

Forward to a Friend Coming up... Google Calendar click here SALE Wednesday! Week of  Apr 22 Mon  Chamber to 4 Tue   2:35 Sym Wed  6:30am Chamber!!          5:30 - 8pm          Clinic and Sale Thur  4 Sym Fri       *SAVE THE DATE* Apr 24  Instrument sale&clinic May 2   Pre-State Concert May 3   4th Grade String Fest              (Symphony!) May 3  SCO Dress rehearsal              (free voucher!) 7:30pm May 4  OSAA State Solo May 9   OSAA State Orch May 16  Orchestras of the West May 24  Orch Awards 3pm June 3   Final Concert July 8-18 Summer strings Aug 19  Chamber retreat Aug 20 - 23 Boot Camp! Current Fundraisers <<>> www.titanorchestras.com Titan Orchestra Newsletter #25 Contained within... 1) Congrats players! 2) See yourself on TV - CCTV channel 22 3) Chamber early  morning rehearsals 4) Clinic and instrument sale Wednesday!!! 5) Busy schedule these next few weeks 6) Check out this video...  (Orchestral Bohemian Rhapsody)  1) Congrats players! Need something to be proud of over here in West Salem? How about this - Band placed 1st in the district, Symphony placed 1st in the district, Chamber placed 2nd in the district (by only 4 points), Choir placed 3rd in the district (by only one point), Sinfonietta participated in the district festival for the first time ever. There are great things going on over here in West Salem. Thank you, parents, for your support of the music program, and to you, students, for your dedication to Titan Music! 2) See yourself on TV - CCTV channel 22 Here's the schedule for seeing yourselves play on CCTV Channel 22 (Sinfonietta will be one of the first groups, Chamber about 2 hours and 30 minutes in, or so): Orchestra - April 27 at 6pm, April 28 at 8:30pm, April 29 at 4:30pm Symphony - April 20 at 8pm, April 22 at 3:30pm, April 25 at 3m, April 27 at 6pm 3) Chamber early  morning rehearsals As Chamber orchestra gets ready for the May 9 State Orchestra Championships, we will be rehearsing at 6:30am on Wednesday mornings for the next few weeks. Thanks for your dedication to playing well! 4)  Clinic and instrument sale Wednesday!!! This is a first - very exciting! Beacock Music in Vancouver, WA and the Eastman Violin Company have come together to provide us with both a nationally-recognized musician and some beautiful instruments for intermediate and advanced players. Next Wednesday, the 24th, Patrick Clark will be coming to Sinfonietta and part of Chamber rehearsal. He is a classically trained violinist who also plays a lot of fiddle for big name performers - he lives in Nashville. Here's more info about him: http://learnfiddle.com/sample-page/patrick-clark-bio/ Come at anytime from 5:30 - 8:30pm to the orchestra room to see the beautiful instruments from Beacock Music (Eastman instruments) - they will be priced between $999 and $2500. Patrick Clark will do a demonstration from 6:30 - 7:15pm. Beacock will also have accessories (bows, cases, music, rosin, rock stops, chin rests, shoulder rests, etc.) available for purchase. If you are in the market for a better instrument, bring your home instrument to see if Beacock will trade it in. Financing will also be available through Beacock Music. 5) Busy schedule these next few weeks Symphony and Chamber musicians have a lot going on these next few weeks - please keep track of schedule. Parents/students - please let me know if there are any huge conflicts (college visits, games, test, etc...) in the way of any of these events: May 2 - Symphony early - at 2:30pm May 2 - Pre State Concert 7pm concert May 3 - 4th grade string festival 12:30 - 6:45pm May 3 - Salem Chamber Orchestra free dress rehearsal 7:30pm May 4 - State Solo (Hendrik plays at 8:30am) May 7 - Final Symphony rehearsal May 9 - State Competition (times TBD) May 16 - Orchestras of the West (6pm - 8pm) May 17 - School Assembly featuring band/choir/orchestra 6) Check out this video... (Orchestral Bohemian Rhapsody)  Bohemian Rhapsody for solo viola and symphony orchestra... check it out!!!!  http://youtu.be/w0cLEvdyolw Thanks for reading the newsletter all the way to the end - now you're informed and up-to-date!!! Please don't forget to check the website for more information.  ~Ms S (Daryl Silberman)

forward to a friend  Website: www.titanorchestra.com Ms. Silberman: silberman_daryl@salkeiz.k12.or.us Orchestra Booster President: Carrie Winkler wsorchestraboosters@gmail.com Student Accounts: Todd Canfieldtitanorchstudentaccount@yahoo.com

Newsletter #24 (4.11.13)

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Here is your weekly West Salem High School Titan Orchestra Program newsletter! These should arrive weekly around Thursday. Please read all the way through... there's a video link at the bottom for your enjoyment! ~Ms S

Forward to a Friend Coming up... Google Calendar click here Assignments Due Next Week Week of  Apr 15 Mon  Chamber to 4 Tue   2:35 Sym Wed  6:30am Chamber!! Thur  4 Sym Fri       *SAVE THE DATE* Apr 17  6:30am Chamber Apr 24  Instrument sale&clinic May 2   Pre-State Concert May 3   4th Grade String Fest              (Symphony!) May 3  SCO Dress rehearsal              (free voucher!) 7:30pm May 4  OSAA State Solo May 9   OSAA State Orch May 16  Orchestras of the West May 24  Orch Awards 3pm June 3   Final Concert July 8-18 Summer strings Aug 19  Chamber retreat Aug 20 - 23 Boot Camp! Current Fundraisers <<>> www.titanorchestras.com Titan Orchestra Newsletter #24 Contained within... 1) We run the band festival tomorrow 2) Saturday performance info! 3) Congrats to Chamber 4) Assignments due 5) Grading update 6) Check out this video...  (Berlin for 12 cellos - ThePianoGuys)  1) We run the band festival tomorrow Friday (the 12th) we run the Central Valley League Band Festival. It's Salem-Keizer's district band festival. The bands 'compete' for top spot (won by West last year). Students in Symphony are required to work a shift (or two). Thank you to the parents who have already offered to volunteer time - I (Ms S) can use all the help I can get.  2) Saturday performance info! Saturday (the 13th) is the Salem-Keizer Invitational Orchestra Festival at West. 3 of our groups are playing: Sinfoneitta at 8:30am, Chamber at 11:30am, and Symphony at 3:50pm. All 3 groups will be adjudicated and participate in a timed sight reading session after performing. Parents and friends are welcome to come to the performances! Students have been emailed their call times and all other performance info. Hope it's a GREAT performance day! 3) Congrats to Chamber Last week at Western Oregon University Chamber performed well and qualified for the State Orchestra Championships! OSAA State is on May 9, during the day. We won't know for a few weeks exactly what time we play. More info later. 4)  Assignments due April 15 - The theory assignment that was due for tomorrow has been extended to Monday (because of the festival). April 16 - All students must complete the Spring Assignment - adjudicate 2 live performances from the festival Friday and/or Saturday (bands or orchestras). If students are unable to come to performances, there is an alternate assignment they can complete (computer webquest or magazine review). This assignment is due Tuesday Apr. 16!  Click here to see the assignment on our website: http://titanorchestra.com/?page_id=676 5) Grading update Because of the trip and upcoming Festival this weekend, I've fallen behind on registering the Theory Assignments into the grading books. My apologies - it'll all be straightened out next week. Students, please get 'last' assignments in by Monday or Tuesday of this next week so your grade can be updated. 6) Check out this video... (Berlin - original song for 12 cellos - ThePianoGuys)  The Piano Guys at it again. Neat video... check it out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcnzqKpFZ0I&feature=share&list=UUmKurapML4BF9Bjtj4RbvXw Thanks for reading the newsletter all the way to the end - now you're informed and up-to-date!!! Please don't forget to check the website for more information.  ~Ms S (Daryl Silberman)

forward to a friend  Website: www.titanorchestra.com Ms. Silberman: silberman_daryl@salkeiz.k12.or.us Orchestra Booster President: Carrie Winkler wsorchestraboosters@gmail.com Student Accounts: Todd Canfieldtitanorchstudentaccount@yahoo.com

Newsletter #23 (4.4.13)

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Here is your weekly West Salem High School Titan Orchestra Program newsletter! These should arrive weekly around Thursday. Please read all the way through... there's a video link at the bottom for your enjoyment! ~Ms S

Forward to a Friend Coming up... Google Calendar click here Theory Assignment Due Week of  Apr 8 Mon  Chamber to 4 Tue   2:35 Sym Wed Thur  4 Sym Fri      CVL Sat    8:35am Sinf           11:30am Chamber           Afternoon Sym   *SAVE THE DATE* Apr 17  6:30am Chamber Apr 24  Instrument sale&clinic May 2   Pre-State Concert May 3   4th Grade String Fest              (Symphony!) May 4  OSAA State Solo May 9   OSAA State Orch May 16  Orchestras of the West May 24  Orch Awards 3pm June 3   Final Concert July 8-18 Summer strings Aug 19  Chamber retreat Aug 20 - 23 Boot Camp! Current Fundraisers <<>> www.titanorchestras.com Titan Orchestra Newsletter #23 Contained within... 1) Chamber performs at WOU tomorrow 2) Big Trip wrap up - pics link 3) We have an OSAA Solo competitor! 4) Music Festivals at West next weekend 5) MLK anniversary today 6) Check out this video...  (Bells at the Cathedral)  1) Chamber performs at WOU tomorrow (Friday) Chamber is off to Monmouth tomorrow (Friday the 5th) to perform at the band/orchestra festival. It's our first of 2 opportunities to qualify for the State orchestra competition. Good luck Chamber! 2) Big Trip wrap up - pics link Big Trip is over! What a great time we had!! If you have pictures you'd like to share with the group, let Ms S know and/or follow the link to this public site where you can either just look at what's been posted or you can request membership to post your pictures: http://titanorchestrabigtrip2013.shutterfly.com/ - I would like to make a photo book and collect pictures so we can do a slide show. If you didn't get a chance to follow what we did, check out our blog - we posted what we did each day. By the way, there will be a 2015 Big Trip meeting in May for those interested in helping to plan the Big Trip in 2 years (Freshman and Sophomore parents... take note!) 3) We have an OSAA Solo competitor! We just found out that cellist Hendrik M. will be competing at 8:30am on May 4 at Lewis and Clark College at the OSAA State Solo competition. Good Luck Hendrik!!!  4)  Music Festivals at West next weekend April 12 and 13 are big days for our program. On Friday April 12 we, the orchestra family, run the Central Valley League Band Festival here at West. All students in Symphony are required to help work a shift that day. Students in String Orchestra are asked to help too, if they have time! Pizza will be provided for all students who work. Parents - we need a few good folks to help out. The festival cannot be run just by students and me. Please see your email for more info!! Saturday April 13 is the Orchestra Festival (run by the band family). Sinfonietta performs at 8:35am. Chamber performs at 11:30am. Symphony time is TBD - might be as late as 4:25pm. more info will be sent to these groups regarding itinerary. 5) MLK anniversary today Big Trip performed outside the amazing Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC on Friday March 22. Today, April 4, is the  45th anniversary of his assassination. The Memorial is quite impressive - there is controversy (as there is with most memorials) regarding some aspects of the design, but I can say that it is still very impressive, very powerful, very impact-ful. The quote on the side of his sculpture states this "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness". This quote is a paraphrase. Many Black leaders have spoken out about the fact that this phrase makes MLK sound too stern, too abrupt. Apparently the phrase will be taken off the Memorial and reworked. Here is info about the original quote: The full quotation was taken from a 1968 sermon about two months before King was assassinated. It reads: "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter." (from U.S. News http://tinyurl.com/bmf8fyf) 6) Check out this video... (Bells at the Cathedral)  On our Big Trip we had the pleasure of being in the bell tower at the National Cathedral in Washington DC and getting a demonstration of the amazing carillon bells. Here's video I shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q81alwarfjE&feature=share&list=UUU_N2xGvmu9gVeCOEGYO4xg Thanks for reading the newsletter all the way to the end - now you're informed and up-to-date!!! Please don't forget to check the website for more information.  ~Ms S (Daryl Silberman)

forward to a friend  Website: www.titanorchestra.com Ms. Silberman: silberman_daryl@salkeiz.k12.or.us Orchestra Booster President: Carrie Winkler wsorchestraboosters@gmail.com Student Accounts: Todd Canfieldtitanorchstudentaccount@yahoo.com

Big Trip 2013 - day 5 - it's a wrap!

This will be a quick blog... I should have posted it yesterday.

Day 5 of the Big Trip ended with everyone at the airport, but started at the Juilliard School of Music, Theatre and Dance. We were dropped off at Juilliard and half of us went to Christophe Landon's violin shop and half of us took the Juilliard tour.

Juilliard - we got to see where the students live (dorms, right next door, next door to Lincoln Center), hear about their lives (they only play in large groups some of the time - private lessons are the main focus), see where they practice and where they perform.

Christophe Landon - Christophe himself greeted us and his workmen showed us lots about the instruments they were working on. We saw a cello in the shop that was worth well over $200,000! Then after the shop, we got to play a few of his instruments - I can't remember what the cello was that Cassidy and Henrik played (was it a Guaneri??!!) but it was worth well over $1,000,000 - really! The violists got to try this crazy looking instrument that breaks the traditional mold:

After a quick chance to see Carnegie Hall (all behind scaffolding - we weren't able to take a picture), the bus  took everyone to Chinatown before going to the airport. And now students and parents are all back in OR! Happy Spring Break!!

Big Trip 2013 - Day 4 - last full day in NY

As I type this there are a ton of teens in a small hotel pool in Paramus, NJ - enjoying some well deserved time off! (Well, ok, the pool closes in 30 minutes and they'll be 'taped' in their rooms soon after, but at least they got some pool time in).

Day 4 was chock full - we got a whopping 6 hours of sleep and after a simple carb-loaded breakfast at the Courtyard, we hopped on the bus and went down near the meat packing district to Carroll Studios. Along the way we were treated to more fantastic tour guiding by Joanne. We met conductor Paul Haas who worked with our groups (Combined and then Chamber) for over an hour an half. Might have had more time with him, but we left the cello and bass bows on the bus and it took about a half an hour to get the bus back. Paul has a very sarcastic wit about him and is a masterful musician. He helped improved the musicality of both groups! He is a visionary director - he uses music as an medium for doing art installations. To get more of an idea about what that looks like, check out his group Sympho - www.symphoconcerts.com.

After the Paul Haas clinic we were treated to a tour of Downtown, Wall Street, and Battery Park. The World Trade Center (building #7 which up until recently was called the Freedom Tower) is almost done being constructed. We even got to swing by the 9/11 memorial pools - very powerful visuals! Here's some pictures of the Tower from far and close. And the middle picture is rather special - that is actually the top of the tower - it'll be placed on top of the 1776 feet - it's the top spire!!!! They were working on it at street level (you can kind of see people inside it working on it) and our bus stopped right next to it!!!!

After that tour it was time for a fun boat ride. The NY River Taxi company does a 1 hour NY Harbor tour that included spectacular views of the skyline, Ellis Island, and Lady Liberty. The tour guide J.P. was fantastic (he told us all sorts of jokes, stories, and kept us very entertained!). Here's a little of what we learned. The East River isn't actually a river - it's an estuary of the Atlantic and it switches direction with the tides. His wife's name is Nicole and she works at a cool downtown restaurant. NY is made up of 5 boroughs. And so much more. A great time was had by all!

After a quick lunch we had to dash off to Lincoln Center - all the way back uptown. The Paul Taylor Dance company is one of the pioneers of contemporary modern dance. Known to stretch audiences sense of what dance is, we were treated to some unbelievable choreography and dancing. Ask the kids - some loved it, some didn't (many slept through the first number... they were really tired and it was soft!). For me personally, it was a cultural highlight. Gorgeous dancing set perfectly to beautiful music. At the end, because it was the end of their season, Mr Taylor came out on to the stage himself - he is in his 90's and now we can all say that in our lifetime we saw him! Here's a picture of us outside of the David Koch theater.

Dinner was at the Juilliard Cafe - the cafeteria where the students themselves eat. Nothing too exciting to report there, other than usually you have to be accepted into Juilliard to eat there (they only accept 7% of the auditionees). After dinner we drove down 5th avenue - wow - some shopping there!!! Then we were dropped off at Rockefeller Center. We went up to the Top of the Rock. Crowded, but so amazing- beautiful skyline - perfect weather - awesome views:

Then it was time for one last Times Square shopping trip - a slight less crowded than last night because the theaters were "dark" (meaning, not performing). And now we're back... swimming (some lovely water ballet going on down here)

Tomorrow we're off to Juilliard and Christope Landon's Rare Violins - then Chinatown. It's been a great trip so far!!!