Welcome to the Roosevelt High School Orchestra. We have three orchestras under the direction of Anna Edwards that include about 100 students: Concert Orchestra (strings), Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra.
Each ensemble concentrates on either string orchestra and chamber literature or, symphonic repertoire. The RHS Symphony and Chamber Orchestras frequently earn top honors at local, state, and regional festivals. Graduates of the Orchestra program regularly gain admission to elite music Conservatories and Universities across the country including Julliard, Manhattan, Oberlin, Harvard, Eastman, Northwestern, Cleveland Institute, University of Southern California, and the University of Washington.
Spring Fling is June 10th!!
Please join us at our annual Spring Fling Concert and Pizza Fundraiser. This is our last concert of the year and many of our seniors will play concertos. Before the concert, there will be a pizza fundraiser. Bring a potluck salad, pay $5/person, get pizza and beverages, and schmooze with other orchestra parents and fans. We will have the usual bake sale as well; so please bake and nobody will go home without eating some sweets! We are asking a donation of $10/person for the concert; $5 for students/seniors. Please join us for some great music and a hearty send-off to our talented seniors.
Buy Photos to Support the Orchestra
Orchestra parent and award-winning professional photographer, Barry Wong, has set up a site where orchestra parents can view and purchase gorgeous photographs of our students at their school concerts and recitals. Orchestra parents have been sent the password to log in. Your purchases of photos will help support the orchestra.
Here is the link:
http://barrywong.smugmug.com/RHS/orchestra.
All-State & All-Northwest Auditions - Start Practicing!
Audition materials are already posted on the WMEA website to enable summertime preparation for the 2011 All-State and All-Northwest Honor Groups. The auditions are in the fall and the actual audition applications will be available after September 1. Click here for more information and audition materials. Then, have fun practicing!
May 6th Special Symphony Concert
A special concert was held on May 6th, highlighting all orchestras. The Chamber students demonstrated their recent work learning to play early stringed instruments - Viols, to be exact. One of their coaches, Ellen Siebert, played with the group. Solo and ensemble festival winners wowed the audience with their virtuosity and flair. The concert orchestra, ably assisted by three soloists, performed Vivaldi's "Summer" from "The Four Seasons." Then, after the intermission, the symphony orchestra rocked the house with a special performance of Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 in C minor (the "Organ Symphony") with Roosevelt alumni George Shangrow on the Froula Pipe Organ. Please see the Pipe Organ Foundation's website for more information about the organ piece. The Roosevelt Orchestra thanks special guest performers drawn from the ranks of parents, alumni and the community. Let's make this an annual event!
Special Visits & Thanks
This Spring, Ingrid Matthews and Margriet Tindemans visited the chamber and concert orchestra classes. Here are their bios:
The chamber music students had a recital on Thursday, April 29, with their mentors on the viols, Lee Talner and Ellen Siebert. Many thanks for this rare opportunity to Lee and Ellen, who have been volunteering with the chamber students three times a week for the last six weeks. Thank you also to the early music community for loaning students the viols. We are fortunate indeed!
Download and play their three pieces (mp3's):
WMEA State Solo & Ensemble Contest
Participants and Winners
Please see the Awards page for our Solo and Ensemble Contest Winners.
I continue to be so excited to be part of a school that excels in so many different avenues. I want to thank you all so much for your continued support for the music program.
Robin Glass & Nancy McManamin
Co-presidents Orchestra Booster Board
Updated 6/10/2010
