A Message from Orchestra Director Anna Edwards

Dear RHS Orchestra Parents and Students,

What a whirlwind year we have had so far! I know everyone is excited about our upcoming – well deserved winter break.

We have had a terrific first half of school. All of the orchestra students performed beautifully at the Pumpkinseed Concert in October. Our chamber performances at Peak’s Frozen Custard and Third Place Books were also terrific. I would like to again thank Peak’s Frozen Custard and Third Place Books for hosting our Chamber concerts.

The RHS Symphony did a joint rehearsal with the Garfield Symphony on November 30 which was such a fun experience for all. What a treat is was to watch all of these very talented musicians play together under the baton of Stewart Kershaw (the recently retired Pacific Northwest Ballet conductor). I was so proud to watch all of the students play such great music together.

We have many upcoming events that I would like to remind you about.

1. Side by Side Concert with the Seattle Symphony- in our Roosevelt Theatre on Thursday January 21st at 7:30PM. We will be performing Liadov’s Kikimora by ourselves and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 “The Little Russian” with the Seattle Symphony – conducted by Thomas Hong. This should be a great concert. All orchestra students should attend whether they are playing or not.
   
   Students performing in this concert – MUST – attend 3 evening rehearsals from 6:30-8:30 pm:
• Monday January 4 (1st day back to school)
• Monday January 11
• Tuesday January 19


2. Solo & Ensemble on Saturday March 6th -The Elliott Bay Solo & Ensemble Contest is at Roosevelt. This is an all day event where students in the SDS perform solos and/or ensemble pieces in front of a judge. Students get both verbal and written comments. The winners of each category will go to Ellensburg at the end of April to compete in the State-wide competition. This is a terrific opportunity for ALL students to have this type of experience regardless of their ability. I highly recommend this festival for any student who is currently taking private lessons.
   
   
3. We have 62 students who will be attending the American String Teachers Association convention in Santa Clara California to compete in the National Orchestra Festival competition. We will leave on Wednesday February 17th and return on Saturday February 20th. It is extremely important that all students attending this festival are properly prepared. Your student should be practicing at home at least 3 hours per week on their Symphony literature. If they are not doing this, please encourage them. We cannot play at our best unless every student chooses to put in the effort.
   
   
4. We also have a few cancellations between now and the holidays.
   • Monday Night Rehearsal on December 14 is cancelled (due to the added rehearsal on November 30)
   • No Chamber Concert on December 16th.
     
     
5. Finally, the RHS school community has decided to try to support several of our families that need some extra help over the holidays. As part of this effort, I will be passing around a jar to the students each day to raise some funds to buy gift cards for some of our families in need. If you happen to have a few extra dollars that you would like to donate to this cause, send them in with your student or give them to me. A generous dollar or two from our orchestra community can make a big difference.

I hope that everyone has a restful and safe holiday.

Happy Holidays!

Anna Edwards

Updated 12/15/2009