Concert Strings 2017-2018Tentative Performance plans:

Tuesday, December 5 6:30 p.m. Winter Concert - all strings groups

Tuesday, March 6 6:30 p.m. (possible) Third Quarter Concert or Festival Preview

Tuesday, May 15 6:30 p.m. Spring Concert

[FYI, Chamber Strings will play at The Peaks (November 14), and may compete in the ABODA Area Concert Festival (Friday, February 22), both during school time.]

Concert attire for 2017-18:All gentlemen will wear:   white long-sleeved dress shirts

tie (same as last year - $11. to buy or $5. each time to borrow)   black slacks (no black jeans!)   black shoes (no sneakers!) and black socksAll ladies will wear:   3/4-sleeve jewel neck black top (cost: $30, includes shipping); I will order on 9/15   [please be aware that you may want to wear a black cami under this top,

so no extra skin is showing!][if you would like to see this top, go to #9763AA in black at:

https://www.formalfashionsinc.com/sas/sas.php?category_id=2]   black slacks (nothing that looks "painted on", no capri-length)   black shoes with black hose, trouser socks, or socksOther Deadlines and Dates:Wednesday, November 15 Payment deadline to audition for Middle School Regional Festival [and/or

MS Solo & Ensemble].  $20.00 for each event, payable to "NPA"

Saturday, January 27 HS Region auditions Thurs-Sat, Feb. 15-17 High School Region Festival – details TBA

Saturday, February 24 Middle School Region Auditions & Solo & Ensemble NOTE: These auditions are at Prescott Mile High MS

May 4-5 Middle School Region Festival [in Flagstaff, site TBA]

Flagstaff Symphony Info – all concerts Fridays at 7:30 p.m. in Ardrey Auditorium at NAU:September 29 – Beethoven “Coriolan Overture”, Mozart Horn Concerto, Kodaly “Hary Janos Suite”October 27 – Mussorgsky “Night on Bald Mountain”, Rimsky-Korsakov “Scheherazade” plus othersDecember 1 & 2 (also Saturday) – “Holiday Classic”, featuring "The Nutcracker" - a part of this concert will be repeated (and free!) on Saturday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. - get your tickets early for this one!January 26 – Will White “Acadia Fanfare”, Sibelius Violin Concerto, Dvorak “New World Symphony”

February 17 – Elisabetta Brusa “Wedding Song”, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2, Prokofiev “Romeo & Juliet Suites 2 & 3”

March 16 – Motown & Classics: tunes from Anita Baker, Al Green, Leon Russell, Etta James, Gladys Knight, and more

April 20 – Brahms “Schicksalslied” and Beethoven “Symphony #9” with Master Chorale

Grading:Grading for this year will be based on the same scale for all quarters. Only the content of the Playing Quizzes will change. These are the approximate values:

Concert preparation 25% Playing quizzes 20%Concert performance 30% Writing prompts 15%Attention/attitude 10%

Quarter 1: Playing Quizzes (Essential Elements)Quarter 2: Playing Quizzes (Essential Elements + concert pieces)Quarter 3: Playing Quizzes (Region excerpts + concert pieces)Quarter 4: Playing Quizzes (concert pieces + as assigned)We will also do Karate Strings “belts” (Apprentice Level) to mark your progress!

Other:Chamber Strings are taking a major festival trip this year, so we will be fund-raising, beginning in September. Concert Strings members are welcome to participate – and please plan now to give this special attention: every dollar we earn through fundraising cuts down the amount your family will have to pay for the middle school (or high school region trips. Any funds left over will either allow us to buy music and other supplies, or potentially can be carried over to a future school year for a region or festival trip.

New this year: Part of your responsibility as a student at NPA is to come to each class every day with all materials you need. In this class, that means your instrument (and accessories), music, and a pencil. There may be a penalty (grade or monetary) for any class member who routinely “forgets” their instrument, music, or pencil! While school instruments are available if you “forget” yours, if this becomes a habit, I will begin to charge your grade or your $ for the privilege of using them. I also will provide a set of music to each member of the group; replacement music will be available for a fee. I will also provide a pencil to each student at the beginning of the year; replacement pencils may be available for purchase.

Stay tuned for an exciting new year!!Questions? Email me at: mbruner@northlandprep.org