Thursday, February 21, 2013

Mark Wood DVD ordering

Hi everyone!

I've heard that the link doesn't work to purchase DVDs of the Mark Wood concert through Angel.  If you are interested in purchasing one, please click this link:  http://shop.creativedigitalmasters.com/product.sc?productId=59

The cutoff for orders is March 1, so order before then!!!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fall Break

Our week back from Fall Break has (of course) been a busy one!  W have started new music in every class, and they are all working admirably on their respective pieces.  We have had several very productive rehearsals this week, and (with hope) that should continue!  Breakfast Club has even started holiday music already (YIKES!)!  The rest of the classes should be receiving holiday music in the next week or so as well, so we are in full swing for our next round of concerts in December.  The 6th grade class has also made strides this week.  They returned to their Essential Elements method book to brush up on a few things they should know from last year, and they have much improved!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

E DAY!

So here we are in our first E day of the year!  Students (I'm sure) are hard at work today composing a four measure melody using Noteflight that they will perform tomorrow!  Also, tomorrow night is another parent night for the parents to come in and learn how to play!  I hope that many show up!

We are also hard at work this week on pieces of music for our concerts next week.  Every grade has concerts next week and have been working hard for the past several weeks!  I'm excited to demonstrate the hard work and talent of all the students!

Also, the 8th grade class had the opportunity to work with Mr. Tietz, the high school director, Monday.  He was very excited at the level of playing that our 8th grade students posses!  In two weeks we will be able to show ZMS, ZCHS, and parents from both schools how well we play at the Crossover Festival!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Fall Festival!

It's that time for Fall Festival again!  This week Breakfast Club has been hard at work preparing for our performance at the festival this year.  We're playing a piece that was arranged by Kathleen Swayze, the orchestra teacher at ZMS, and we're very excited!  We perform at 2:30 tomorrow, so if you're out and about, come support the ZWMS orchestra!

After school club for the 5th grade students has also begun this week.  We had our first rehearsal after school on Wednesday, and I think it went really well!  Many of the students are very excited to play their instruments, and it's always good to have a couple extra rehearsals with me!  We meet every Monday and Wednesday after school until 3:30, so if your child is interested in participating, just let me know!

We also learned that we will have an added concert in February with the acclaimed pop/rock electric violinist Mark Wood!  If you don't know who he is, I would suggest looking him up online and checking out some of his videos, they are quite remarkable!  We are planing on performing with every orchestra member in Zionsville!  It's going to be HUGE!  More details are following shortly!

I also look forward to seeing all of you next Wednesday at 7pm for our first of several lessons with Mr. Plewa!  Meet here at 7pm to learn how to play the instrument your child plays every day!  We will have a one hour lesson, and in two weeks we will do it again!  RSVP via email to me if you would like to participate.  It is $5 for an hour lesson!  See you there!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Howdy Stranger!

It's time to get back into the swing of things!  It's been a very busy couple of weeks back, with scheduling, music ordering and sorting, and planning for the year.  I'm very excited to have all students back, and we've been working VERY hard to get ready for our first concerts of the year.  Breakfast Club will again play at the Fall Festival at 2:30pm, followed by ZMS strings and the high school orchestras, come and support us!

5th grade students have been working hard at plucking in correct rhythm, and even have started using left hands to get more notes!  They are practicing diligently, I can tell!  6th-8th grade students have all received new music as well, and are already mastering the pieces that were passed out earlier this week!  Here's hoping all of this momentum and enthusiasm continue!!

I enjoyed meeting many of you at our open house for 5-6 grade, and look forward to meeting many of you at tonight's 7-8 grade open house.  See all of you soon!!

Monday, January 23, 2012

A Welcome Back!

This week we've had several big announcements in class!  For one, 6th, 7th, 8th, and Breakfast Club groups have an added concert on March 10th here at ZWMS.  We have an exciting opportunity to be a pilot program for the Indiana Music Educators Association's Non-Competative Festival!  Groups from here at ZWMS and from the other middle school will perform for three judges and be rated based on how well they perform.  A small lesson from the judges will follow.  Times will be announced for each group's performance shortly!

Also, I have started planning for a large trip next year.  We are going to go overseas to Salzburg, Vienna, and Munich!  More details will follow, but the most important thing is that parents let me know if they are interested in their child attending this trip.  We are shooting for Spring Break of next year.  Please send me an email if you would like more information!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Concert Week!

Hi all!

This is a big concert week for us here at ZWMS!  The 5th and 6th grade concert was last night (Dec. 13th) and what a concert it was!  All of the students played very well, and behaved even better!  I'm extremely pleased with all of our students that performed last night!

The 7th and 8th grade concerts are tonight (Dec. 14th) and I'm expecting more of the same!  I'm very excited to hear how they will perform, as I'm sure the students are very eager to get on stage.  I hope to see you all at least once this week, so stop and say, "Hi!"

Tri-M induction is Thursday for all Tri-M members.  We will introduce several new members into our "fraternity."  It will be nice to see all the students in their best after Caroling for Cans last week!

What a week!!!

Have a happy holiday season everyone!