2013-14 Choral Handbook

Mendocino Unified

Choral Program

Handbook

2013-2014

Choral Director: Kim Bratton

Music Dept: 937-0564 Ext. 3960

www.mendochoirs.educatorpages.com

bratton@mcn.org

Dear Choir Parents/Guardians:

Welcome back to another year of wonderful music making! If you are new to the program this year, welcome and I look forward to meeting all of you at back to school night and at the first concert on October!

I am excited to be starting another wonderful year with the choir student’s. Our first concert in October will be a “Broadway” themed concert. The High School Choirs and Middle School Chamber Singers will be traveling to NYC in the spring to participate in the Heritage National Music Festival!

Please check the choir website often! I will put a monthly newsletter on the site so that you always know what’s happening in chorus that month. Make sure that you put your email on the help checklist in the handbook so that we can get you on the choir email list. The Mendocino Choir Boosters also has a facebook page that I encourage all parents and friends of the choir to “Like” so that you are up-dated on up-coming fundraisers, meetings and boosters events. In order for the NYC trip to happen, the Choir Boosters and I will need a lot of parental help!

Please read the Choir Handbook and all the dates for the year. The signed contract and help checklists are due on Tuesday, September 3^rd.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at anytime! Here’s to another great year of choral music!!

Sincerely,

Kim Bratton

MUSD Choral Director

bratton@mcn.org

707-937-0564 Ext. 3960

The Choirs

Grammar School Chorus

All 4^th and 5^th graders take chorus. The Grammar School Chorus will participate in the Holiday and Spring Concert. Students will begin to read music in 4^th grade and sing in 2 parts in 5^th grade.

Middle School Chorus

The Middle School Chorus is offered to 6th-8^th graders who have a desire to sing in an ensemble. They may also participate in the CMEA (California Music Educator’s Association) Festival Trip in the spring. 7^th and 8^th grade choral students may be considered for the CMEA Bay section Jr. High Honor Choir.

Middle School Chamber Singers

The Middle School Chamber Singers is an advanced treble chorus open by audition. Students learn difficult and challenging choral music. They also travel with the high school choirs to the Heritage Music Festival every other year.

High School Concert Choir

High School Concert Choir is offered to high school students as an elective during 1^st and 2^nd periods. Students will participate in approx. 3 concerts per year, as well as the annual Dessert Show. Students are given the opportunity to audition for the CA regional and All-State Choirs. The HS choirs travels to the CMEA Festival every year and travel to Heritage Music Festival every other year.

High School Chamber Singers

High School Chamber Singers is an advanced treble chorus, which is open by audition. It is offered once a week after school from 3:45-4:45 on Monday’s. Students who wish to audition/participate must be enrolled in the Concert Choir. Music is advanced and often 4 part A Cappella music, as well as music in foreign languages. This is a graded class.

MMS & MHS Chorus Grading & Attendance Policies

Concerts & Festivals

All concerts are mandatory. The concerts are a culmination of learning that takes place in the classroom. Failing to show for a concert will result in the lowering of two letter grades. All students are given performance dates at the beginning of the school year (see back of handbook). If a student misses a concert due to illness or family emergency, a phone call must be made to Ms. Bratton by the parent or guardian. An alternative assignment will be given if a student misses a concert due to an emergency.

Class Participation

All students will receive 10 points per day. Students will receive points for:

Attendance

Positive Attitude

Having proper materials

Class Participation

Being Safe, Respectful & Responsible

High School Attendance

5 unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for the semester.

3 unexcused tardies will result in the lowering of one letter grade.

Middle School Attendance

3 unexcused tardies will result in a referral to the office for detention and will result in the loss of 2 participation points for the day.

Choir trip privileges will be suspended for not following chorus class procedures, school-wide rules, and for having a suspension the same semester as a trip or event. Middle School students who have an F on the current progress report or reprot card are not eleigible to attend a chorus trip. High School students who have an F and/or do not have a 2.0 may not attend a chorus trip.

Performances

Dates for performances and events for the year are listed in the handbook. Please write them on your calendar now.

For HS students: Employers usually understand missing work for a school performance when it is explained that this is a required, graded school activity. Be sure to give them plenty of notice!

ALL STUDENTS are expected to be at all performances listed for their group(s). School concerts and music festivals, which are the culmination of the work we do in class, will be considered curricular. Community performances, where we provide “entertainment”, will be considered extra curricular and extra credit, with the exception of the MHS Chamber caroling for the Inn Tour. That is mandatory.

Concert Dress

All Middle School girls will wear assigned chorus dresses. The boys will need black pants and a white dress shirt. The tie is provided. BLACK DRESS SHOES ARE MANDATORY. BLACK TENNIS SHOES, ETC ARE NOT ALLOWED! If you cannot find a pair for your child, please contact Ms. Bratton as soon as possible. If a girl loses or damages a dress, they will need to pay a replacement cost of $60 to have it replaced. If a boy loses or damages the tie, they will need to pay a replacement cost of $10.

All High School students will wear choir dresses and tuxedos. Students will be issued a dress/tux during the first semester and must return it, cleaned, at the end of the school year. BLACK DRESS SHOES ARE MANDATORY, BLACK TENNIS SHOES ARE NOT ALLOWED!

If a student loses or damages the choir outfit, they will need to pay $100 to have it replaced.

Honor Choirs

CMEA Bay Section Jr. High Honor Choir

CMEA (California Music Educator’s Association) allows each middle school choir director to pick seven 7^th & 8^th graders to be considered for the Jr. High Honor Choir. Ms. Bratton will pick students based on musical talent, pitch accuracy, sight-reading skills, positive attitude and 100% class participation. Once students have been selected, music will be sent to them to be studied and memorized, with the help of their choral director. The students will then go to San Jose State University where they will rehearse and perform with 150 of the best Jr. High singers in the Bay Area, under the direction of a well-respected conductor.

ACDA High School Regional & All-State Choirs

The selection of students begins with an audition in Fortuna, CA. For the audition, the student must prepare an Italian Art Song, as well as sing a major scale, chromatic scale, major triad, and minor triad…all unaccompanied. They must also sight-read a given passage of music and tonal memory (5 notes played to be sung back). Once they audition, they are given a score of 1-100. Students who score high enough will be accepted into the CA Regional Honor Choir. Students who attend Regional Honor Choir may be selected for All-State choir if their scores are high enough out of the regional participants. Students who wish to audition should see me ASAP, as the auditions are on September 21st at Santa Rosa High School. Please go to http://acdacal.org/coastal_hc/ to register online and pay the $10 registration fee that is required by ACDA.

MUSD Choral Program Contract

We indicate by our signatures that we have read the choral handbook, including grading policies .We have read the choral program dates for the 2013-14 school year and have put them on our calendar. We know that our child must have black dress shoes for choir concerts. We understand that special events, choir trips, and honor choirs are privileges and understand that to participate, students must abide by the choir handbook and all school rules or be in jeopardy of not being able to participate in the chorus trips or honor choirs.

We will encourage our child to be a positive, contributing member of the Mendocino Unified Choral Program.

Student Signature_____________________________Date____________

Parent/Guardian Signature_____________________Date____________

The Mendocino Choir Boosters

The Mendocino Choir Boosters are comprised of a fabulous group of parents who help support the choral program, director and help to raise funds for music festivals. The Choir Boosters needs YOU! They are looking for new volunteers to help out this year. Meetings are on the 1st Weds of the month @ 7:00PM in the K-8 Choir Room. Please come to FIRST MEETING OF THE YEAR ON SEPT. 4^TH @ 7:00PM IN THE K-8 CHOIR ROOM. If you checked the box, we’ll be calling you J

[ ] I am interested in helping with Choir Boosters

Name_____________________Phone Number_______________E-Mail____________

Chorus Parent Volunteer Checklist

Please fill out the checklist to help the Choir Boosters get an understanding of where you would like to be of the most help this year. Please turn the checklist back in with the chorus contract. Thanks! Kim J

CONCERTS

[ ] House Manager

-I need two people to help manage the audiences at concerts. I need one person for the balcony area and one person for the bottom audience area. These people would help to keep the house quiet during the performances and help seat people who come in late. These people would also let me know right before the concert, that most of the audience has entered and been seated and that I can start the concert.

[ ] Door/Tickets

[ ] Handing out programs

[ ] Set-up and selling refreshments

[ ] Willing to bring refreshments

FUNDRAISING

[ ] Fundraising Chairperson for Boosters

[ ] Helping to acquire raffle items for raffle

[ ] Chaperoning pizza nights

[ ] See’s Candy sells

Fall Musical

[ ] Help with sets

[ ] Help with hair and make-up

[ ] Help with chaperoning rehearsals

[ ] Providing snacks for rehearsals

[ ] Backstage supervision

[ ] Help with costumes

SECRETARIAL

[ ] Phone calling coordinator

CHAPERONE/DRIVERS

[ ] Driving for Candlelight Inn Tour Caroling

[ ] Driving for HS honor choir auditions

[ ] CMEA Music Festival

[ ] 2014 NYC Heritage Music Festival MS Chamber and HS Choirs only.

[ ] Concert rehearsals @ Cotton/Day of the concert

Parent Name______________________Phone#___________________________

Email________________________[ ] YES put me on the choir parent listserv

Student Name____________________ Student School_____________________

2013-14 Choir Concert & Event Dates

September 7^th DEADLINE for online registration for Regional and All-State Auditions

September 21st HS Regional/All-State Honor Choir Auditions

Santa Rosa High School

October 12th HS Homecoming MHS Chamber National Anthem

October 25th MS & HS Fall Broadway Concert 7:00PM Cotton Aud.

Nov. 15^th, 16^th & 17^th POSSIBLE MS & HS Fall Musical/HS PAC

Nov. 21^st-23rd Regional Honor Choir for accepted HS students Palo Alto, CA

December 9^th Round Table Pizza Night Fundraiser 5-9

December 12th MHS Chamber Caroling at Candlelight Inn Tour

December 14^th CMEA Jr. High Honor Choir Rehearsal and Performance for selected students in San Jose, CA

December 17th 4^th-12^th Grade Holiday Concert @ 7:00/Cotton

January 10th/11th Jr. High Bay Section Honor Choir Rehearsal/Performance @ San Jose State

January 31st Sing-A-Thon Fundraiser @ HS PAC/Time TBA

March 21-23rd HS All-State Honor Choir for accepted students

San Jose, CA

April 23^rd-28^th NYC Heritage Music Festival Trip for HS Choirs and MS Chamber Singers

May TBA CMEA Music Festival – All MS and HS Choirs

May 20^th 4^th-12^th Grade Spring Concert Cotton Aud. @ 7:00PM