Southeastern High School Orchestra

The mission of the Hamilton Southeastern High School Orchestra Program is to challenge, inspire, understand, and represent through the art and communication of music performance.

We are thankful for our students who were able to join us for the Freshman Fun Day and the Symphony Summer Social! If your student was unable to attend, don't worry, there will be more socials throughout the year for students and families!

Today was a great first day with our Serenata and Symphony Orchestras! So nice to see our returning students supporting the new faces and Freshman in these ensembles.

I promise that our newsletter will not always be this long. This first one of the year is always a little lengthy as we are trying to get information out to you on the front end. Please take a moment to review important information below. For ease of access and consistency we try to keep the sections the same or similar through the year in our monthly emails. The links at the bottom will also stay the same and if for some reason we need to add something, we will be sure to let you know. In an effort to reduce the number of emails you receive (as a mom of two with multiple accounts, I completely understand) we will only send one newsletter out each month and typically during the first week of school. If additional information comes up between newsletters we will send it out via Skyward but again, we do our best to reduce emails for you.

Looking forward to a great year!

Heather Nieto, Director of Orchestras

Hamilton Southeastern High School

hnieto@hse.k12.in.us

Charles Kunz, Associate Director of Orchestras

Hamilton Southeastern High School

ckunz@hse.k12.in.us

We hope you and your families will join us on Friday, August 9th for our Annual Ice Cream Social! The Southeastern Orchestra will be providing ice cream with a variety of toppings. This is a wonderful opportunity for our families to get to know each other and the directors and have a fun evening together!

ICE CREAM SOCIAL RSVP

We apologize for the late notice but students do not need their violins and violas this week. If your student does bring their instrument, we will be giving out lockers on Thursday and Friday of this week so no worries! Students should plan to bring their violins/violas next week as we will start playing!

In an effort to create more opportunities for our orchestra students and families, the Southeastern Orchestra program is in the process of creating the Southeastern High School Orchestra Boosters, Inc. This process takes time and expertise and we are working diligently to ensure that everything is set up correctly. Thankfully we have some outstanding parents in our program who have been willing to help! We will be keeping you updated on our progress and next steps through the Southeastern Orchestra Royal Update. Please take a moment to review important information below.

PURPOSE & ACTIVITY STATEMENT

The purpose of the Southeastern High School Orchestra Boosters is to support and enhance the educational experience of the orchestra students through volunteerism, fundraising, and community engagement. Our goal is to provide resources and opportunities that foster musical growth, promote excellence in performance, and cultivate a strong sense of community among students, parents, and staff.

The Southeastern High School Orchestra Boosters will engage in a variety of activities to achieve its mission. These include organizing fundraising events such as concerts, concession, sale of goods, and community dinners; coordinating volunteer efforts for orchestra events and activities; facilitating communication between the orchestra director, students, and parents; and organizing social events to build camaraderie among orchestra families. Additionally, the organization supports the purchase of musical instruments, uniforms, and other essential equipment, and works to raise awareness and appreciation for the orchestra within the broader community.

EXECUTIVE BOARD & BYLAWS

• We are in the process of creating and refining our bylaws. Our bylaws will support our purpose and give guidance for how the SHSO Boosters, Inc. will function as an entity.
• Our Executive Board will consist of
• President
• Vice President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• In addition to our Executive Board, there will be the opportunity for our parents/guardians to lead a variety of committees.

VOTING

• YOU are a member of our organization. As such, you will be asked to vote for our Executive Board once we reach that point.
• This year we will be presenting you with a panel of candidates for these positions.

We truly appreciate your support with this organization. If you believe you have any of the following and are willing to help, please reach out to us!

• Experience creating or supporting a boosters program
• Experience being a treasurer or have an intricate knowledge for 503(c) tax laws and/or accounting
• Experience serving on a board

We wanted to take a moment to address some of your questions regarding class placements. Most importantly, please remember, that placing students in an orchestra where we believe they will be most successful will always be our primary goal.

HOW STUDENTS ARE ASSESSED AND PLACED

1. Audition-we listen to student auditions and make notes for each student regarding the student's skills.
2. Director recommendation (incoming Freshman)-after listening to the audition, we reach out to the JH Directors for more information as well as their recommendation for placement.
3. Balanced instrumentation-Students on the bubble are placed based on the instrumentation between two classes.

• For example, John is a cellist and is on the bubble between Serenata and Symphony. We need more cellos in Serenata to create a balanced ensemble so we we will place John in Serenata.

LEVELS OF THE ENSEMBLES

While it is our goal to ensure students are placed in the orchestra we feel they will be most successful, there are times that the high school schedule do not allow for this. When that happens we reassess the student and determine the next best class. Below is a brief description of each ensemble.

Camerata

The Camerata Orchestra is made up of Freshman Only. The purpose of this class is to introduce the incoming Freshman to the Southeastern Orchestra program, create a positive social structure and focus on streamlining student's skills sets.

Philharmonic

The Philharmonic Orchestra is made up of all grade levels, though primarily Freshman, Sophomore and Junior students. The purpose of the Philharmonic Orchestra is to give students additional experience and support before moving into an advanced ensemble.

Serenata

The Serenata Orchestra is made up primarily of upper classman with a few advanced Freshman. The purpose of Serenata Orchestra is to give more experienced musicians the challenge of an advanced ensemble with less committment than what is required for Symphony. The skills learned in Serenata will support their transition to the Symphony Orchestra, should they choose to audition.

Symphony

The Symphony Orchestra is made up primarily of upper classman with a couple of advanced Freshman. This advanced ensemble competes at a state level and participates as a full Symphony Orchestra in the Spring when we combine with the winds. Additionally, the ensemble has some required after school rehearsals starting in November.

We also thank you all for your patience as there have been several course conflicts that have created a situation where we have needed to move students out of their originally assigned class.

If you already know your student's class placement, please sign up for the class Remind! This service allows us to send you and students important information and reminders directly to your phone! We ask students and parents/guardians to please add their name as it is listed in Skyward so that we can easily identify who message are going to and coming from. Students should sign up as "student". Parents/guardians should sign up as "parent".

CAMERATA

PHILHARMONIC

SERENATA

SYMPHONY

SSO SPRING *Symphony Orchestra students ONLY, sign up for BOTH Symphony and SSO Spring.

Don't forget to come to the orchestra room (H128) on Thursday, August 15th! More details will come from the HSEHS Admin soon!

We are always looking for ways to involve our families and looking for help! Don't forget to fill out the Parent/Guardian Volunteer Form!

Thank you!!