The Edmond Creative

Greetings Edmond Fine Arts Educators and Administrators:

November is here and I can already hear the green bean casserole calling my name. Yum. This past month has been so fulfilling with the first performances of the year! I am looking forward to many more as we approach the holidays. I am so grateful to work in a community that understands the value of the arts and prioritizes its role in developing our children. Keeping with the theme of the year of "Shine your Light", I would like to take a moment to discuss another way we shine our light through reflection. One of my favorite artists, Common, has a song entitled - "The Light". The chorus states the following:

"There are times, when you'll need someone.

I will be by your side.

There is a light, that shines,

Special for you, and me."

You are special to each child, family, and colleague that you encounter, and your light reflects in every performance and piece that is displayed for all to see. When times seem dim, don't forget to look toward those who reflect the light you provided, to help brighten your day as well. Sometimes we just need a reminder that the love of the activity and its transformational power can assist in brightening the world for all to see.

Thank you for being that special light. Special for you, and me.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out!

The arts are ALIVE and WELL in Edmond Public Schools!

On October 29th, all 6th Grade Vocal students from across the district met at Edmond Memorial High School to participate in a clinic with the choral staff from EPS. That evening, a performance was held for families featuring numerous selections from the 6th grade. Students and parents were even serenaded by ensembles from each of our vertical HS programs to give everyone a taste of what choir is like in high school.

Congratulations to all the choral staff for a wonderful evening of celebration of all things choir!!!

On October 26th, Memorial Marching Band traveled to St. Louis to compete in the Bands of America Super Regional hosted at the America's Dome. Students had a chance to see the St. Louis Zoo, City Museum, The Gateway Arch, and the campus of St. Louis University. The band had a spectacular performance scoring 22nd out of 76 bands performing over three days. This is the highest ranking that the Memorial Band has received attending this contest. We are so proud of the students, staff, and families for a memorable trip that create memories for a lifetime. You are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!

The Office of Standards and Learning at the Oklahoma State Department of Education is excited to announce free professional development workshops for the 2024-25 school year.

The fine arts workshop "Scaling Up: Elevating Your Elementary Music Classroom" will focus on elementary music education. Attendees will review the music standards, explore resources in the framework, and leave with new ideas for the classroom. Attendees will also be able to connect with other elementary music educators.

The virtual elementary music regional meeting will be held on

Tuesday, November 12 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Registration is open and the meeting will also be recorded and shared afterward. Hope to see you online November 12!

On October 3rd, Edmond Santa Fe Marching Band traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona to compete in the Bands of America Arizona Regional Contest. Bands from 6 states competed at the Northern Arizona University Dome and Santa Fe was named Grand Champion. With a score of 82.95, Santa Fe not only won the contest, but swept all captions including Outstanding Music, Outstanding Visual, and Outstanding General Effect. This will be the first time in history that a band from the "West" side of the state has won a BOA Regional Competition. Congrats to all the families, students, and directors for making history!!!

On October 29th, Heartland Middle School Choirs presented their Fall Concert at Santa Fe High School Auditorium. They revealed their newly branded Show Choir - "Thunderstruck", vocal soloists between large ensembles, and performances from Tenor/Bass, Treble, and Mixed Choirs. Fantastic work shining your light for the community and great work to everyone involved!

Our Fall Youth Concerts will be on November 12 and 13, 2024. We have two concerts each day at 10am and 11:40am. The programs are specially geared towards 2nd through 6th grade students, and beginning Band and Orchestra. Choir students are absolutely welcome as well. Of course, these programs are designed for everyone to enjoy, not just music students! The entire orchestra will be performing a 50-minute program of exciting music highlighting every instrument at the Civic Center Music Hall stage. The concerts are completely FREE! Schools are responsible for providing transportation to the Civic Center (please do let us know if you need help arranging transportation for your students). If the Fall dates do not work for your school, we also have Spring Youth Concerts on March 11 and 12, 2025.

Additionally, our "We've Got Rhythm" program in which a small ensemble of Philharmonic musicians visits your school. Performances are fun and interactive!

You may email me at angelica@okcphil.org, or contact our Education Manager directly at chase@okcphil.org.

November 2nd

Oklahoma Bandmasters Association State Marching Contest

Broken Arrow HS Tiger Stadium

Prelims

10:15: Edmond Santa Fe

11:00: Edmond Memorial

12:00: Edmond North

Finals Begin @ 7:00 PM

November 2nd

OkCDA/OkMEA 1st Round Auditions

Enid HS

All Day

November 4th

COCDA Vocal Festival

Bethany First Church of the Nazarene

All Day

November 4th

EPS School Board Meeting

EPSAC

6 PM

November 7th

HS All-City Orchestra Clinic

Edmond North HS Siberian Gym

All-Day

November 7th

Centennial Elementary Music Program

Centennial Elementary

6 PM

November 7th

Cross Timbers 2nd Grade Music Program

Cross Timbers Elementary

6 PM

November 7th

Heritage Elementary Music Program

Heritage Elementary

6:00 PM & 7:15 PM

November 7th

John Ross Elementary 3rd Grade Music Program

John Ross Elementary

6 PM

November 7th

Russell Dougherty 4th & 5th Grade Music Program

First Christian Church

6:30 PM

November 7th - 8th

Summit Theatre Arts present "The Con"

Summit MS Cafeteria

7:00 PM

November 9th

CODA Auditions

Edmond Santa Fe HS

All Day

November 11th

Sequoyah MS Veteran's Day Assembly

Sequoyah Gym

9 AM

November 12th

Sunset Elementary 4th Grade Program

Sunset Elementary Cafeteria

6:00 PM

November 12th

Cheyenne 6th Grade Band Demonstration

Cheyenne Gym

6:30 PM

November 13th

OKC Philharmonic Field Trip - Cheyenne MS Band

OKC Civic Center

TBD

November 14th

Northern Hills Elementary Music Program

Northern Hills Cafeteria

6:15 PM & 7 PM

November 14th

Washington Irving Elementary Music Program

Washington Irving Cafeteria

TBD

November 14th

West Field Elementary Music Program

West Field Elementary

TBD

November 14th

Redbud 3rd Grade Music Program

Redbud Elementary

6 PM

November 14th

Ida Freeman 3rd Grade Music Program

Ida Freeman Elementary

6:30 PM

November 14th

Scissortail Elementary 4th Grade Music Program

Scissortail Elementary

6:30 PM

November 15th & 16th

Sequoyah Theatre Arts present "Junie B. Jones"

Sequoyah MS Cafeteria

November 15th & 16th : 6:30 PM November 16th : 2:30 PM

November 15th & 16th

Santa Fe Theatre Arts present "Play ON! "

SFHS Auditorium

7 PM

November 15th & 16th

Speech and Debate Contest

Southern Nazarene University

All Day

November 18th

Santa Fe Orchestra Pre-OSSAA Concert

SFHS Auditorium

7 PM

November 19th & 20th

OSSAA Fall Orchestra Contest

Santa Fe HS Auditorium

All Day

November 19th

OkCDA 2nd Round Auditions

Rose State College

All Day

November 21st - 23rd

Edmond North Theatre Arts present "Much Ado About Nothing"

Edmond North Auditorium

7 PM

November 21st

Santa Fe HS Treble Festival

SFHS Auditorium

All Day

November 22nd

Frontier Elementary 4th Grade Music Program

Frontier Cafeteria

6:00 PM

November 22nd & 23rd

NHCO Clinic and Performance

Oklahoma City University

November 23rd

OkMEA Jazz Auditions

Midwest City High School

All Day

November 25th - 29th

Thanksgiving Break

No School