Thank you to all my students and amazing boosters for the great fun of the Halloween Concert. I've heard lots of positive feedback about both the decorations, entrances, costumes and the performances. Bravo!!!

With the craziness of the Halloween concert in the rear view mirror, the ensembles are working hard to prepare for a more formal winter concert program. Uniforms will look a little different compared to the costumes. Many are also selecting music and beginning to prepare for Solo and Ensemble season as well. I'm enjoying seeing growth in both orchestras. Parents should expect to hear consistent home practicing if we are to reach my expectations for performance. Considering I only see them in class every other day, home practice is more critical than it was at Mill Creek. Help me to encourage them at home!

Solo and Ensemble Music Selection:

All Chamber Orchestra students and any Concert Orchestra students who signed up for S and E need to start searching for music. This needs to be accomplished by the end of November but the sooner the better so they can begin learning their parts. Where to get music? Private lesson teachers are option one for those that have them. Another option is web search. IMSLP.org is a giant free music resource for classical music. There are others out there. If students find music online, they need to bookmark the website they got it from. They will need to provide a url to the judge at S and E or a receipt if the music was purchased online. I also have a small library of music and am happy to offer suggestions and help them find music.

Winter Chair Tests:

Our next major exam will either be just before or just after Thanksgiving. Students will have assigned excerpts from class music with a rubric to follow. Students who do poorly (C or lower) may retake up until the date of their winter concert. I am happy to offer free lessons before or after school for students wanting help to prepare their test or help improving on a poor performance.

Winter Concerts:

Concert Orchestra will be performing with the Mill Creek Orchestras on Tuesday, December 10th at 7pm in the CPA. This is a free performance.

Chamber Orchestra will be performing with the DHS Chamber Choir and Symphonic Band on Tuesday December 17th at 7pm in the CPA. This is a free performance.

Scholarship Season:

Students interested in summer string camps (Blue Lake, MASTA,, Interlochen, etc) will have an opportunity to audition for Orchestra Booster Scholarships on January 16th. Students wishing to audition need to play a short excerpt classroom or solo music (2-4minutes) Additionally, Blue Lake will be sending a representative out to audition for scholarships from Blue Lake around the same time frame. Details to follow in the January newsletter.

New York City Rehearsal Survey:

New York travelers, be looking for a rehearsal survey in the very near future. The NYC Orchestra will need to meet outside of school to prepare for our performance in NYC.

1. Uniform Alterations:Uniforms should have made it home with all students. Be sure to have them try them on! We have already had one student who need to exchange for a different size. This takes time to order and ship a new outfit so don't wait! All pants and dresses arrive un-hemmed. We are not able to offer onsite alterations at the high school due to unforeseen circumstances but can recommend a seamstress that you can reach out to to schedule alterations. We recommend doing this asap as the holiday season books up very quickly for seamstresses. You may also go elsewhere for alterations or use our recommended seamstress below.

   Susan Zeluka home #426-1969 cell # 734-904-0622 susanscustomsewing@charter.net

2. Poinsettia Sale Wrap Up: Our poinsettia sales close on November 19th with orders to be picked up on December 10th. Don't forget!

3. Link to Orchestra Calendar:

   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZeCJ-U2r7GUfKkpSeGtyDxvOxSt7EYE0VNXv9EKgdAM/edit?usp=sharing

4. Link to Private Lesson Teacher List:

   https://docs.google.com/document/d/165badfw8GOA-1iN4M8gCeWMLgFlp2XX5ohEUvgTsa2k/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you to all those who volunteered to help make our annual Halloween Concert a success! The decorations created a festive atmosphere, we had a great audience turn out, and everyone enjoyed the funny and creative skits by both the students and Mr. D. A special shout-out goes to DHS Rep Sheri McArtor for coordinating the fun pumpkin-carving activity for students during dress rehearsal!

If you have photos to share from the concert (especially candids) that we can use on social media or in presentations, please share them in our DOB Google Photo Drive at bit.ly/DCS_Orchestra_Photos.

REMINDER: Our annual poinsettia fundraiser is underway, and we need everyone to get the word out to friends and families about purchasing these beautiful plants! This is our only fundraiser of the year, and the program relies on the funds raised to support concerts, help with instrument repairs, and provide scholarships for private lessons, summer camps, and other extracurricular orchestra-related activities. You can share our poinsettia sale flyer from the DOB Facebook page at Dexter Orchestra Boosters.

Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday, November 12 at 6:00 p.m. in the Mill Creek Orchestra Room. We invite all orchestra parents/guardians to join us!

Thank you for your continued support of Dexter Orchestras!

Music is quite unique in that it involves all parts of the brain. To learn more, watch the video below and take a look at a pictoral/text explanation via the University of Central Florida:

https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/