Tiger Choir Chronicles

Greetings Tiger Choir families! This will be our final newsletter for the Fall Semester! While there is nothing choir-related happening over the break I wanted to take a brief moment and thank everyone for a wonderful Fall Semester. I am so proud of all the kids and the work that they have put in this year. We have had a great finals week having fun and celebrating the successes of the semester.

As we move into the Spring Semester, often called the "Contest Semester," I wanted to inform and/or remind everyone of a few practices and policies that make the Spring different than the Fall.

1. Students will have WEEKLY Schoology assignments to strengthen our sight reading skills. Sight Reading sheets are distributed on Monday, and the assignments are always due on Friday. As a reminder, the late work policy states that students have a one week grace period to turn in assignments without penalty, but after that the assignment will be closed.
2. Solo and Ensemble: The contest date is Saturday, February 8th. I have received many entries for the contest which is very exciting to see our students take this challenge! The deadline has been extended to TOMORROW for any student wishing to still enter. The $40 entry fee MUST be turned in before break as I need to enroll students over the holiday break.
3. UIL Parent Preview Concert will take place on March 18th, and UIL Contest is April 2-4. Please be sure that those dates are clear on your family calendar as they are an essential part of our curriculum.
4. Pop Show: May 16th: Our final performance of the year will be sure to delight! Please be on the lookout in April for student audition dates and ticket sales.
5. Chorale students: Please be sure you have reviewed the after school rehearsal schedule. Varsity Treble and Varsity Tenor-Bass Rehearsals are a graded requirement of the course and only school-related conflicts will result in an excused absence. For students that work, they should plan NOW to inform their employer to not schedule for those dates.

Our next newsletter will be in the new year. Over the winter holiday, should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. I will not be checking my email on a daily basis, but will get back to you as soon as possible and appreciate your patience in advance.

I hope EVERYONE has a safe and restful break over the next couple weeks. Every student has worked so hard and has earned a break before we gear up for UIL season!

Due to campus scheduling conflicts, our Parent Preview Concert scheduled for March 25th has been moved to Tuesday, March 18th at 7:00 pm. I apologize for this inconvenience.

It is my #1 goal to ensure that your children see our choir program as a safe, comfortable, fun, and welcoming space where they can grow not only into mature young adults, but also into young, blossoming musicians. As we move into January and students begin enrolling in classes, we could use your help in spreading the word about how great our Travis Choir Program is! We want EVERYONE in our community to know how great the students in the program are, and that ANYONE can be a part of it no matter their choir experience! Choir enrollment numbers affect the program's staffing, funding, and overall support and we could use your help simply by spreading the word and encouraging incoming students as well as current Travis students to consider checking out our choir program.

Other simple ways you can help spread the word about our incredible students and choir program:

1. Follow our social media pages (Facebook, instagram, X) @travis_choir.
2. Interact with our social media posts and share them for others in the community to see the amazing things our students are creating and experiencing.
3. Tag @travis_choir when you upload your own pictures and videos from concerts so others can easily find us and check us out!

I know we are all proud of our students and can work together to get even more incredible kids involved in our choir community!

TOMORROW IS THE EXTENDED FINAL DAY TO ENTER!

Solo & Ensemble is an OPTIONAL contest that will be taking place on February 8, 2025. At THS, ALL students are required to learn a solo, however, students have the option of singing it for a judge on February 8th. Any student who does NOT wish to participate in the contest will perform their solo for Mr. Miner for a major grade. Solos will be handed out this week for students to begin working on.

If you are interested in participating in the contest, there is a $40 entry fee due by December 20th (extended date). This covers the cost of the entry fee as well as the accompanist fee (2 rehearsals and the contest). Please bring your money in at any time to register for the contest.

If you weren't able to make our Winter Concert this past Tuesday, I certainly hope you'll be able to make a future performance! The concert was a WONDERFUL expression of festive music, and we were so glad to be joined by the Garcia MS Varsity Treble Choir and THS Orchestra for the standing-room-only performance! I am so proud of all the students as this concert was a large undertaking and compared to our Fall Concert, demanded a lot of musical growth and maturity from students. I have many thank you's to shout-out because without everyone, this concert could not have been a success:

1. Thank you to everyone who came to watch! Your presence in the auditorium really matters to the student performers!
2. Mrs. Valorie Staley and the THS Choir Boosters for organizing the cookie reception
3. Everyone who donated items for our reception
4. Everyone who helped set-up and clean up the reception
5. Everyone who follows our social media and shares with the community how awesome our Tiger Choir students are!
6. Everyone else who helped behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, and even without me knowing to help make this concert a success!

Thank you to everyone who has been purchasing items from our Amazon Wishlist to help "clear the list!" If you are able to browse our list and help purchase an item, we would be SO grateful for your support!

Please consider supporting our local businesses who support our students! Click their logo below to explore their website!

1. January 11: Area Auditions (Good luck Tori!)
2. January 13: Varsity Treble Rehearsal (Chorale Treble Singers 3:00 - 5:00 pm)
3. January 14: Varsity T/B Rehearsal (Chorale T/B Singers 3:00 - 5:00 pm)
4. January 17: Future Singing Tigers Social
5. February 8: Solo & Ensemble

I am so proud of all the Chorale students and their work this semester. They have taken on such a challenge and have successfully taken our program a step forward with their determination and work ethic. I significantly raised the bar on them this year, and am so proud of how they have worked to meet it in difficulty of music, amount of performances we committed to, the amount of music they have worked on this year, and how well they work with each other. Tonight we celebrate with one final performance at Constellation Field's Holiday Lights. Call time is 5:45 pm in the choir room. Our performance time at the event is 6:50 pm. All family tickets have been sent home. I plan to have the bus there no later than 6:30 pm if you plan to meet us at the gate.

Next semester, we will begin our Varsity UIL rehearsals after school. These rehearsals are a graded requirement of the course and students need to make plans NOW to be sure they have adjusted schedules as necessary for attendance. Please note that ONLY school events can be an excused absence from rehearsals. Outside leagues, rodeo concerts, etc. are not considered excused absences. In general, Varsity Treble Choir will rehearse on Mondays after school, and Varsity Tenor-Bass Choir will rehearse on Tuesdays after school. Please click HERE for the complete schedule. We will also still have our Pre-UIL and UIL events on the original choir calendar.

Our Choir Parent Booster Club operates to help support and assist the choir program in many ways! We have regular meetings to help plan events, discuss volunteer needs, and discuss financial needs of the choir program. You can be as involved as you would like to be! To encourage membership, the board has waived all membership fees this year in hopes that you will join us and find out ways you can support your child in their musical journey as a member of the Travis Tiger Choir!

Our Booster Club is still selling our "Travis Choir" yard signs! Signs are available "as is" ($20) or customized ($25)! If you're interested in showing your THS Choir pride, please send in your order money and ORDER FORM (only for customized signs) at any time!

Thank you to everyone who has paid choir fees! If you have not yet, please remember that they were due on Friday, September 20th. If your child needs assistance, our Booster Club is here to help! Please simply send me an email and let me know that your child needs assistance paying choir fees and our Boosters will be happy to help out if they are able!

This year we are thrilled to add another private voice teacher to our staff and extend a warm welcome to Mr. Antoine Griggs. Mr. Griggs is an accomplished performer who regularly sings with various organizations in Houston, including the Houston Ebony Opera Guild and Houston Grand Opera! He came to campus a couple weeks ago to meet the students and began lessons last week. He still has a few spots open. If your child is interested, or if you have any specific questions please feel free to reach out to him at antoinegriggs@gmail.com. We are very fortunate in Fort Bend that lessons are taught during student's choir class time so no additional rehearsal time is necessary and I hope that many students will take advantage of this awesome opportunity!