SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FALL 2025

announcements:

Chocolate for the World’s Finest Chocolate fundraiser will be available to pick up this Sunday before and after rehearsal! Each box sold earns student $23 toward either their tour tuition or regular SCVYO tuition.

Practice Assignment for 11/2/25:

Hi everyone!

Great work today! Thank you for your focus and effort as we continuously refine and improve our music! Now that we've learned most of the basics, we can sculpt the sound with intention and make something that really moves us and moves our audience!

Danse Des Ghazies:

1. Violin 2s and 3s/ Viola look at measure 29 and onward!

2. Violin 1s and Flute m. 53 to the end. Continue working on this so it's more secure. You are very exposed so we need to be more confident!

3. Trumpet, more volume!

4. Everyone! Our biggest challenge here is our entrances and not getting lost! Mark your parts (lines every four bars) and read your music along with listening to it on YouTube!

In the Hall

1. This is coming along nicely! Review it and visit any parts that you are unsure of notes! We are going to take this MUCH FASTER than we did in rehearsal today!

Symphony no. 4 Brahms

1. Measure 72 onward: keep our short notes SHORT! Since we will be speeding up, it's important we keep these rhythms tight and controlled.

2. m. 86 Strings need to use less bow to get this rhythm fast! The quarter notes use a little more bow but the eighth-notes need to be a tiny amount.

3. m. 52 Winds and Brass: Keep our half-notes (and tied quarter-notes) shorter than written. Think of them as slightly long quarter notes. We need to hear the starts of these notes to keep the rhythm moving forward.

4. m. 52 V2 and V3/Viola: keep these notes short and relatively quiet. You are not the most important here!

5. M. 56-65 NO MORE FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT BELOVED CHILDREN YALL BETTER LEARN THESE NOTES OR IMA GO FULL SUPER SAIYAN NEXT REHEARSAL!!!!! Jk do these with a metronome VERY SLOW! You will get them!

Thanks everyone!

Coach Mark

Fall 2025 Repertoire

Brahms Symphony No. 1

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) (arr. richard meyer)

parts

Student Orchestra playing our arrangement:

Professional Orchestra playing original version:

Danse des Ghazies

Anton arensky (1861-1906) (arr. victor lopez)

Parts

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt Suite

edvard grieg (1843-1907)

Parts

ATTENDANCE POLICY

As an orchestra, our collective sound is determined by the effort of every individual in the ensemble, and our ability to prepare a wonderful concert relies on the presence in rehearsal of every musician.

We have a lot of music to learn in a short amount of time, which means each week we are making changes to timing, bowings, articulation and more. When we are missing section members or individual parts, it’s difficult to progress as a group, because we end up spending a large portion of rehearsal time re-learning things we covered in previous rehearsals.

For this reason, we are clarifying our policies around tardiness and attendance.

TARDINESS:

Rehearsals will always begin on time - this means you should plan to arrive with ample time to unpack, warm up, and be in your seats ready to play at least 5 minutes BEFORE the start of rehearsal. (We recommend arriving at COC at least 15 minutes before the start of rehearsal).

In order to avoid unnecessary disruptions to rehearsal, moving forward we will close the door at the start of rehearsal. Late arrivals will be asked to wait outside for the first 10 minutes of rehearsal, during which time they can unpack their instruments, and get their music, stand and pencil ready to go. 10 minutes after the start of rehearsal, all latecomers will be admitted at once and ask to quickly and quietly take their seats.

ABSENCES:

Students are allowed a maximum of 3 excused absences per semester. After this point, ensemble directors will initiate a conversation with the student and parents to determine if the student will realistically be prepared to perform in the final concert.

If you plan to be absent, or have to miss a portion of rehearsal, please submit the ONLINE ABSENCE NOTIFICATION FORM at least 24 hours in advance, whenever possible.