And practice we did!!  Washington Irving Orchestra and Band students are all set to take their big trip to Carnegie Hall next week Tuesday.  We are especially excited to have 28 WI students performing onstage along with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the “Come to Play” Singers!   Our students were selected from an audition video that we submitted in March.  Congratulations to the 13 Senior Orchestra students who have been working on the music since October.  This will be an unforgettable event!!

Please listen to one of the pieces we performed:

trumpet voluntary

This week we began putting the final touches on the LinkUP! theme song, “Come to Play” by Tom Cabaniss.  The more we play “Come to Play”, the more we enjoy the catchy melodies and syncopated rhythms.

After winter break, we will begin to work on “In C” by Terry Riley.  This piece will give the string players a rare opportunity to improvise using several short melodies.

I learned this exercise many years ago from the Paul Rolland films, “The Teaching of Action in String Playing”.  If I remember correctly, this exercise is called the Shuttle Game.  Games like this encourage fluid motions, and a soft, round hand position.

Here is a photo of a beginning violinist working on the bunny hop from “Song of the Wind(z)”.

We are all working on keeping our left elbows from sinking too low, even the bass section.

Violinists scoop their elbow under the violin when they hop from a high string to a low string.  Stay tuned for pics in a month or so.

Shout Out to any cello or bass teachers out there reading my blog…Comments, suggestions, hints??  Let us know!!

These violists are reviewing the basic technique of holding the instrument with the chin so the left hand is free to travel up and down the fingerboard.

The exercise involves plucking on the highest string in first position and then traveling up to the end of fingerboard to pluck on the lowest string.  This game is a fun preparation for shifting, and a great review for holding the instrument.

Best of luck to the talented and hardworking string students from Opus 118!  You are an inspiration to string programs everywhere.

Members of the WI Chamber Orchestra also performed for our very own celebration in the newly refurbished WI auditorium.  We played “We Shall Overcome” to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and to celebrate the inauguration our new president, Barack Obama.

Beginning strings will give a less formal, ten-minute performance after-school on Thursday, December 18th at 2:30pm in the WI cafeteria.

The students have worked hard all semester.  Please come out to support us!!

Happy Holidays!

If anyone out there needs some fabulous string players for a special event, please let us know.  We are building our repertoire and are ready to perform!