by Gene WieMusic Director

Choosing an Ensemble Why Orchestra and Chamber Music?

Parent and Student Guide, Page �1

by Gene WieMusic Director

The Orchestra A centuries old tradition of excellence !

The Orchestra and Chamber Music Program in The Arts at St. Margaret’s is based on some of the oldest existing ensemble types in Western Classical Music. The concepts covered in our instrumental music courses empower students to become creative, passionate, and skilled artists, whose background in music supports their ongoing academic studies in all disciplines. The program focuses on developing technical proficiency and music literacy, as well as historically informed interpretation of music spanning the past four centuries.

Our orchestral ensembles begin with the Suzuki String Academy under the direction of adjunct faculty member Jennifer Visick, which offers a unique early childhood music education experience for parents together with their children as young as age three. From there, students can join the Lower School Orchestra in Grades 4 and 5 which offers an initial experience with instruments of the string family. Transitioning into the Middle School Orchestra, the ensemble expands to include not only strings, but also players of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments as students explore the paradigm of the full symphony orchestra for the first time. From there, the Upper School Orchestra studies the core orchestral music of composers like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and beyond. Advanced students in all divisions even have the opportunity to play in The Orchestra of St. Margaret’s, a community symphony where students rehearse and perform side-by-side with our adjunct faculty, professional musicians, and community members.

Parent and Student Guide, Page �2

by Gene WieMusic Director

Chamber Music is a unique format that sees players in small ensembles without a conductor. Popular configurations include String Quartets, Piano Trios, Wind Quintets, and Brass Quintets, although there exist instrumental combinations for almost any and all players of piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and percussion. Designed for players who already have several years of playing experience in introductory orchestral ensembles, the Middle School Honors Chamber Music course offers students intensive coaching in the basic repertoire, honing their skills as team players and interpreters of musical scores. Our Upper School component includes Chamber Music I, a course that focuses on the study and performance of standard chamber music repertoire, and our newly developed Chamber Music II Honors, a performance course with a research and writing component that engages students in exploring historically-informed performance practices, journal research, and music criticism, theory, and history.

Parent and Student Guide, Page �3

by Gene WieMusic Director

Pianists will be delighted to find that not only can they participate in orchestral and chamber music ensembles in Middle and Upper Schools, but also have access to an After-School Piano Performance Program led by our adjunct faculty teachers Dr. Minji Noh and Sylvia Park. The program offers private lessons, performance classes, and recitals, and is open to any and all piano students in any division regardless of whether they study with our on-campus faculty or not. We are an All-Steinway School, featuring fifteen beautiful concert pianos by Steinway New York, including a world-class Model D Concert Grand generously dedicated by the Ko Family.

Due to our differentiated instruction, Woodwind (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), Brass (french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba), and Percussion (i.e. drums) players will initially start their instrumental experience with the Band Program in Grades 4 and 5. However, beginning in Grade 6 in the Middle School, those students have the option to join the Orchestra and Chamber Music Program.

Parent and Student Guide, Page �4

by Gene WieMusic Director

All music instruction takes place place in the recently opened (2012) Performing Arts Center, centered around the 450-seat Marcus D. Hurlbut Theater. The facility features custom teaching spaces for Band, Choir, Dance, Drama, Orchestra, Technical Arts, as well as practice rooms, faculty offices, and an extensive suite of technology supporting all sorts of educational audio, video, and networking.

In addition to our school-year programs, we are also pleased to host a variety of amazing summer programs for students of all ages including the John Perry Academy of Music Piano Festival, the Capistrano Conductor’s Institute, and the Capistrano International Chamber Music Festival. These programs feature world-class artist faculty visiting St. Margaret’s from conservatories, universities, and professional ensembles around the globe.

Parent and Student Guide, Page �5

by Gene WieMusic Director

Every year in January, the combined orchestral forces in Middle and Upper Schools travel together to Anaheim Disney to participate in a special Soundtrack Session Workshop. Students spend ninety minutes in one of Disney’s Recording Studios where they work through the process of sight-reading and recording musical scores to blockbuster animated features like The Lion Ling, The Little

Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast under the guidance of an experienced Hollywood film conductor. The experience is a small but comprehensive glimpse into the musical challenges faced by some of the best musicians in the industry, and also gives students a whole day of amusement in the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks.

For the past two seasons, our program has enjoyed a special on-campus residency with the musicians of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. A generous grant makes possible several months

of ensemble coaching, instrument workshops, and side-by-side performances with our local professional symphony. The depth of community engagement offered by this program is unique among schools in the Orange County area, further affirming the commitment by The Arts at St. Margaret’s to offer a diverse, wide-ranging, and exceptional education in the musical arts despite our small size.

Parent and Student Guide, Page �6

by Gene WieMusic Director

With our in-school ensembles, we ask that students choose an instrument and continue to play that same instrument from grade four through grade seven. This four-year commitment to developing technical and musical skills on an ensemble instrument is a reflection of our school’s mission to give our students an education that presents a depth of study as well as a breadth of options. While this can present challenges for students who might otherwise prefer to “jump around” and try a lot of different things, we feel that long-term their academic experience is enhanced by this focused approach to instrumental music.

Students, please consider your choice of instrument carefully, and go with what you want to play, not what other people think you should play, or what your friends are all playing. While we are more than happy to provide suggestions, ultimately you will need to select what you feel you can commit to playing for years to come!

I hope this simple guide has been a helpful resource to begin your exploration of the Orchestra and Chamber Music Program! For further information, including audio and video content designed to help you and your child determine an instrument to play, please visit this special section of our web site:

www.smesorchestra.org/resources.html

You are also welcome any time to email the director Mr. Gene Wie with any and all questions you might have at:

gwie@smes.org

Parent and Student Guide, Page �7