Dear Choir families,
I sincerely hope you have all had an enjoyable and productive summer! My family has enjoyed some time out of town, gotten a few projects done on the house, and enjoyed time together. As much as we have enjoyed this time, I can honestly say that I am ready to get back to making music and looking forward to some exciting opportunities this year! One of those opportunities is the revamping of sectional time.
First of all, would each of you get into your Student View accounts and make sure that you are signed up for the correct choirs? We want to have each of you in the group(s) that you expect on the first day. It will be soooo much easier if you take care of it now rather than wait until the first week of school. If your schedule is not correct, call the office and let them know you need a schedule change. Again, you stand a much better chance of getting the classes you are hoping for if you do this now. PLEASE take care of this ASAP!
For Concert Choir members – as I indicated to everyone last Spring, we are changing the model that we are using for sectional rehearsals to help time management for families and create a more consistent sectional time for the students. For the foreseeable future we will hold sectionals for CC women on Monday’s from 2:30 – 3:15 and for men on Wednesdays during the same time. These times have been developed with the input of coaches and activity directors and students will not have to worry about being penalized for being a little late to practice on their sectional day. This is now Sprague High School policy and our coaches have been great to give their backing to this idea. Participation in these section rehearsals is crucial to our continued success as one of the top high school choirs in the country! If any student is unable or unwilling to participate in these rehearsals should speak to me ASAP and I am happy to find another choir in which they can participate that doesn’t have the extra time requirement.
I am excited to announce that the Concert Choir has been selected to perform at the NW Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association held in Portland this March! We were selected through a recorded audition from among dozens of HS choirs in the Northwest and this honor is a testament to the dedication and effort of our great students and the support they receive from the community and their parents! Well done! The choirs from West and South were also selected to perform at this event. This performance will occur on Friday, March 9 so mark your calendars now!
Finally, as a way for everyone to break the ice and get reacquainted we will have a pool party on Saturday, September 2 from 1-4 pm at Salem Swim and Tennis. There will be old and new friends, food, and generally a great time. I hope that you will all join us for that event even though it occurs before the official start of the year. (the pool is not available for rent after this). Here is the link for the RSVP through Charms. Make sure you sign up right away so that we know how much food to have on hand. Let me extend a special invitation to our new choir members. It may seem strange to show up to an activity where you haven’t met people yet but this is a great opportunity to get yourself involved in the school and make friends! Simply follow the link above and sign up to attend. You won’t be sorry!
That’s all for now! The choir council and I will be meeting this week to discuss the new school year. Our goal is to make this year the best musical experience for every singer of every group!
See you all in a couple of weeks!
Sing-cerely,
Dr. Brown
p.s – Most of our 2017-2018 dates on on the Charms calendar now so look and plan ahead!
Welcome to Sprague Choirs! 