Letter from Mr. Larson (9/9)

Sinfonia East Students and Families,

What a great start to the year, I hope you all had as much fun as I did! It was so good to greet returning students as well as meet many new faces. We got to dive into the new pieces, explore dynamic ranges that make the music more engaging, and found a little time to encourage/force you to talk to each other. A really positive start and makes me excited for the upcoming season!

Next week Sinfonia East will have a substitute conductor, Mrs. Hebert. She conducts Sinfonia West and is able to help out next week. I will be with over 200 students from my school district as they perform the National Anthem at a Twins Game.

Look for the information about the Fall Retreat. It really is a lot of fun and is a great opportunity to get to know more people in the orchestra as well as get some extra focus on our new music.

What we worked on at the rehearsal:

Bizet – Played the entire piece

Gordon – Played the entire piece

Holesovsky – Played the opening (beginning through D)

What to work on with your GTCYS 10 before our retreat on Saturday, September 20

Listen to each piece at least two times this week and look at the following ideas.

• Bizet
  • Find two sections that are 8-16 measures long that have many accidentals. Practice them slowly to make sure you get them all. Come to next rehearsal with questions if you are unsure about a note

• Gordon
  • Use a metronome and find the measures that start with an eighth rest. Practice entering right after the click.
    • Start with quarter note = 90
    • Increase to quarter note = 150?????

• Holesovsky
  • Review beginning – D
  • Look ahead at E – H

Listening Links

Bizet, arr. Meyer – Habanera

Gordon – Momentum

Holesovsky – Bratislava

So much fun last night, thank you for making the first night so enjoyable! I look forward to hearing how next week’s rehearsal goes and seeing everyone at the Fall Retreat!

Mr. Larson