The Public Schools of Brookline K-12 Performing Arts Department 115 Greenough Street, Room 216 Brookline, MA 02445 617-713-5216 William H. Lupini, Ed. D. Superintendent of Schools

Kenny Kozol, M.S.Ed., M.A. K-12 Performing Arts Curriculum Coordinator

  Dear  Families  of  Students  in  Grades  5  through  8,       In  this  letter,  you  will  find  information  related  to  our  music  program  about  the   following  three  things:     • Instrument  rental  events  on  Sept.  16  and  Sept.  19  for  students  in  Band  and   Orchestra   • After  school  Music  Extension  instrument  lessons  for  students  in  Band  and   Orchestra   • Town-­‐Wide  Bands,  Town  Wide  Orchestra  and  Town  Wide  Chorus  (Voices  of   Brookline)     If  you  have  any  questions,  please  don’t  hesitate  to  contact  me  at   [email protected]     Sincerely, Kenny Kozol K-12 Performing Arts Curriculum Coordinator [email protected]

INSTRUMENT RENTAL EVENTS: All 5th through 8th grade students in Band and Orchestra will need an instrument. While there are many places to rent or purchase an instrument, we will host two instrument rental events by the company Music & Arts next week in the Devotion School Auditorium. TIMES AND LOCATION FOR INSTRUMENT RENTAL MEETINGS ARE: Wednesday, September 16, 4:30pm to 8:30pm, Devotion School Auditorium Saturday, September 19, 9am to 1pm, Devotion School Auditorium You may also choose to rent your instrument online at musicarts.com, or visit Music & Arts Newton Center Store. We would like for every student to have an instrument by Monday, September 21.   Scholarships  for  instrument  rentals:     All  students  who  qualify  for  free  or  reduced  lunch  receive  free  instrument  rental.  You   can  obtain  your  child’s  instrument  by  attending  one  of  the  instrument  rental  events   and  at  the  check-­‐out  letting  them  know  your  child  qualifies  for  free  or  reduced  lunch;   they  will  loan  you  the  instrument,  take  your  contact  information  and  we  will  verify.  If   you  do  not  qualify  for  free  or  reduced  lunch,  but  have  financial  need,  you  can  request  

a  scholarship  application  by  emailing  jeanine_dias-­‐[email protected],  or   calling  Jeanine  Dias-­‐Gaylor,  Performing  Arts  Secretary,  at  617-­‐713-­‐5216.       Music  Extension  After  School  Lessons  for  students  in  Band  and  Orchestra  in   grades  5-­‐8     We  strongly  encourage  all  students  in  grades  5  through  8  Band  and  Orchestra  to  take   lessons  after  school,  as  this  will  greatly  increase  their  success  on  their  instruments.   While  there  are  many  area  music  schools  and  teachers  that  you  may  choose,  we  offer   lessons  through  our  Music  Extension  School.  The  price  of  these  lessons  is  $680  for  30   private  lessons,  $460  for  30  semi-­‐private  lessons,  and  $440  for  30  small  group   lessons  for  fifth  graders.  We  also  offer  needs  based  scholarship  (info  here  below).       If  you  already  signed  up  for  these  lessons  when  we  sent  out  this  information  last   spring,  we  will  contact  you  shortly.  If  you  still  need  to  sign  up  for  lessons,  you  can  do   that  at  this  link  by  September  21:  http://goo.gl/forms/kC2qCeSPZL     Scholarships  for  Music  Extension  Lessons:     All  students  who  qualify  for  free  or  reduced  lunch  receive  free  Music  Extension   lessons.  You  can  indicate  this  on  the  online  application.  If  you  do  not  qualify  for  free   or  reduced  lunch,  but  have  financial  need,  you  can  request  a  scholarship  application   on  the  online  application.       TOWN-­‐WIDE  GROUPS     ORCHESTRA,  CONCERT  BAND,  JAZZ  BAND  and  VOICES  OF  BROOKLINE  CHORUS     We  have  a  number  of  Town  Wide  groups  that  meet  after  school,  which  are  excellent   opportunities  for  students  interested  in  having  more  music  practice  and  performance   opportunities  with  other  students  who  want  to  participate  more  in  music  as  well.     These  groups  are  generally  open  to  students  in  6th  through  8th  grade,  but  we  will  also   consider  5th  grade  students  with  experience  and  maturity  level  to  be  in  such  a  group.   Here  below  on  the  following  pages  are  three  letters  for  our  Town-­‐Wide  Concert  Band   and  Town-­‐Wide  Jazz  Bands,  Town  Wide  Orchestra  and  Voices  of  Brookline  Chorus.                                  

The Public Schools of Brookline K-8 Performing Arts Department 115 Greenough Street Brookline, MA 02445 617-713-5216 William H. Lupini, Ed. D. Superintendent of Schools          

Kenny Kozol, MS. Ed. K-12 Performing Arts Curriculum Coordinator  

 

 

 

 

September  7,  2015  

  TOWN-­‐WIDE  CONCERT  BAND  AND  TOWN-­‐WIDE  JAZZ  BAND   Dear  Families  of  5th  through  8th  grade  band  students,     Welcome  back,  I  hope  you  are  all  well,  rested,  and  ready  for  another  great  year!    I  wanted  to  give  you   some  official  dates/times  with  regards  to  the  Townwide  Band  and  Jazz  Band  for  the  2015/2016  school  year.   The  Town  Wide  Bands  are  open  to  6th  through  8th  grade  students,  and  5th  grade  students  will  be  considered   with  a  successful  audition  and  recommendation  from  their  school  music  teacher.     We  will  be  holding  an  informational  meeting  for  all  interested  Townwide  Band/Jazz  Band  students   on  Tuesday,  September  15th  from  4:30-­‐5:30pm  at  the  Lincoln  School  Auditorium  (please  note  that  this   takes  place  on  Tuesday  as  we  do  not  have  school  the  first  two  Mondays  of  September).    I  welcome  you   to  attend  all  or  part  of  this  meeting  with  your  children  if  you  would  like.    Please  bring  (or  have  your  child   bring)  a  personal  email  address  that  I  can  use  to  form  a  Townwide  email  list  for  future  communications   (please  bring  me  an  email  address  even  if  your  child  participated  in  the  Townwide  groups  last  year).     Students  should  bring  their  instruments,  as  we  will  do  some  playing  if  time  permits.         Regular  Monday  rehearsals  for  both  groups  will  begin  Monday,  September  21st  at  the  Lincoln   School  Auditorium  at  3:30  PM.    The  concert  band  will  meet  from  3:30-­‐4:30  PM,  followed  by  the  jazz  band   meeting  from  4:45-­‐5:45  PM.    Jazz  band  students  should  note  the  new  rehearsal  start  time  of  4:45pm,   allowing  a  smoother  transition  time  between  both  groups.  All  students  are  encouraged  to  participate  in   these  groups  as  long  as  they  currently  participate  in  their  regular  school-­‐performing  ensemble  and   will  commit  to  the  weekly  Monday  rehearsal  schedule  and  concerts.     The  concert  band  and  jazz  bands  will  perform  both  a  winter  and  spring  concert  this  year,  and  we  will   once  again  participate  in  the  Music  In  the  Parks  Festival/Six  Flags  trip  in  the  spring.    Dates  for  the  concerts   and  Six  Flags  trip  will  be  sent  home  with  your  children  and  emailed  directly  to  you  as  soon  as  they  are   confirmed.         Materials  needed  for  our  first  rehearsal  -­‐  Monday  September  21st   All  students  will  be  asked  to  come  prepared  with  their  own  folder  or  3-­‐ring  binder  for  keeping  music,   and  a  pencil.    Jazz  Band  students  should  also  purchase  the  play-­‐along  book/CD  for  use  in  ensemble,  Jamey   Aebersold  Volume  54,  Maiden  Voyage.       This  book  is  written  for  use  with  all  instruments,  so  the  same  book  will  work  for  everyone.    It  is   available  online  at  Amazon.com,  as  well  as  several  other  online  shopping  sites.    You  can  also  order  this  book   from  Music  and  Arts  in  Newton,  Music  Espresso  in  Boston,  and  several  other  area  music  stores.         Please  feel  free  to  contact  us  if  you  have  any  other  questions  with  regards  to  Town-­‐Wide  Band  or  Jazz   Band.    We’re  really  looking  forward  to  working  with  the  many  talented  musicians  here  in  Brookline,  and  we   hope  to  see  you  all  Tuesday  September  15th,  4:30  PM  at  the  Lincoln  School  Auditorium!     Sincerely,     Rick  Stone,  Music  Teacher           Colin  Stack,  Music  Teacher   [email protected]       [email protected]  

 

The Public Schools of Brookline

K-8 Performing Arts Department 115 Greenough Street Brookline, MA 02445 617-713-5216

William H. Lupini, Ed. D. Superintendent of Schools

Kenny Kozol, MS. Ed. K-12 Performing Arts Curriculum Coordinator

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           September  7,  2015     VOICES  OF  BROOKLINE  CHORUS     Dear  Families  of  5th  through  8th  grade  chorus  students,     I  am  writing  to  tell  you  about  an  exciting  singing  group  –  Voices  of  Brookline.  This   Town-­‐Wide  Chorus  has  existed  for  many  years  dating  back  to  the  1970’s  but  we   recently  changed  our  name  to  better  reflect  the  spirit  of  our  group.      We  meet   Mondays  at  the  Lawrence  School  from  3:30-­‐4:30  P.M.  and  we  perform  two  major   concerts  a  year.    We  have  other  engagements  as  well.    In  the  past  we  have  sung  as  a   children’s  chorus  for  an  opera,  participated  in  a  choral  invitational,  traveled  to  Six   Flag’s  Amusement  Park  for  a  Chorus  Competition,  recorded  with  a  local  band,   combined  forces  with  the  Brookline  Youth  Orchestra  for  Queen,  and  Beatles’  Medleys,   and  have  performed  at  many  local  events.    Voices  of  Brookline  is  open  to  students  in   grades  6  through  8,  and  5th  graders  will  be  considered  with  a  successful  audition  and   recommendation  from  their  school  music  teacher.     If  you  love  to  sing  this  is  the  group  for  you!  We  will  have  our  first  rehearsal  on   Monday,  September  21  at  3:30  P.M.  at  the  Lawrence  School  at  27  Francis  Street.     There  will  be  a  short  audition  to  place  you  in  a  chorus  section  and  all  singers  will  be   asked  to  sing  “I  Dreamed  A  Dream”  from  Les  Miserables.    We  will  go  over  the  song  at   the  audition  but  you  can  listen  to  it  on  You  Tube  so  that  you  are  well  prepared.         I  look  forward  to  meeting  our  new  singers  and  cannot  wait  to  see  our  returning   singers!    If  you  have  a  question  or  if  mom  or  dad  needs  more  information  please  feel   free  to  contact  me,  Holly  Ahearn  at  [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                                                        Sincerely,       Holly  Ahearn                 Voices  of  Brookline  Conductor              

The Public Schools of Brookline

K-8 Performing Arts Department 115 Greenough Street Brookline, MA 02445 617-713-5216

William H. Lupini, Ed. D. Superintendent of Schools Coordinator

Kenny Kozol, MS. Ed. K-12 Performing Arts Curriculum

     

TOWN-­‐WIDE  ORCHESTRA    

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 7, 2015

Dear Families of 5th through 8th grade Orchestra Students, I am very pleased to invite your child to join the Townwide Orchestra* in the 201415 school year (*note: this is a different group from the Brookline Youth Orchestra which rehearses on Wednesdays). This orchestra is an important opportunity for 6th-8th graders to hone their skills in a large string ensemble outside of school hours. 5th graders will be considered with  a  successful  audition  and  recommendation  from  their  school  music   teacher Throughout the year, we will work on repertoire in preparation for a concert performance, and each student will also work towards the goal of joining the more advanced Brookline Youth Orchestra. It is imperative that the orchestra members have a private teacher and they work on the orchestra repertoire in their lessons. Rehearsals are Monday evenings from 6:45-7:45 pm in the Auditorium at Heath School. Please arrive by 6:30 at each rehearsal with instrument, music and PENCIL, so that we can begin playing promptly at 6:45. The first rehearsal is on October 5. We do not rehearse on Monday holidays, so there will be no rehearsal on Columbus Day, October 12. Members of this orchestra should participate in the strings elective during conservatory time at their school. We will work on the music during the school day to the extent possible. In the spring we will perform a concert at Brookline High School. We will also play a few short selections on the “All-Town Strings concert”, performing together with the Brookline High School Orchestra and Brookline Youth Orchestra in March (TBA). I hope your child can play in this special group. Performing in the orchestra will provide him or her with a rewarding musical experience that will last a lifetime. Sincerely, John Ferguson [email protected]