Sunday, December 21, 2014

Christmas Concert

Hello all,
I want to take this opportunity to express how proud I am of the job the Strings (as well as the other ensembles) did on their Christmas Concert. I saw excitement in all of my students and I am really happy to have seen that. All sounded really good. Job well done Strings!!! I can't wait to start back up in January. See you all then!!

~Mr. Gooding


P.S.
I am available to give private violin and viola lessons on Saturdays at the Music&Arts Store in Horsham P.A. The number is 215.443.7880. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Friday, December 19, 2014

Christmas Photos!

Hello Band Parents,
Donna Eckert was kind enough to take these wonderful photos of everyone at the Christmas Concert! Thank you for helping to make this our most successful Christmas Band Concert ever. Your students are truly amazing! Merry Christmas and God Bless.

-Mr. Myers

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Christmas Concert Update

Hello Parents,
Well our Christmas concert is less than a week away! The kids have really been working hard on all their songs and to be honest it's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas! Please note the concert has been MOVED to Archbishop Wood due to confessions in the church. The details for the show are below as well as for our dress rehearsal on monday thanks again for all your support! See you Tuesday night!

Date: Tuesday Dec 16th
When: 7:30pm-8:30pm
Where: Archbishop Wood High School
Student dress: School uniform + fun Christmas sock, shoes, hats, ties...go crazy it should be fun!
Call time for band members: 7:00pm please report to the band room for tuning and warm up

This week has been a bit crazy with our Anne's Choice Choir and being off on Monday. Mr. Dair would like to Make up the missed guitar lessons from Monday (Dec 8th) TOMORROW (Friday Dec 12th) after school. Beginner Guitar 3:30-4:00 Intermediate Guitar 4:00-4:30. Drum Lesson students will meet with the Intermediate Guitar students from 4:00-4:30. If this poses a conflict for anyone please let me know via E-mail. 

Dress Rehearsal Information:
MONDAY December 15th from 3:30pm-5:00pm will be a dress rehearsal for the concert. ALL students in Guitar Ensemble, Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble will please stay after school for us to try to run through the whole concert. This will be our chance to work through our concert order as well as getting the kids comfortable moving on an off stage and knowing when they are going to play what! It will also allow us to make up some of the time we missed over Thanksgiving and Halloween. Attendance is Mandatory (pending any family emergencies) please do your best to make arrangements for your students to attend. (Students do not need to be "dressed up" in christmas gear for the dress rehearsal) 

Monday, November 24, 2014

Thanksgiving Week Schedule

Hello Band Parents!
Just sending out an email confirming guitar ensemble and lesson schedule this week! 

Monday 11/25
12:20-12:50- Guitar Ensemble PLEASE HAVE ALL 4 STRINGS LEARNED AND YOUR CHRISTMAS SONG 
3:30-4:00- Beginner Guitar (Please make sure you have your Mel Bay books and have learned all 4 strings EBGD and your christmas song we began last week)
4:00-4:30- Intermediate Guitar (Please have your notes and Mel Bay exercises ready as well as the christmas music you began last week) 
DRUM LESSONS- 3:30-4:00 on Monday (Little drummer boy should be ready to go as well as any other rudiments or groves on the drum kit Mr. Dair has given you) 

Monday 11/24
3:00-3:30- Beginner Winds (TRUMPET,TROMBONE,FLUTE,SAXOPHONE,CLARINET) 
3:30-4:00- Intermediate Winds (TRUMPET, SAXOPHONE, FLUTE)

Tuesday 11/25
8:00am-8:30am- Intermediate Saxophone lesson
12:20-12:50- WIND ESNEMBLE REHEARSAL ALL WIND INSTRUMENTS 

MONDAY 11/24
12:50-1:20- Beginner String Ensemble 
3:30-4:00- Beginner String Lessons
4:00-4:30- Intermediate String Lessons

TUESDAY 11/25
12:50-1:20- Intermediate String Ensemble 

I know some students will have conflicts with sports or other after school activities however we hope to see as many of them as possible! The students have been making great progress and we didn't want to miss a week especially with the concert only a few weeks away. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and Happy Thanksgiving!

-Mr. Myers & Mr. Gooding

Friday, November 21, 2014

Christmas Concert!

Hello Parents,
I wanted to send an email with the date and time of our Christmas concert!!! We have scheduled the Hall at Nativity for DECEMBER 16th @ 7:30-8:30 Cookies and Coffee will be served. Students should arrive to tune and warm up at 7:00pm. They can report to Mr. Myers room 118 parents may make their way down to the hall to find a good seat, and be ready to be entertained! 

The kids have been working hard learning how to read, count, and play their music in a very short period of time. Please continue encouraging your young musicians to practice daily. Short daily practice sessions will go a long long way in helping your student to be prepared for their weekly lessons. One day a week for a hour is nothing compared to six days of 10min sessions!! 

Guitars should be working on their first four stings out of the Mel bay method 1. EBGD pages 7-14 in their books. Mr. Dair will be handing out some single sheet christmas arrangements this week. 

Trumpets- Should have CDEGA learned and be working on the 3 Christmas songs we have been doing in band "Jingle Bells, Jolly old st. nick, up on the house top"

Beginner Saxophones- Should have GABCDEF#G learned and be working on the 3 christmas songs we have been doing in band "Jingle Bells, Jolly old st. nick, up on the house top"

Clarinets- Should have CDEGA learned and be working on the 3 Christmas songs we have been doing in band "Jingle Bells, Jolly old st. nick, up on the house top"

Flutes- Should have Bflat,C,D,Eflat,F learned and be working on developing their sound on the head joint! They will be playing all three christmas songs as well but we will be adjusting the arrangement due to the difficulties in the fingers. Do not let them get discouraged Flute is the hardest instrument to produce a sound on!!!

Orchestral String Beginner- Should have the Bow, all four strings learned and the first 3 fingers on G and D learned. They will begin working on "Do you hear what i Hear" starting today!

Orchestral String Advanced- Should have removed their tapes and be working on intonation and "Simple Gifts"  and tomorrow we will begin learning how to tune intervals by ear!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Brass Homework 11/13

Thanksgiving is next week... and so begins the busy time of year!  Our brass students are improving each week. Last week, students received Christmas songs to practice.

Our beginning brass students are learning Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nick. They should continue to practice pages 4 & 5 for their first five notes. Jolly Old Saint Nick includes a new note: A for trumpets and G for trombones. Practice reaching for this high note, don't shy away from it!

Our intermediate student has his own Christmas song to practice: Deck the Halls! Continue to practice pg. 17 # 78, pg. 30 # 155 & 156, and Blue Book pg. 12 sections D & E.

Enjoy the sounds of Christmas in your homes this week!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Short Week Due to Parent Teacher Conferences

Hello Parents,

You should have received an email stating that there will be NO ensemble/lessons this week for strings and winds due to the parent teacher conferences. We will make the time up at our Dress Rehearsal prior to the Christmas and Cookies Concert in December (Date TBA). We will pick right back up next week on Monday. Have a safe and happy halloween!

-Mr. Myers

P.S. please check the post below for all of the Home work for each lesson group!

Guitar students should be practicing from their Mel Bay Guitar Book 1 (Blue book) Pages 3-8 should be ready to play by next week.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Practice work from 10/23/2014

Hello all,
This past week's lessons went well in both the classes of the Beginners and the Intermediates.

The Beginners have their first playing assignment from their "All for Strings" books. They are to practice exercises #1 and #3. For each exercise, they are to hold out each note for four counts.

For the Internediate class, we started working on #182, entitled Surprise Symphony. As a class, we reached measure 9. They are responsible for practicing measure 9 to the end.

Have a good week of practice everyone!

Friday, October 24, 2014

3rd Week Brass Homework

Our beginning trumpet players have now learned FIVE notes: G, F, E, D, C.  For trombone, the same five notes are F, E flat, D, C, B flat. *All Beginning Brass Players should practice PAGE 5 for the next two weeks.* Numbers 8, 10, and 13 will be the most challenging, but don't give up! Also, spend time practicing "buzzing" on the mouthpiece everyday. Remember, your good sound starts there!

Woodwind's Home Work!

Hello Parents,

Flutes- Page 4 in Essential Elements
Clarinet- Page 5 in Essential Elements
Saxophone- Page 5 in Essential Elements

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Ensembles Start this Week!

Hello Parents,

This is just a quick reminder that we will being our first Wind Ensemble (Flutes/Clarinets/Saxophone/Trumpets/Trombones) tomorrow during lunch recess. We will meet every wednesday from 12:20-12:50. Im calling it #WindyWednesday! 

String Orchestra (Violin, Viola, Cello) will start Thursday 10/24 from 12:50-1:20... I have yet to come up with a catchy #! 

And Guitar Ensemble (Guitar, Bass, Drum-set) will start Monday 10/28 from 12:20-12:50 with Mr. Dair. Im thinking #MrDairsMusicalMondays but that may be too many characters! 

-Mr. Myers

Saturday, October 18, 2014

2nd Week Brass Homework

Our second week of brass lessons went well. Here's a reminder of the homework for this week:

Beginner Students: Practice page 4. Trumpet students learned three new notes: G, F, and E. The trombone notes are F, E flat, and D.

Intermediate Trumpet: Practice Essential Elements page 28 # 149 and 150. In the Blue Book of Trumpet Solos, practice page 12 "Air for Cornet" sections B and half of D only.

Happy Practicing!

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Hello Parents and Students,
The second week of lessons went well. All of the students have kept up their enthusiasm for playing, which I am happy to see.

The Beginner Strings reviewed how to hold the bow and the instrument during our lesson period. We moved on to naming the strings on the instruments and also playing the instruments. For Practice Work, the Beginners are to bow each string in both down and up strokes. Please remind your child to bring their "All for Strings" book to their lesson next week.

The Intermediate Strings reveiwed the C, G, D Major scales during our lesson period and were taught the F Major scale (F G A Bb C D E F). They are to practice playing this scale forward and backward. I would like for the students to bring their "Essential Elements" books for next week's lesson.

See you all next week.

Friday, October 10, 2014

1st Week Brass Homework

Hi everyone! We had a great first day of lessons yesterday. The brass beginner group was energetic and could not wait to try out their instruments. The 2nd floor hallway echoed with all kinds of fun sounds!

Homework for the Beginner Brass Students:
1. Practice buzzing on the mouthpiece. Remember to keep the corners of your mouth tight and don't puff your cheeks! Once you get a consistent buzzing sound, try to master the "Duck" and "Ambulance" sounds.
2. Practice holding your instrument properly. Refer to the beginning pages of your book to check position.
* The trumpet students should be holding the instrument steady and securely with the left hand. The right hand rests gently on top with correct finger placement on top of the valves.

Homework for Intermediate Student:
Essential Elements Book page 13 # 57-58, page 28 # 149-150, practice C scale

Looking forward to next week's lessons!
~ Mrs. Sharon Ferrio
Hello Parents and Students,
Yesterday, October 9th, was the first day for Strings and it went very well. I was pleased with the attention and diligence all of the students, beginners and intermediates, demonstrated while in their lessons.

The Beginners learned how to properly hold the bow and instrument. Parents, you will see your child practicing an exercise called the "Windshield Wiper" with their bow. This exercise is to help them maintain a proper bow hold. Parents, if your child has a Strings Method Book you will see a few diagrams of the proper bow hold towards the beginning of the book. You can help them with their bow holds. The Beginners will also be practicing holding the instrument as well.

In the Intermediates lesson, I reveiwed some music theory with them as well as some scales. Their "Practice Work" for the week is to practice the C, G, D, and A Major Scales.


I look forward to seeing everyone next week!!

First day of Band!

Hello Parents and Students!

Yesterday after school was the first day of our String, Woodwind, and Brass lessons! The students all did a wonderful job and many of them all have their instruments, books, and stands! Our string players books should arrive early next week as they were back ordered. If your student still does not have an instrument please make sure you get one before next week! For rentals please visit colesmusicservice.com.

We will be making a few adjustments to the lesson schedules, with so many young brass and woodwind players we are going to attempt to split them into smaller group lessons. Please keep any eye on your email for more information regarding any adjusted lesson times. Thank you again for your overwhelming support of the Fine and Performing Arts here at Nativity!!!

-Mr. Myers

Thursday, October 9, 2014

First Day of Band!

Hello Parents!
Today is our first day of lessons for the Orchestral Strings, and the Winds! Tomorrow (friday oct 10th) will be our first Drum lessons, and Monday October 13th will be the start of Guitar! Please check back here regularly for postings regarding your students assignments and practice session. If you rented an instrument from Coles Music Service they delivered about 15 of them yesterday! If your students instrument is not here yet it will certainly show up before next week!

-Mr. Myers

Monday, September 29, 2014

Band Demo!

Hello Parents!

Today was our Band Instrument Demonstration, your students should be coming home with a packet of information regarding this years Instrumental Music Program. If you have any questions after reading the packet and would like to find out more about how our program works please feel free to attend our informational parent meeting tomorrow TUESDAY September 30th from 6:30-7:00 if you cannot attend please feel free to check back here for a post of the minuets from tomorrows meeting. Look forward to seeing you all then!

-Mr. Myers

Monday, September 22, 2014

Band Info is here!

Hello Parents!

Below is a PDF of this years instrumental music program info. Please feel free to download and print a copy or keep an eye out for your student to bring home a hard copy!

If your student is interested in any of the following;
Winds- Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn
Strings- Violin, Viola, Cello

please visit Coles Music Online  fill out a rental form and your instrument will be delivered right to Nativity for your students 1st lesson!

If your student is interested in Guitar, Bass, or Drum Set you will need to purchase one for your student. Due to the relatively affordable price of these instruments there is not currently a rental program available for them. Mr. Dair and I highly recommend the basic start packs available at local music stores. Keep an eye out for brand names like FENDER, YAMAHA, or GIBSON for guitar, or CB or YAMAHA for drum set if you come across an instrument in a large warehouse type store please reach out to Mr. Dair or I (dmyers@noolp.org) before you buy! There are many wonderful brands out there and even some great deals online however it is crucial to your students success that we find them an instrument that is a quality instrument which will promote positive playing habits.

Please make it a priority to attend our Parent Meeting SEPTEMBER 30th @ 6:30 in the MUSIC room #118 for more information regarding rentals, purchases, and the lesson programs!

Lessons will begin the week of OCTOBER 6th so please have ALL registration forms and instrument rental agreements filed by friday OCTOBER 3rd!

Sincerely,

Mr. Myers

BAND PROGRAM 2014-2015 INFO PACKET!!!

Friday, September 19, 2014

About Mrs. Sharon Ferrio

Hi everyone! I'm very excited to join the Nativity Band team this year! I began playing the trumpet over twenty years ago and then started playing the French horn too. In high school, I was mostly a trumpet player for band and jazz music, but occasionally played French horn for orchestra. When I decided to study music at Immaculata University, I needed to focus more on one instrument so I chose the French horn. I graduated as a Music Education major and taught music for my first two years of teaching. Now, I play my instruments as a beloved hobby. I play the French horn regularly with the Quakertown Band and my trumpet occasionally makes special appearances at church events. I'm looking forward to teaching music lessons again and hope that my students will enjoy music as I have!
~ Mrs. Ferrio

Band Info!

Hello Parents,
Band Info will be coming out Monday or Tuesday! I was hoping to post the PDF's up tonight for those interested in reading about the program but I am waiting for a lesson schedule from one of our teachers!

-Mr. Myers

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Welcome Prospective Band Students

Hello Parents and Students!

Welcome to the Nativity of Our Lord Fine and Performing Arts blog!!! This is the page you will find all the information regarding the Instrumental music portion of Nativity's Fine and Performing arts! If your looking for information regarding the PAWS program please click the link on the right.

This years Parent meeting will be held SEPTEMBER 30th at 6:30PM in the music room (118) Please enter through the "D" door. If you are unable to attend I will be sure to post the minuets up here on the blog to keep you up to date.

The start date for band is October 9th, I have finished all the paper work and registration information and that will be going home later this week September 15th-19th so please keep and eye on your students take home folders. Coles Music has been kind enough to offer their rental services again and will be doing an instrument demonstration for your student September 29th during school for grades 4th-8th. The violin, viola, and cello demo will be TBA

We will also be adding two wonderful new music faculty to our roster this year! Mr. Aaron Gooding will be joining us to help teach the after school Orchestra lesson portion for our Violins, Violas, and Cellos. Also Nativity's very own Mrs. Sharron Ferrio will be teaching our Brass lessons after school for our Trumpets and Trombones! We will of course be welcoming back Mr. Dair who will instruct our Guitars, Bassist, and Drummers, and I will be instructing our woodwind lessons for flutes, clarinets, and saxophones as well as running the during school ensemble rehearsals for Wind Ensemble and Orchestra.

We (Mr. Dair, Mr. Gooding, Mrs. Ferrio and myself) will all be posting your students weekly practice assignments right HERE on the NativityFPA blog.  I will be updating this page soon with teacher bio's, paperwork, forms, and meeting information please check back regularly! We look forward to another wonderful year and cannot wait to start working with your young musicians.


-Mr. Myers