Community Youth Ensembles

May is the time of the year when auditioned groups generally hold placement auditions for the upcoming fall.

If you're interested in a group, here's a quick list of opportunities near Boston and Providence.  There is also a printout of these outside the music room door.

Current and former Sage students have been a part of many of these groups.  If you'd like to talk to one of them, let me know and I can try to help.

Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra

Various levels of youth orchestras

Rehearsals on Sunday afternoons at Boston University

Auditions May 23-31

www.byso.org

New England Conservatory Prep School

Orchestras, choruses, wind ensembles of various levels

Rehearsals throughout the weekend at New England Conservatory

Audition registration beginning immediately for May dates

www.necmusic.edu/prep/ensembles

Bay Youth Symphony

Orchestra and Sinfonia (including winds) ensembles, Pure Treble auditioned singing ensemble for unchanged voices (under 12)

Rehearsals on Wednesday evenings in Duxbury for orchestra, Rehearsals on Monday afternoons for Pure Treble

Audition information forthcoming

www.sscmusic.org

Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School

Youth orchestra, jazz, and wind ensembles

Rehearsals in Providence

www.ri-philharmonic.org

Handel and Haydn Society

Various levels of youth choirs

Rehearsals in Boston

www.handelandhaydn.org

Boston Children’s Chorus

Rehearsals in Boston

Youth Choruses

Auditions mid-May

www.bostonchildrenschorus.org

Pals Children’s Chorus

Rehearsals in Brookline

Youth Choirs

Auditions in May and June

www.palschildrenschorus.org

The Importance of Arts in Our Schools

Recently Prufock Press, which publishes many gifted education publications, recently posted on their blog a posting on the importance of arts in our schools.

Click here to see.

Photos from Junior District Festival

At the start of March break, nine Sage students participated in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Southeastern District Music Festival.  Photos from the concert can be found here.  Look close--can you spot a Sage student?

Ahoy Mateys!

Afterschool rehearsals for Pirates of Penzance have begun!
Have you marked your datebooks?
Friday, May 27th at 7:00 PM at the Orpheum Theater--Don't miss it!

Sage Student on Blue Man Group Invent an Instrument website!

In January and February of this year, middle schoolers were busy creating their own unique instruments.  Some students entered these instruments into Blue Man Group's Invent an Instrument competition for 5-8th graders.  Winners have not been announced, but there are clips of instrument submissions on the Blue Man Group website...including our own 6th grader, Ansh J.!

Click here to see.  His is the drum-set like instrument in the second to last clip.

To see more instruments, stay tuned.  Miss Hogan is working on a video/picture compilation to be posted soon.

Irish Music Festival

Looking for something to do this weekend?
Boston.com featured an article about an Irish music festival Saturday at Indian Hill Music School in Littleton.  It's kind of a drive from Sage, but knowing the population we have of fiddlers and step dancers, I thought it was worth a share:

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2011/03/10/indian_hill_music_school_in_littleton_expands_irish_music_instruction/

Where Have We Been?

Well, it's been kind of busy around here :)

Since we've last written, lots has happened: Pirates of Penzance has been casted, the entire middle school has invented their own instrument, the Orff Ensemble and a middle school treble choir had a great performance at International Night, and second graders have been stamping their passports around the world in art class.

Now that things have calmed down a bit and vacation is hours away, stay tuned for some postings of work!