Important information for this year in HCHS band/orchestra

 Dear band and orchestra students and parents!

I hope you are doing well and looking forward to your long weekend. It has been great making music together this week!

Here is a lot of important information. My apologies for the length of this blog entry. Grab a cup of coffee, tea or whatever your favorite beverage is....here we go.  :)

Save a link to this blog as a resource for information on what is coming for the bands and orchestras this year. I will always send you an email when I update the blog.

http://vandenbergnotes.blogspot.com/

1. I highly recommend taking lessons on your instrument this year, it is a great way to grow as a musician. Here are a number of excellent musicians who are willing to share their expertise!  Mr. Veenstra and I also give lessons and we also have other ideas of names to suggest to you. Don't hesitate to reach out and ask if you have any questions or if we can help in any way.

2. Here are links to concert dates and other important event dates. Please enter these dates into your family calendar:

Concert Band

Symphonic Band

Orchestra

All Groups

3. Please save this link to the band and orchestra page and calendar on the HCS website. It contains the most up-to-date information about upcoming events. Subscribe to the calendar on this page and all of the dates will automatically appear in your google calendar. When you get to the page, scroll down to see the calendar.

4. This document is a description of the many opportunities for instrumental musicians at HCHS. It includes descriptions of pep band, marching band, symphonic orchestra, solo and ensemble festival, jazz band, pit orchestra and more. There are so many opportunities for our music students to encounter through the year. Take a minute to check them out.

5. If your children are involved in these early morning groups, here is the schedule.

Monday: Jazz Band 7:15 a.m. this group will start at a later date

Tuesday: Jazz Orchestra - 7:10 a.m.

Wednesday: Chamber Orchestra - 7:30 a.m. 

Thursday: Jazz Orchestra - 7:10 a.m.

Friday: Symphonic Orchestra - 7:00 a.m.

6. Here is information for our concert band, symphonic band, and orchestra trip to Florida with performances at Disney World. The trip is not required, but it is a lot of fun.

Here is a preview of our trip itinerary. 

This is the trip information and commitment form. 

Check these out and let me know if you have any questions.

7. Here is information about our band and orchestra fall retreat to Camp Geneva. The retreat is not required, but it is a lot of fun.

 Here is the retreat information letter.

Here is the retreat consent form (with medical information).

8. Last thing....I promise. :) 

10th-12th grade students are eligible for this year to have participation in symphonic band or orchestra become a credit for honors symphonic band or honors orchestra. This would show up as an honors course on your transcript and be counted as an honors course for your grade point average. You would continue to be a member of the same class that you signed up for, but would have the opportunity to engage music more deeply and have it show up on your transcript. Many of you were already participating in the things that would make you eligible for honors distinction. 

Check out the information here on how to make this happen and scroll all the way to the bottom of the form to submit if you are interested in finding out more.

Thank you!

Mr. Vanden Berg

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Scott Vanden Berg | Director of Instrumental Music Holland Christian High School  950 Ottawa Ave, Holland, MI 49423  school: 616.820.2805 cell: 616.212.8867 blog: http://vandenbergnotes.blogspot.com facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musichchs/ "Equipping Minds and Nurturing Hearts to Transform the World for Jesus Christ"

Welcome Back!

Dear HCHS band and orchestra students,

Welcome to a new school year! My name is Mr. Vanden Berg, I am the band and orchestra teacher at Holland Christian, and I am excited to get to make music with you this year! I hope you are enjoying these beautiful summer days. 

Here is some information and opportunities:

1. We are looking for student volunteers for a folder filling party on Thursday, Aug. 17 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. We would love to have you join us. There will be ice cream and a chance to get a sneak peak at what we are playing this year. Reply to this email if you can join us for all or part of the time.

2. We are looking forward to Friday, October 13 (evening) and Saturday, October 14 (morning) at Camp Geneva for our band/orchestra retreat. Plug this into your calendars. It is a fun time for good food and hanging out--you won't want to miss it! We can be flexible so that we can include kids who have other activities and practices going on those days.

3. We can't wait for our Florida Band and Orchestra trip this year! All students are encouraged to attend! Here is an preview of our trip itinerary. We have lots more info to come.

4. 10th-12th grade students are eligible for this year to have participation in symphonic band or orchestra become a credit for Honors Symphonic Band or Honors Orchestra. This would show up as an honors course on your transcript and be counted as an honors course for your grade point average. You would continue to be a member of the same class that you signed up for, but would have the opportunity to engage music more deeply and have it show up on your transcript. Many of you were already participating in the things that would make you eligible for honors distinction. Check out the information here on how to make this happen. 
*For those who are wondering, there will be no summer work this summer for 10th-12th graders who would like to get honors credit for band or orchestra. I will give you more details when we are together in class.

5. On the right side of my blog page is a link to the band and orchestra calendar if you want a sneak peak of events for this year. Did you know you can subscribe to this calendar and events will show up in your google calendar? We will also have a listing of events for each of the groups ready for you soon. https://hollandchristian.org/arts/band-orchestra/

6. Throughout the year I post important band and orchestra information for this school year at this location: http://vandenbergnotes.blogspot.com/. It would be a good idea to bookmark this page. I will always send you an email when I update the blog with new information. I actually posted all of the information from this email on the blog.

7. It wouldn't hurt to get your instrument out in the next week to make sure the instrument still works and to get yourself back in shape for music making. :)

  
I am looking forward to seeing you!

Mr. VB

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Scott Vanden Berg | Director of Instrumental Music Holland Christian High School  950 Ottawa Ave, Holland, MI 49423  school: 616.820.2805 cell: 616.212.8867 blog: http://vandenbergnotes.blogspot.com facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musichchs/ "Equipping Minds and Nurturing Hearts to Transform the World for Jesus Christ"