RSYO Parent’s Meeting – Twin Valley High School
October 13, 2007
The meeting began with Teresa Hoffman, co-president, introducing Michelle Mahony (treasurer) and Dawn Bader (co-vice president). Informational sheets were collected by parents present at the meeting. Parent information (name, address, email) was collected so that our mailing list is up to date.
Wendy Merz, snack committee chairperson, informed the parents about how the snack committee will operate. Parents were asked to donate 1 or 2 weeks to assist in distributing snacks to our student members. Parents will be required to bring 2 gallons each of drinks to their snack volunteer day. A schedule with parents’ names and phone numbers will be posted on the website as a reminder. Whenever parent emails are used, Teresa asked for people to respect one another’s privacy by utilizing the blind copy feature.
Tickets for RSO are for sale for parents and students at a discount. Teresa encouraged our parents to take advantage of hearing our symphony.
The student handbook is currently being revised. Parents should check the website to check out details, such as concert dress. Concertblack.com was suggested as a resource for finding appropriate attire. Another suggestion was, Southeasternperformance.com. Rivars.com was posed as another resource. Teresa posed an idea for someone to take on the job of starting a concert dress exchange program.
Our treasurer Michelle spoke about the upcoming poinsettia sale. Flowers are 8 dollars and 3.50 per plant will go towards student accounts. Delivery is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. She also mentioned that the books are in the process of being handed over so she did not have any figures to report at this time.
Trudi Bux spoke on student attendance. The students are allowed 3 unexcused absences throughout the year. Illnesses are excused but family and church trips are not. College visits are excused absences as well. A note to Mr. Brye and an email to Trudi are required when an absence occurs. is the way to reach her. The written note should be submitted to Mr. Brye a week in advance if at all possible.
John from “set-up” is concerned about all of our students taking responsibility in regard to set-up and tear-down of the stage each week. Each child will have a sheet indicating the “set-up map” so that all students can pitch in. This is not solely the responsibility of the scholarship students. All students were reminded to bring their emergency stand in the event of a school not having stands.
Fundraising is an area of concern for our organization. Although this is not a trip year, funds need to be bolstered in preparation for our immediate and long term financial goals. Jerry shared the RSO cookbooks as an opportunity to support our group. Margaret Patch from the cookbook committee presented some history surrounding the making of this award winning cookbook. Aprons are also available for purchase. Cookbooks are 25 dollars plus tax. The aprons are 15 dollars. 10 dollars from the sale of each cookbook will go toward the students’ accounts.
Obtaining ads for our programs is also a lucrative fundraiser. Eighty percent of the profit per ad goes into student accounts. Forms were available for parents and are also posted on the website.
A spaghetti dinner night out with strolling violinists was posed as a new fundraising opportunity. We’re looking for a person(s) or committee to chair this possible event. A February time frame was suggested.
Dawn passed a signup sheet through the group for volunteering to usher and assist with candy/water sales at the Christmas and Spring concerts.
Mr. Brye visited briefly to share a bit of history for our parent group. This is the RSYO’s 19 year. We began with a 50-60 piece group and now we have 133 members. This orchestra is providing guidance for so many people in the area and beyond. Two plans were presented to our parent group. Peter plans to offer a tour during the spring semester to expose our children to a college that offers a strong orchestral program that is not limited to music majors. This would most likely be a day trip.
Peter’s other idea is to form a group of musicians from approximately 3 high schools to participate in a music festival. The musicians would gather for a day of rehearsal and play a concert in the evening. Perhaps Andrew Constantine, new conductor of the Reading Symphony Orchestra, would be available at some point during their rehearsal to share his expertise.
Teresa brought up a concern surrounding the possible difficulty of some of our more distant student musicians getting to rehearsals. She presented a sheet for those interested to sign if they’d like to carpool.
Teresa has invited Christopher Collins Lee, concertmaster of the Reading Symphony Orchestra, and Andrew Constantine to visit the children and their parents at the January 19 rehearsal.
Respectfully Submitted by Karen B. Tripolitis - 10-13-07
Addenda: Informational handouts were distributed for:
· RSYO fundraisers – cookbooks, poinsettias, ads and patrons
· updated RSYO rehearsal schedule
· RSO concert Schedule
· Windsor Street Decorator Show house
· Symphony of Style fashion show
· RSO Music in the Making brochure
· RSYO and RSO web addresses
· RSO Fact sheet
Teresa explained the difference between the RSJSO and RSYO and their relationship to the RSO via the Education Committee of its Board of Directors. She also reminded everyone that the student tuition is due Oct. 16.
Teresa explained that rehearsal venues are used based on 2 things: tympani availability and cost free.
Subscriptions to the RSO are included in the tuition for each student. Requests for tickets should be made at least one week prior to a concert. Parents get a 25% discount on ticket purchases for RSO Concerts. Contact Melissa in the RSO office if interested.
Trudi requested that her contact information on the web site be used for attendance issues only. Teresa stated that other contact names would be added to the web site to address this problem.
Teresa thanked the parents for their effort to find appropriate concert wear for their student. In addition to a “hit or miss” approach with local retailers, the following web sites were suggested as a resource:
· concertblack.com
· southeasternperformance.com
· rivars.com
In the event of inclement weather, please first check the web site as it will be updated quickly with the latest information. In addition, a phone tree is being organized.
Maestro Brye stated that the November 3, 2007 (opening for the Curtis Institute concert) performance opportunity for the students has been cancelled.
Barbara Geisler volunteered to produce a spreadsheet with the volunteer information.
Christopher Collins Lee has confirmed his attendance for the January 19, 2007 RSYO Parents coffee klatch. Maestro Constantine has not yet confirmed.
Sign-up sheets were passed around for:
· Meeting attendance
· Concert helpers
· holiday bell assembly
· Spaghetti Dinner fundraising idea
· Car Pool interest
Edited by: Teresa Hoffman