Dear Chorus Parents & Students,
Welcome to another great year at Piney Grove Middle School! As the director, let me tell you how excited I am to have you as a member of the PGMS Chorus Department! Many chorus students discover that being in a choral group is like having an extended family, as there is a special bond that is created among people who make music together. I hope that you will remain in chorus your entire middle school career, where you will hopefully gain a lifelong interest in singing and an appreciation of music as an art form. Singing in chorus also helps improve mental discipline and enhance social interaction, as well as helping develop teamwork and pride. Parents are also welcome to assist in chorus activities and events. I want to encourage each parent or guardian to be involved with the program in some way.
Students who are involved in the chorus program should be aware that being a member of chorus is different from being in any other class. We perform. That being the case, your work is evaluated on two levels - the process (rehearsal or class time) and the product (performance). As we grow together in our rehearsal process, please remember that having a safe and supportive learning environment is our goal as we prepare the product—a wonderful performance for an appreciative audience.
There are three ensembles that make up the PGMS Chorus Department:
6th Grade Chorus
6th grade chorus is the beginning level chorus at Piney Grove. In 6th grade, students are introduced to the basics of reading music and music theory. The 6th grade chorus repertoire is unison or 2 part and ischosen to help ease students into singing with a large ensemble while still providing opportunities for solo and small group performance.
7th Grade Chorus
7th Grade Chorus picks up where 6th Grade Chorus left off. Students are introduced to more challenging music and a greater emphasis is placed on music reading and understanding musical theory and concepts. Students begin to listen to andanalyze their ownperformancesas well as the performances of other choruses. Students are also expected to dissect and analyze their choral repertoire and explain the significance of the text and its relationship to musical elements and the cultural and historical significance of the works being performed.
8th Grade Chorus
This is the highest-level chorus at Piney Grove. Emphasis is placed on continuing to develop music reading abilities, vocal confidence and contribution, and vocal health. This ensemble is also instrumental in helping to prepare students to continue with music on into high school. Students have the opportunity to earn high school credit by taking this course.
Each grade-level chorus member will be required to have a concert uniform. All chorus members will wear their concert black dresses and tuxes with black closed-toe dress shoes. Information regarding uniform rental is included in this packet. In May, all chorus members will participate in our annual Spring Spectacular. For this event, we will have special t-shirts that will be worn with blue denim jeans.
While we do receive instructional monies to help purchase choral music and other classroom supplies, it is never enough as we work to build our growing choral program here at PGMS. In short, we need your help. I am asking for chorus parents to consider donating something of themselves to improve their child’s chorus program. A donation of $75 per family would go a very long way to help us purchase music, new platform risers for the chorus room, sound equipment for performances, pay for an accompanist, pay for buses to and from events, etc. If you are able to donate more, please do so. If you need to donate less, please do so. However, this is not a requirement in order to participate in Chorus. Any and all donations are very much appreciated, but are by no means required for Chorus membership.
If a donation of time suits you best, please consider donating some of your time this year. There will be several opportunities to chaperone chorus trips/concerts and help in the chorus room during the day. We also need parents to help apply for grants and seek corporate sponsorship. For information regarding student fees and parent volunteer opportunities, please take a look at the Student Information / Parent Volunteer Opportunities / Chorus Fees information sheet. If you write a check, please make it out to Piney Grove Middle School.
We have a lot going on in chorus this year and I am very eager to get started! In this packet you will find important information regarding our chorus program, including an events calendar, uniform information, additional performance opportunities, directions on how to sign up for updates and reminders from Mrs. Steinberg, etc. I have also included a copy of our PGMS Chorus Syllabus. All Chorus information will also be posted on our PGMS Chorus website under the Connections tab and on ItsLearning for your convenience.
Thank you so much for all of your continued support. You are very important to the success of our PGMS Choral Program. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Amanda N. Steinberg
Piney Grove Middle School
Choral Director
678-965-5010 x. 381262