Sophomore,
Junior, and Senior orchestra students at Newport High School can enroll in
Honors Orchestra. This means that both Symphony Orchestra and Chamber
Orchestra students are eligible. All auditions must happen in the
first two weeks of the school year!
Requirements. Honors Orchestra is a demanding but rewarding program.
Students remain in their regular orchestra class (either Symphony or Chamber
Orchestra) and these classes run as they always have. Honors students sit
alongside non-Honors students and do the same activities, tests, and musical
repertoire. However, Honors students have additional obligations that need to
happen outside the regular class day. The honors requirements, each of which
will be graded separately, include the following:
Complete
an audition CD for the All-Northwest or All State ensembles.
Perform
in a chamber ensemble at the Eastshore Solo/Ensemble Festival in February.
Although Mrs. Shaw can assist students with repertoire selection and some
musical coaching, this honors chamber ensemble is to be largely
self-directed, meaning that students set their own rehearsal schedule,
rehearse each other, etc.
Receive
a "B" or higher on the district Music History Assessment.
Receive
a "B" or higher on an Honors Music Theory Assessment.
Complete
a final project to present publicly. The topic for this project is worked
out in discussions with Mrs. Shaw.
Each
Honors requirement receives a grade and these scores are added to the regular
orchestra assignments to determine the overall grade. Failing the
"extra" honors requirements means a lower grade in orchestra.
No-drop
policy.
Once a student is enrolled in Honors Orchestra, they cannot drop the class and
return to "regular" orchestra. It is treated just like any other
honors or AP course—once you're in, you stay in. To help ensure that
students are ready for the challenges of Honors Orchestra, an audition will be
held.
Auditions.
Students desiring to be in Honors Orchestra will perform scales and prepared
pieces (available as downloads below) for Mrs. Shaw
and at least one other
Newport Music Department faculty member. A brief sight-reading excerpt will
follow. A recommendation will then be given to the student as to whether or
not Honors Orchestra would be appropriate. Please note that this audition is
advisory in nature... students may enroll in Honors Orchestra against the
advice of the the audition panel. However, it is important to remember that
once a student enrolls, he or she cannot subsequently drop Honors.
Audition
scoring.The
following two documents show the skills required of Honors students, and the
audition form that will be completed by Mrs. Shaw and the panel.
Honors
Orchestra audition form.doc
Honors
Orchestra_checklist for strings.doc
Audition
preparation. Be sure to download and prepare both pages for your
instrument.
Violin
Audition_Scales
Violin
Audition_Excerpts
Viola
Audition_Scales
Viola
Audition_Excerpts
Cello
Audition_Scales
Cello
Audition_Excerpts
Bass
Audition Scales
Bass Audition Excerpts
