Arts in the Schools

The goal our project will meet is: Supporting high-quality, age-appropriate arts education for residents of all ages to develop knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts. I expect my students (grades 7 and 8) to expand their skills in performing on a string instrument in the orchestra setting (rhythm, intonation, tone, musical expression, bowing, ensemble, poise on stage, posture, and appearance) and that my students, the adult chaperones, and audience members will gain a new understanding or knowledge about playing in an orchestral ensemble at a festival or contest. We will take the written and verbal comments and ratings from both judges and the verbal comments from the clinician back with us after the Festival in Faribault. We will read through them as a class and discuss what they learned and saw; we will also work to incorporate those changes in our playing for the upcoming performance for parents and community members at home on March 9. At the concert in Willmar, two music teachers in the audience will also rate the orchestra's performance and give written comments. They will be shared afterward with my orchestra students and we will compare ratings/comments with those from the Festival. We will talk and write about what we have improved on and what we need to work on the most; students will also share about their experience at Festival. I will turn in those written comments from the students and will also turn in a copy of the ratings/comments from the adult artists (judges, clinician, music teachers). Prior to receiving ratings/comments from both Festival and our home concert, I will have students rate our performances for each event using the judge's rating form to see how they thought they did. They will be recorded at both Festival and the concert. I will also have the adult chaperones fill out a survey after the completion of the trip to Faribault for Festival. They will be asked about their experience that day and what they observed/learned.