Shady Grove High School

Choral Handbook
 Table of Contents

Introductory Letter 1

Course Descriptions 2

Attendance Policy 3

Grading Policy 3

Playing Test Rubric 4

Classroom Expectations 5

Discipline Hierarchy 5

Travel Policy 5

Supplies 5

Private Lessons 6

Concert Dress 6

Performance Etiquette 7

Parent Volunteer Form 8

Chamber Singers Auditions 9

Choral Program Calendar 10

Additional Copy of Calendar 11

Student and Parent Acknowledgment 12

Dear Parents and Students,

Congratulations on becoming a member of the 2017 – 2018 Shady Grove High School Choral
program! The commitment of the individual members of any organization is vital to its success.
The Shady Grove High School music program has a commitment to each member to insure the
success of every student maximizing their potential as a musician and individual. Our goal is to
maintain a music program of the highest quality. The cornerstone of our program will be
discipline and excellence, and will be fostered through student leadership, positive attitude and
determination. Your commitment to excellence is crucial to our success. We hope this year
proves to be a grand success as we build our program not only for today, but for the future.

You and your family will need to become familiar with the information contained in the
following pages. This information will guide you on your journey to becoming a positive
contributor to our music program.

We are looking forward to an incredible year! Please take the time to read this handbook and
keep it handy for reference. Members of the choral music program have the responsibility to
abide by the rules in the classroom, during concerts, and during all instrumental music related
activities. This handbook may not answer all of your questions, therefore, feel free to contact me.
I will be happy to meet with parents outside of class time.

My biggest philosophy is that I believe in the innate goodness of people. I believe all parents
want their children to be successful. Likewise, I believe that all students ultimately want to be
successful as well. I can assure you my goal as director of choral activities is to help each student
be the best that he/she can be whatever the endeavor. Choral music not only teaches music, but
also instills life skills to enable each student to grow into a responsible adult. It is my full
intention to teach all students with this philosophy in mind.

Please feel free to visit rehearsals at any time. You need not make an appointment. Your student
will find daily announcements written on the board in the choral room. Students are reminded
daily about rehearsals and performances and are also given monthly calendars. I am proud of the
tradition of excellence that has been established by my predecessor and look forward to a great
year with the Shady Grove High School Choral Music program.

On the last page is a place for both parent and student to sign acknowledging that you have read
the material, understand its contents, and agree to follow the guidelines. Your cooperation will
result in a truly rewarding experience in choral music. Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Sincerely,
Zachary Fisher
Director of Choral Activities

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 Course Descriptions

Concert Choir is the entry-level choir at Shady Grove High School. The curriculum focuses on
foundational singing techniques and initial music literacy concepts. The choir performs regularly
with the SGHS Chamber Singers but also performs solo concerts once per semester for the
general public. Musical selections range from music of the renaissance to the music of Beyonce
and Bruno Mars. Students seeking to improve their singing and musical abilities are strongly
encouraged to begin with this course.

Chamber Singers is the advanced choir at Shady Grove High School. The curriculum is
designed to be an extension beyond the basic concepts taught in Concert Choir. Training is
continued to reinforce singing and choral technique and improve musical literacy. At this level,
early concepts of music theory are also discussed. The Chamber Singers are the premier choral
ensemble at SGHS and therefore they make musical appearances in many different settings
throughout the school year. Students who are serious about choral music are strongly encouraged
to take this course. An audition is required for entry. PREREQUISITE: 1 year of Concert Choir

Music Theory is a semester long course offered annually in the fall. The course is open to all
students who wish to learn more about the inner workings of music and its notation. Concepts
will begin with basic terminology and note naming and continue up through cadences and
modulations. Any student looking to study music beyond high school is strongly encouraged to
take this course.

Music History is a semester long course offered annually in the spring. The course is open at all
students who wish to learn about the evolution of music in Western civilization. The course will
begin in the Medieval era and progress chronologically to the music of today. Any student
looking to study music beyond high school is strongly encouraged to take this course. The course
fulfills both a fine arts credit as well as a history credit.

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 Attendance Policy and Grading Policy

Class attendance and tardiness will be handled in accordance with school policy.

The grading policy is as follows:

Concert Attendance 40%

Playing Tests 30%
Written Quizzes 20%
Class Participation 10%

Concert attendance receives the largest percentage of grading to reflect the importance of
commitment and resolution as both a musician and a responsible adult. By participating in the
SGHS Choral Program, the student commits to attending all required events to the best of his or
her ability. The weight of this percentage is designed with the fact that a 70 is the lowest passing
grade at SGHS in mind. By failing to participate in any concert, the student would receive an
overall grade of a 60 at best and therefore fail the course unless they complete a sufficient
amount of extra credit.

Playing tests are the next largest percentage and reflect the work and progress of the student’s
performing ability over the course of the semester. While the rubric will always remain the same,
the excerpt performed will rise accordingly in difficulty to heighten the standard and track
progress. On the following page you will find the rubric used for any and all playing tests.

Written quizzes track the technical knowledge of the student and fulfill the writing requirements
of the course. Students will have ample time to prepare for quizzes and will be given study
guides to assist them.


Class participation from every student is crucial for the choir to have the best rehearsal possible.
EVERY STUDENT IS IMPORTANT! Therefore, each student will receive five points for
each day that he or she attends and participates in class. Excused absences will not count against
your grade. In addition to this, each student will begin the day with five behavior points. These
will be reduced if a student is not displaying appropriate classroom behaviors. This comes to a
total of 10 possible participation points per rehearsal that all get averaged in the “Participation”
bin in grading.

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 SGHS Choral Program Playing Rubric
4 3 2 1

Student performed Student performed nearly Student performed Student stopped

all rhythms correctly all rhythms correctly with less than half of playing and could
Rhythm with no fluctuation little to no fluctuation in rhythms correctly not resume causing
in tempo. tempo. with little to no the piece to feel
fluctuation in tempo. disconnected.
All pitches were Pitches were mostly or Pitches were mostly Many pitches were
Pitch performed correctly completely correct with or completely correct incorrect causing the
& and in tune. consistent tuning. but were consistently piece to become
Intonation sharp or flat. hard to recognize.
Student consistently Student consistently Student consistently Student did not
displayed all three of displayed two of the displayed one of the display any sort of a
the following: following: following: supported tone
• Tall vowel shapes • Tall vowel shapes • Tall vowel shapes causing the piece to
• Strong breath • Strong breath support • Strong breath sound weak and
Tone support • An appropriate mixture support without impression.
• An appropriate of ring and loft (aka • An appropriate
mixture of ring bright and dark or nasal mixture of ring and
and loft (aka and hollow) loft (aka bright and
bright and dark or dark or nasal and
nasal and hollow) hollow)
Student consistently Student consistently Student consistently Student could not
displayed all three of displayed two of the displayed one of the pronounce words
the following: following: following: and/or meaning of
• All words • All words pronounced • All words the piece to the
pronounced correctly. pronounced audience.
Language
correctly. • All words pronounced correctly.
& • All words clearly. • All words
Diction
pronounced • Clearly understands the pronounced
clearly. translation and/or clearly.
• Clearly meaning of what they • Clearly
understands the are singing. understands the
translation and/or translation and/or
meaning of what meaning of what
they are singing. they are singing.
Student consistently Student consistently Student consistently Student did not
displayed all three of displayed two of the displayed one of the supply any
the following: following: following: musicality to the
• Dynamics with • Dynamics with • Dynamics with piece leaving it dull
crescendos and crescendos and crescendos and and unchanging.
decrescendos decrescendos decrescendos
Musicianship
• Appropriate • Appropriate • Appropriate
articulations (i.e. articulations (i.e. articulations (i.e.
staccato, legato, staccato, legato, staccato, legato,
marcato, etc.) marcato, etc.) marcato, etc.)
• Appropriate facial • Appropriate facial • Appropriate facial
expression expression expression
A student will only receive a 0 if they make no attempt to complete the assessment.

Student Name:__________________________ Score:________________________________

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 SGHS Choral Program Classroom Rules
1. Respect-yourself, your peers, your teacher and all equipment. This includes all chairs, music
stands, folders and personal belongings.
2. Only water is allowed in the choral room.
3. Be on time.
4. Come prepared with all necessary supplies.
5. Singing is fun, but music is work. The reason we commit to it is because it’s a labor of love.

Discipline Hierarchy

Please refer to the Shady Grove High School Student Handbook regarding the district policies on
disciplinary measures and general classroom expectations.

Travel Policy

To be completed in accordance with school district policies.

Supplies

1. Pencils, pencils, PENCILS!!

• Please come to each and every rehearsal with at least one pencil to mark your music. This
is by far the best way to remember changes and instructions while you are performing.
Your folders have 2 slots to store pencils; please make use of this.
2. SGHS Choral Folder
• A folder is given to each student on their first rehearsal. It is the student’s responsibility
to bring this folder to each and every rehearsal in order to practice proper handling of the
folder for concerts. Folders are returned at the end of the school year. Students with
folders that are severely damaged or missing will have to pay a $30 replacement fee.
3. Music
• Be sure to bring all music to all rehearsals to be ready for anything. Without your music,
rehearsing is nearly impossible and certainly not effective. Please mark music with pencil
ONLY to ensure quality for later reuse. Photocopied music will always be public domain
and can therefore be kept and marked how you please (within reason). All other music is
returned at the end of the school year.

Consistent problems with classroom preparedness will

effect the student’s daily participation grade.

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 Private Lessons

Many parents and students like to pursue private lessons for additional, individualized
attention on their voice. This is terrific both for them and for our program! Below are all the
voice studios in the surrounding area that I am aware of. If you or someone you know offers
voice lessons nearby and is not listed below please contact me so that I may add them to next
year’s handbook.

Voice Studios near the Shady Grove Community

Studios to be added in accordance with selected school community.

Concert Dress

Concert dress is the responsibility of students and parents. Please be sure to have all parts of your
concert attire at all required events. If there are problems obtaining proper attire due to financial
reasons, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Fisher.

Men: Top: Black, long sleeve, button down shirt.

Long Black Tie

Bottom: Black Dress Pants

Black Socks
Black Dress Shoes (NOT sneakers)

Women: Top: Black dress blouse

Bottom: Black Dress Pants OR Long Skirt (knee-length)

Black Socks OR Black tights for skirts
Black shoes (Preferably flats, heels no more than one inch)
Additional information:

Please keep jewelry to a minimum. Do not let it be distracting to the audience or other
performers. The goal is to blend in and create a visually-pleasing ensemble.

Please do not wear perfume or cologne as some people are very allergic.

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 Performance Etiquette

Our performances at Shady Grove High School are the culmination of tremendous efforts by all
students. Please take note of the following policies regarding performance etiquette to ensure that
everyone has the same opportunity to enjoy our wonderful concerts.

• Please refrain from using any sort of electronic devices including camera and video!
• Every SGHS performance is audio recorded and later distributed to parents and
students provided there are no copyright infringements or media release concerns.
• Please arrive on time to concerts.
• Late arrivals can be distracting both to the audience and the performers. If you find
yourself running late, please wait for an applause to seat yourself.
• Please stay for the entirety of the concert.
• Our students work extremely hard to put on these performances for the community.
It can be discouraging for some performers to see that the audience has dwindled
since the concert began. Help them feel confident!
• Enjoy the music, but more importantly, enjoy the effort!
• At SGHS, we take pride in the high-quality music performed at our concerts, but we
also take even more pride in the countless hours it took to reach this level. Even
when you may hear some squeaks or pauses in concerts, just remember that this all
began with nothing but dots on paper!

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 SGHS Parent Volunteer Form

A vital part of what makes any music program successful is you, the parent! With
hundreds and hundreds of needs and wants, there is undoubtedly a place in the SGHS Choral
Program for each and every person looking to lend a hand.

All parents/guardians, please fill out the information below. Thank you!

Home Phone:_________________________ Cell Phone:________________________________

E-Mail:_______________________________________________________________________

Do you check your email often? YES NO

Are you willing to chaperone for trips and events on a case-by-case basis? YES NO

Do you offer any services or have any skills that you could possibly lend to our program?
(Photographer, guitar player, videographer, artist, carpenter, decorator, crafts, sewing, etc.)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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 SGHS Chamber Singers Auditions

Each May, the SGHS Choral Program holds auditions for the following year of Chamber
Singers. Auditions are individual and are facilitated by a sign-up sheet outside the choral
classroom door. Students should only audition for Chamber Singers if they feel they understand
all concepts taught in Concert Choir.

The audition consists of a range test, a call and response test, and a sight reading excerpt.

The new roster is then emailed to students the evening following the last audition.

Below is the audition sheet used for all students.

———————————————————————————————————————

Student Name:___________________________________________________

Student Email:___________________________________________________

Past Musical Experience:_________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

— —- —- —- —- — —- TO BE COMPLETED BY MR. FISHER—- —- —- —- —- —-

RANGE: _______ to _________

CALL & RESPONSE: 1 2 3 4 5 SIGHT READING: 1 2 3 4 5

TONE: 1 2 3 4 5 INTONATION: 1 2 3 4 5

PART:___________________________ YES NO

NOTES:_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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 Shady Grove High School 2017-2018 Choral Program Calendar

October 8th — District Festival Auditions — 3:00PM

November 16th — National Anthem at State House — 11:00PM (during school day)

November 29th — National Anthem at Homecoming Football Game — 6:00PM

December 1st — All-State Festival Auditions — All Day

December 15th — SGHS Winter Concert — 6:00PM (Concert at 7:00PM)

January 30-31 — District Festival — All Day

February 20th — Middle School Recruitment Concert — 1:00PM (during school day)

April 29 - 30 — Great East Festival at Six Flags New England — All Day

May 10th — SGHS Spring Concert — 6:00PM (Concert at 7:00PM)

May 15 - 17 — All-State Festival — All Day

May 30th — Graduation — 5PM (Bus leaves from school)

Bolded events are required. All dates are subject to change. Dates may be added or removed.

Dates that are added will not be done so without a minimum two weeks notice.

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 Shady Grove High School 2017-2018 Choral Program Calendar

October 8th — District Festival Auditions — 3:00PM

November 16th — National Anthem at State House — 11:00PM (during school day)

November 29th — National Anthem at Homecoming Football Game — 6:00PM

December 1st — All-State Festival Auditions — All Day

December 15th — SGHS Winter Concert — 6:00PM (Concert at 7:00PM)

January 30-31 — District Festival — All Day

February 20th — Middle School Recruitment Concert — 1:00PM (during school day)

April 29 - 30 — Great East Festival at Six Flags New England — All Day

May 10th — SGHS Spring Concert — 6:00PM (Concert at 7:00PM)

May 15 - 17 — All-State Festival — All Day

May 30th — Graduation — 5PM (Bus leaves from school)

Bolded events are required. All dates are subject to change. Dates may be added or removed.

Dates that are added will not be done so without a minimum two weeks notice.

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 Student and Parent Acknowledgment

Please return to Mr. Fisher no later than September 10th.

I have read through the Shady Grove High School Choral Handbook, and understand that I will
be responsible to policies outlined therein, including the fact that there are performances outside
the regular school day for which attendance is required to fulfill class grade requirements.

_______________________________________________

Student’s Name (printed clearly)

_______________________________________________

Student’s Signature

_______________________________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature


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