2016-2017 WHS Chorus Calendar Required Concerts and After- School Rehearsals Thursday, Sept 29: Staging rehearsal [VM2 only] 3:45 5:30 pm in the Choir Room Friday, Sept 30: Homecoming Performance [Chorale, SW, and Alumni Choir] Meet in WHS Choir Room at 6:30 pm. Monday, Oct 3: Staging rehearsal [ALL CHOIRS] 3:45 5:30 pm in the Choir Room Tuesday, Oct 4: Patron Concert performance [All Ensembles] 7 pm - 8 pm. Call time is 6:15 pm in the Choir Room Thursday, Oct 6: Patron Concert performance [All Ensembles] 7 pm - 8 pm. Call time is 6:15 pm in the Choir Room Friday, Dec 2: Sing for WHS Home Basketball game (Chorale & SW) Call time is 6:30 pm, sing at 7 pm Monday, Dec 12: Staging rehearsal [All Ensembles] Church of the Ascension, 3:45 pm 6:15 pm Tuesday, Dec 13: Holiday Sacred Concert [All Ensembles] at Church of the Ascension, 7 pm - 8:30 pm Tuesday Feb 21 OR Thursday, Feb 23: Festival Dress Rehearsal [All Ensembles] 3:45 6:00 pm in the Choir Room. Tuesday, Feb 28: KCS Choral Showcase [Chorale only] 7 pm at Bearden High School. Call time is 6:15 Wednesday or Thursday, Mar 1-2: JB Lyle Festival [All Ensembles] during- school field trip to Hardin Valley campus of PSTCC, lasting all day Friday, Mar 3 Wednesday, Mar 8: Auditions for Choir 2017-2018 Current students during class, newcomers after school TBA Mar/April: Sing for WHS Home Baseball game (Chorale, SW & Man Choir) Wednesday, Apr 26: Staging rehearsal [All Ensembles] 3:45 pm 5:30 pm in Main Auditorium. Thursday, Apr 27 Spring Concert [All Ensembles] 7 pm in Main Auditorium. Call time is 6:30 in Choir Room Sunday, May 14: Baccalaureate performance [Chorale & SW] First Baptist Church downtown, time TBA (afternoon)
Saturday, May 20: Graduation performance [Chorale & SW] Thompson- Boling Arena, TBA All East and All- State Honor Choir Dates Aug 22-26: WHS All- East Bootcamp (All candidates) 7:15 am each day in the Choir Room Saturday, Aug 27: UTK All- East Preparatory Clinic 9:30 am 3:00 pm, Haslam Music Center, UT Knoxville Wednesday, Aug 31: WHS All- East Cohort Auditions WHS Choir Room 3:45 5:30. Saturday, Sep 17: All- East Auditions (WHS All- East Cohort only) Assigned times at Heritage High School Tuesday, Nov 8: All- East Screening (All- East qualifiers only) Hardin Valley Academy Nov 17-19 All- East Honor Choir (All- East honorees only) Maryville College Saturday, Jan 21: All- State Screening (All- State qualifiers only) Farragut High School Apr 5-8: All- State Clinic and Performances (All- State honorees only) Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, Nashville, TN. Other Dates Sept 27: Chorus Night Out Dinner at UT Student Center 6:30 UTK Fall Choral Concert, 8pm in Cox Auditorium on the UT campus. Saturday, Jan 28: A Cappella workshop at UTK? Thursday, Feb 16 - Saturday Feb 18: WHS Musical Production Monday, Feb 27: Musical Theatre Audition Workshop at WHS Wednesday & Thursday March 1-2: Musical Theatre Auditions after school Monday April 17: Musical Theatre Coffeehouse
Course Content Music will be chosen with consideration for artistic and educational value. The roots of choral music are intertwined with the Christian church. Therefore, it is common for sacred music to be sung in public schools. The West High Choirs will often sing sacred music and will perform a Sacred Holiday concert in December each year at a local church. There s an excellent article on sacred music in public education called Singing Christian Music by Joshua Bronfman - http://archive.choralnet.org/view/460406#461114 The article explains more of those roots from an interesting perspective. Knox County Board of Education Policy The Board affirms that it is essential that the teaching about religion and not of a religion be conducted in a factual, objective and respectful manner in accordance with the following: 1. Music, art, literature, or drama with a religious theme or basis are permitted as part of the curriculum for school- sponsored activities and programs provided it is essential to the learning experience in the various fields of study and is presented objectively; 2. The emphasis on religious themes in the arts, literature and history shall be only as extensive as necessary for a balanced and comprehensive study of these areas. Such studies shall never foster any particular religious tenets or demean any religious beliefs; and 3. Student- initiated expressions to questions or assignments which reflect their beliefs or non- beliefs about a religious theme shall be accommodated. For example, students are free to express religious belief or non- belief in compositions, art forms, music, speech and debate. Communication whchoirs.com All West High Choirs information is available online at the Chorus Program website: http://whchoirs.com. Parents and students, please subscribe to the blog feed on the website so that you will receive email notifications whenever Mr. Carpenter posts to the newsfeed. Contacting Mr. Carpenter Directly Mr. Carpenter may be contacted during his planning/office time (10:10 am 11:40 am) at the Choral Office phone (865) 594-4493 or via his KCS email address: drew.carpenter@knoxschools.org. The mailing address for the school is 3300 Sutherland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37919. Email is the easiest way to reach Mr. Carpenter.
Remind.com Remind (remind.com) is a text- broadcasting service especially designed for classroom and school use. Students and parents can subscribe to a classroom account and receive text messages concerning class events without Mr. Carpenter having to know or maintain each student s specific contact information. To subscribe, send the appropriate text message to 81010 from your mobile device: Man Choir: @rumanenuf Women s Chorale: @whsintwmn Advanced Women s: @whsadvwmn Studio West: @studiowst Musical Theatre: @whsmusth All- East and All- State Candidates: @alleas Chorale: @wstchorale Facebook Chorus students and parents who maintain a Facebook account/profile are welcome to request to join the Choral Program s Facebook page where they can interact with other WHS choral students and alumni, post pictures and video from concerts and field trips, etc. Just search West High Chorus Program in the Facebook search bar to find us. Contacting Your Student at School Mr. Carpenter does not allow students to use their cell phones during rehearsal, unless it is to conduct research. Because students are expected to use the 7- minute class change and lunch periods to check messages, it is perfectly appropriate to call or text your student during class time concerning non- emergency matters and leave a message. If, however, you need to immediately communicate with your student concerning an emergency, the best way to contact them is to call the school office (865) 594-4477 and ask the office to interrupt rehearsal. This protects your student from questions and misunderstandings concerning cell phone use, and it protects rehearsals from constant interruptions. Expectations and Norms for Rehearsal Mr. Carpenter establishes and enforces high student expectations for rehearsals because his goal is to create not only excellent and disciplined performances, but also to build excellent and disciplined people as well. Students are expected to do the five P s: Be Punctual Be on time. Better yet, be early. You are considered "on time" if you are in your assigned seat when the tardy bell rings. Anything else is "late."
Be Prepared Be ready to work. Rehearsal is work- - it doesn't just happen to you. To do the work of rehearsal, you must have your tools with you, namely, your choir binder with your sheet music and a pencil. Be Present Presence is much more than just having your body in the room. Presence requires that you be in the moment, fully aware of what's happening around you. Quietly learn while Mr. Carpenter works with another section. Pay attention to what he's teaching them, because 1) your section will likely be required to do the same thing, and because 2) Mr. Carpenter can be easily distracted when he's trying to fix something. If you talk, it distracts the person you re talking to and others around you. Make it your business to always know what Mr. Carpenter is working on and what he wants to accomplish with each iteration of the music. Endlessly repeating the same musical phrase the same way is not rehearsal- - it is torture. If we sing the same thing again, make sure you know what needs to change! Leave distractions off the risers. Your Algebra teacher will not allow you to work on your singing during Algebra, and neither will Mr. Carpenter allow you to bring work from other classes into the choir room. Participate fully Make big mistakes. The only way to get better at anything is to test and stretch your limits. Don't be afraid of making vocal mistakes- - you will learn more by making a singing mistake that Mr. Carpenter can hear and correct than you will ever learn singing passively, afraid of being exposed. Put yourself out there! Protect the Rehearsal Environment Take care of the room. Food, gum, and beverages other than bottled water are not allowed in the Choir Room. Grading Support your choir- mates. Refuse to spread gossip or negativity, and eagerly support other students who make big mistakes or audition for and win leadership roles and/or solos. Public Performances: 30% Daily Grades: 30% Sight Reading, Vocabulary, and Context tests: 30% Outside Performance Attendance: 10%
Daily Attendance and participation earn a grade for each rehearsal. If a student is absent from rehearsal, their daily grade for that rehearsal is a 0 regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused. If the absence is excused, the student may make up the time missed from rehearsal by scheduling a time with Mr. Carpenter to practice in the choir room before or after school. The make up credit will be time for time. Performances Public performance outside of the school day is an integral part of chorus participation, and as such, is considered curricular and not extra- curricular. In other words, singing in scheduled concerts is not optional. Students who do not participate in scheduled concerts will receive a grade of 0 points for each missed performance, with no opportunity for compensatory make- up work. In the case of an emergency, a parent may email Mr. Carpenter an explanation of the situation that led to the missed performance no later than two days after the missed performance, and Mr. Carpenter at his discretion may excuse the assignment. Excused absences:! Verifiable personal illness! Death in the family! Recognized religious holidays! Verifiable family emergency Unexcused absences:! Failure to remember a concert date or activity.! Failure to bring a parent note for an excused absence (see above). Also, students who disqualify themselves for public performances will receive 0 points for each performance. Excessive absences, excessive tardiness, and failure to pass part- knowledge assessments are all examples of behaviors that will result in a student being disqualified from a public performance. No compensatory make- up work will be accepted in the event a student is disqualified from a public performance. Performances are graded on a 100- point scale, the points being distributed among 4 measures: Showing up (70 points), Punctuality (15 points), Offstage Comportment (8 points), and Onstage Performance (7 points). Showing Up: Students are awarded 70 points for participating in the concert, regardless of any other factors. Minimum letter grade for participants: D. Students who do not meet this criterion will receive a total score of 0 for the performance. Punctuality: On time for concerts is defined as in the room, ready to go at call time. Students who are in the room but not in their concert attire at call time are considered to be late. Students who meet the punctuality criteria receive an additional 15 points. Minimum letter grade for on- time students: C. Offstage Comportment: The Offstage Comportment score measures the students behavior during backstage warm- ups and instructions and while in the audience. This score is shared with by all students participating in the concert. 8 points if the students are easily brought to attention and attentive, 6 points if the students have some difficulty coming to order, 4 points if the students are consistently distracted, and 0 points if the misbehavior is significantly detracting from the groups attention.
Onstage Performance: Each ensemble shares a score that reflects Mr. Carpenter s assessment of the ensemble s performance on the stage. 7 points awarded for an exemplary performance, 3 point for an acceptable performance, and 0 points for a poor performance. Sight- Reading Students will be assessed on their sight- reading ability (rhythm and pitch) at regular intervals during the first half of the school term. All sight- reading tests will be graded pass/fail no partial credit will be given. However, students will be given credit for passing lower- difficulty tests if they subsequently pass higher- difficulty tests. In other words, a student who fails a level 4 pitch- reading test but subsequently passes a level 6 pitch- reading test will also receive passing grades for levels 5 and 4. 5 tests will be administered during the first half of the school term (1 in each calendar month), with a final test given at the end of the term. Vocabulary and Context Students will be assessed on their understanding of musical vocabulary, their ability to take musical dictation, and their understanding of the historical context of performance repertoire at regular intervals. Outside Performance Attendance Only one assignment is given in this category: Go see two chorus concerts during the course of the school term. The concerts must adhere to the following criteria: The performers must be high- school quality or higher (preferably collegiate). The concert must be of standard choral artistic repertoire (i.e., not popular music), The attender cannot be a participant in the concert, and The performance must be an actual concert (i.e., not a theatrical work) Students whose parents attend the fall Open House event at West will have one of the attendances excused. In this case, the entire category grade (10% of the final) will be determined by the student s attendance of the 1 remaining performance. In order to receive credit for attending these performances, students must bring a concert program with them to Mr. Carpenter. The student s name must be written on the upper right- hand corner of the outside cover. Extra Credit Students can receive extra- credit points in one of two ways: Superior festival performances and honor choir selection. Superior festival performances: All ensembles that receive an overall Superior rating at the JB Lyle Festival will receive 2 additional bonus points added onto their overall score for the year. Honor choir selection: students selected to participate in ETVA honor choirs will receive cumulative bonus points added onto their overall score for the year. Selection to the Freshman Honors Chorus or to the WHS All- East Cohort: 1 point. Selection to All- East: 1 point. Selection to All- State: 1 point.
Discipline Presumed Maturity Mr. Carpenter approaches high school students with the end in mind: he wants West High School to graduate mature, disciplined men and women who are prepared to go successfully into the world. To that end he makes it a point to speak to and interact with students as if they were adults, and presumes that students will respond and behave accordingly in rehearsal. While the rehearsal expectations are laid out in the Expectations and Norms for Rehearsal section of this Handbook, it boils down to the five P s: be Punctual, be Prepared, be Present, Participate fully, and Protect the Rehearsal Environment. Students who fail to cooperate with rehearsal norms and distract from the group objectives will be disciplined appropriately. Detention Generally, students will respond to gentle reminders from Mr. Carpenter to sit quietly, be on time, etc., but when these fail Mr. Carpenter will assign the student detention. Students receiving a detention assignment will stay after school on the day of their scheduled detention to work in the Choir Room. The detention should last for no more than 30 minutes, unless the student does not complete the assigned task in a timely manner. Referral to Administration Students who do not respond to detention consequences will be referred to the school administration per the WHS Discipline Policy.
Fees and Funds Instructional Fee Calculation 2015-2016 Instructional fees for the Chorus Program are Women s Chorale & Man Choir: $50 Advanced Women s: $80 Chorale & Studio West: $80 (If a student is in more than one ensemble, that student should just pay the higher amount and pay it only once. In other words, no student pays more than $80). The instructional fee for the main ensembles (Vocal Music 2 and Vocal Music 3) was calculated by dividing equally among all anticipated participants the costs of maintaining the Chorus Program at its current levels of activity and quality. Those anticipated costs are: Instructional Materials (Instructional Fee monies) Uniform Binders: $200 Concert Attire Maintenance and Purchases: $500 Performance & Rehearsal Accompanists: $2200 Field Trip Transportation: $1,500 Sheet Music: $3,000 JB Lyle Festival Registration: $490 JB Lyle Festival Lunch: $400 KCS Allocation and BEP Spending Program Maintenance (KCS Allocation and BEP monies) Office Supplies: $450 Director s Sheet Music (perusal and instructional): $100 ETVA Institutional Fee: $150 Funds Monies allocated for use by the WHS Chorus Program are distributed into 3 accounts: Expenses, Capital Projects, and the Scholarship Fund. The Expenses Account holds money allotted for running the Chorus Program year to year. Class fees are deposited into and spent out of the Expenses Account. The Capital Projects Account holds money raised by and donated to the Program for longer- tem capital projects, such as purchasing concert attire, acoustic shells, standing risers, and the like. Donations to the Capital Projects Account are fully tax deductible. The Scholarship Fund Account holds money raised by and donated to the Program to assist students who otherwise could not afford to accompany the choirs on field and honor choir trips. Donations to the Scholarship Fund Account are fully tax deductible.
Course Descriptions Vocal Music 2 (Freshmen and Sophomores) Vocal Music 2 (VM2) is the large- format choral performance ensemble at West High School for 1. Freshmen and Sophomore students with previous choral experience 2. who do not have significant problems matching pitch, and 3. who are mature and self- controlled enough to handle intense, focused choral rehearsals. Admission to VM2 is restricted a student may be admitted only with the recommendation of Mr. Carpenter or of his or her 8th- grade chorus teacher. Students successfully completing Vocal Music 2 receive credit for KCS course 3531: Vocal Music II. Sophomore students who complete VM2 as freshmen may repeat the course. Sophomore ladies and above who have completed VM2 may be eligible for the Advanced Women s Chorale, Belle Voci. The VM2 class is split into two separate gender- specific ensembles, meeting, rehearsing, and performing separately. Both ensembles sing a repertoire of intermediate difficulty (3-4 of 6), with the female ensemble performing under the name West High Women's Chorale and the male ensemble performing under the name "West High Man Choir." Please refer to the Grading Policy section of the Handbook for information on grading and course requirements. Vocal Music 3 (Juniors and Seniors) Vocal Music 3 (VM3) is the large- format choral performance ensemble at West High School for 1. Junior and Senior students with previous choral experience 2. who do not have significant problems matching pitch, and 3. who are mature and self- controlled enough to handle intense, focused choral rehearsals. Admission to VM3 is restricted a student may be admitted only with the recommendation of Mr. Carpenter. Students successfully completing Vocal Music 3 receive credit for KCS course 3531: Vocal Music III. Senior students who complete VM3 as Juniors may repeat the course. The VM3 class performs under the name The West High Chorale. The ensemble sings a repertoire of advanced difficulty (5-6 of 6). Please refer to the Grading Policy section of the Handbook for information on grading and course requirements. Studio West (Upperclassmen Advanced Ensemble) Studio West (StuWst) is the small- format choral performance ensemble at West High School for selected sophomore, junior, and senior students enrolled in VM2 and VM3. Selection criteria are very restrictive as this ensemble is limited to 24 members and must be balanced by vocal part. Admission to StuWst is restricted a student may be admitted only with the recommendation of Mr. Carpenter (auditions are held in August of each year). Students successfully completing Studio West receive credit for KCS course 3531: Choral Ensemble. Senior students who complete SW as Juniors may repeat the course for additional credit. The
ensemble sings a repertoire of advanced difficulty (5-6 of 6). Public performance is an integral part of the SW curriculum. VM2 Registration Instructions Overview Man Choir and Women s Chorale are the two ensembles that comprise the Vocal Music 2 courses. They are considered preparatory and are geared to prepare freshman and sophomore students to successfully participate in The West High Chorale as juniors and seniors. Membership is restricted by the following criteria: rising Freshman students must request the course during registration, and may do so without Mr. Carpenter s approval rising Sophomore students may request the course, but must do so with Mr. Carpenter s approval rising Juniors and Seniors may request the course, but must do so with Mr. Carpenter s approval Membership is not restricted by voice part, as the VM2 course is divided into an all- male section and an all- female section. Mr. Carpenter will withhold approval from requesting rising Sophomore students whose in- class behavior indicates that they are not well prepared for intense, focused choral rehearsals. Rising Juniors and Seniors may be admitted to accommodate scheduling difficulties with VM3. Registration Process Rising Freshman students simply request VM2 when registering for classes at West High. No approval is needed from Mr. Carpenter Rising Sophomore students will bring their Course Selection sheet to Mr. Carpenter for his signature during the course request time- frame. Mr. Carpenter may refuse to approve requests based on his knowledge of the student s maturity and level of self- discipline.
VM3 Registration Instructions Overview The West High School Chorale is the flagship ensemble for the WHS Chorus Program. Membership is restricted by the following criteria: only rising Juniors and Seniors may apply, and the ensemble must be vocally balanced, i.e., we can t have a disproportionately large soprano/alto/tenor/or bass section. The size of the class will be no more than 4 times the size of the vocal part with the smallest number of acceptable applicants. If we only have 10 acceptable basses, then the WHS Chorale will only have 40 students in the class. Selection Process 1. All students (including those currently enrolled in a WHS chorus class) who wish to sing in next year s WHS Chorale will apply for acceptance in January of the current year (see http://whchoirs.com for an application). 2. Mr. Carpenter will review the applications and post the uncut list of candidates on his door in the 2 nd week of February. All students who successfully complete the application process will be permitted to include Vocal Music 3 on their course selection sheet, but must also select 3 alternate electives to cover the possibility that they aren t placed in the class. 3. Auditions will generally be held in March following the JB Lyle Festival. 4. Mr. Carpenter will post the approved class list the Monday after Graduation. 5. Students may be dropped from the class according to their audition scores in order to maintain ensemble balance and to accommodate scheduling difficulties. Students will be placed into the class from the waiting list in order of ranking to take the slots of those who have scheduling conflicts and cannot be placed in the class. If you have a scheduling conflict, you must get it fixed before school starts. Placements are not final until school starts in August!