Updated: Jan 3, 2021
Welcome new and returning choir students and families! This document is to provide some information to all of you. Throughout the year, at the beginning of each month, we will be sending these ‘Director Notes’ to help everyone stay on top of important choir information.
This is a long email, but please read the entire document.
1 WELCOME to our newest addition to the choir faculty!
We are so excited to announce the arrival of Katie Vukovics to the Anderson Choir staff! She received her Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Lousiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA where she studied with Terry Patrick-Harris and Trey Davis. While at LSU, she sang with the A Capella Choir, Chorale and Chamber Choir as well as co-conducted the LSU ACDA Lab Choir. In her free time, she likes to play piano, drink tea, run and do music cognition research. She is excited to get to know the students and become a part of the Anderson Choir family!
2 Welcome new and returning students and families!
This is a strange time and we are all dealing with it in different ways. We want you to know that our number one priority is to keep your students and you safe. With that said, we are committed to making choir the best it can be and every student within those choirs the best that they can be! We will sing together! We will continue to work on individual vocal production and music reading skills no matter what classes look like. We will move forward and grow and as a result be better! We will do this together! We ALL are a choir family!
3 EVERYTHING Night – For 10 years, we have been gathering in the choir room or at the Westover Pool to offer a time for parents to take care of ‘everything’ related to choir in one night! Parents could meet the teachers and booster officers, buy spirit items (yard signs, tote bags, uniform bags etc), sign up for voice lessons if interested, pay fees and more while their student was fit for their uniform. We can’t do this event in person. Therefore, we have moved this online!
3a PAY ONLINE - Starting Monday, September 14, parents will be able to purchase items on our Website under the more tab!
3b Q & A Sessions being offered via Zoom. Join us next week if you have any questions about choir this year and we will do our best to provide clear answers for you.
Monday, September 14 – NEW TO ANDERSON CHOIR parents and students – 7pm
Tuesday, September 15 – RETURNING/EXPERIENCED parents and students – 7pm
4 REMIND
This is a one-way mass text messaging service that we use to communicate reminders to the students. Parents are welcome to sign up as well. Each class has a specific text in order to receive that class’s information. Students cannot respond to the text and neither individual’s phone number is shown.
If you choose to participate, standard text messaging costs apply. Messages will show up as Mr. Beussman: “message”
When you sign up for the first time, you will receive a text asking for your birthdate(we can’t text students younger than 13) and your name to populate the class. Please use your first and last name. Once done, you’re done. If you already use Remind for another class, you will just be added to the appropriate choir class as well. Many students did this in class over the past two days. Parents are welcome to also sign up for their student’s class.
If you have trouble signing up, try going to the Remind.com website and download the app or choose to receive the texts via email.
Below is the easy way to sign up. Students should know which class to sign up for. However, if they do the wrong class, I am able to move them. Please use your first and last name when signing up:
1st period – Voces Excelsis: Treble Choir
Text @belcanto6 to the following #: 81010
2nd period – Bella Voce - Treble Choir:
text @varsitywo to the following #: 81010
3rd period – Concert Choir - Tenor/Bass Choir:
text @3men to the following #: 81010
5th period – Nova Voce - Treble Choir:
text @5freshmen to the following #: 81010
7th period - Chorale: Mixed Choir:
text @2chorale to the following #: 81010
5 Stay connected!
Website – www.trojanchoir.com
Volunteer to help, calendar, music, pictures, forms, general info, links etc. available in one place.
Remind – see above
Facebook Group - www.facebook.com/groups/andersonhighschoolchoir
Calendar events and pictures.
Instagram: @Andersonchoir
Follow and see pics from throughout the school year.
Blend – we will be using Blend for several assignments this year. Students will also use the links on our Blend homepage to access their Remote Learning classes throughout the week.
6 Handbook
The choir handbook can be found on our website and is attached to this email. We will be sending out a supplement closer to October that will help explain how we’re doing face to face class during COVID 19.
7 Calendar
Attached is our choir calendar for the school year. Please get all of these dates on your family calendar immediately so that conflicts can be prevented.
8 Fall Choir Retreat – POSTPONED to spring – date TBD
This is our choir time of fun, games, and singing for ALL current choir members.
It happens here at Anderson in the cafeteria, gyms, and choir room. Parent chaperones and both directors will be present during the entire event.
This is a great opportunity for students to get to know each other better within their choir and across the other choirs. It is one of the most fun events we do all year! More details to come.
We will want 100% of choir student participation at this event!
9 All-State auditions – with the late start, we need to move forward quickly with this.
Attached and below is information about All-State auditions this year. It will look very different this year, but the voice teachers, Ms Vukovics and I will do everything we can to prepare you. Please consider doing this. All rounds this year will be via online submission and there will not be a sight reading component at any level.
I know there are a lot of questions and concerns about school this year. However, I want you all to know that we excited to work with all of you this year whether you choose to be a part of the All-State audition process or not. If you are considering competing in the All-State Audition process, we have some information to share with you. For first year students, the first round of auditions is similar to Region auditions in middle school. However, the music is more challenging (we do 3 or 4 songs each round which you will know if advance) and you compete against all grade levels on your voice part. First and second year students CAN do very well in this process. It's all about being prepared. To help you get started, please do the following:
1 The TMEA All-State music has been announced and titles can be found at:
https://www.tmea.org/divisions-regions/vocal/audition-material
You can also see voice range of each part to help you decide which to audition on. Voice teachers can also help you with this. The voice part you sing in choir is not necessarily the best part for you to audition on. Not sure, please ask.
We have all the recordings on our website so you can listen, download and practice. The password for that portion of the site is fireant.
I would suggest listening to choirs on Youtube singing these songs. Here is a playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKJrr5AVj_QFJUSswlYWUJMdVKjjaX_9K
2 Let me know your name and what voice part you are planning to audition on. Use the following link: https://forms.gle/zvfRnymvomnwhdi37
3 This year, we are strongly suggesting that students purchase their own music. We usually order it and then collect payment afterwards, but this year organizing that with the current situation would be difficult. The cost for a Treble or Tenor-Bass packet of music is $19 plus shipping. This could go directly to your house. Use the link below:
All recordings are available on our choir website: www.trojanchoir.com
Click on the All-State tab
(For password contact Mr. Beussman or Ms. Vukovics or see email)
You may listen or download individual voice parts as well as the piano accompaniments. The accompaniment only tracks are what the students will audition with. If this does not work, we can burn CD’s for students who need them.
SEE CALENDAR FOR AUDITION DEADLINES AND WINDOWS FOR AUDITIONS!
10 FAQ sheet
Confused about some of the events our choir or individual choir members participate in? Read the attached FAQ sheet to get some answers. Also, come to the Q & A sessions mentioned above.
11 Follies IS HAPPENING!
Follies will be a virtual performance this year. The performance will be on November 12. The theme will be announced in a special way shortly. Each Anderson choir will perform. There will be several solos in this show as well. All choirs are performing at this concert.
12 Private Voice Lessons – We have teachers available for one-on-one lessons. The private teachers are available during choir classes as well as before or after school to work with our students. ALL lessons this fall will be taught virtually. The voice teachers have been doing this since April. This allows the student and family to make it work in their schedule. Lessons can really help students accelerate their vocal development as well as give specific attention to an individual’s music learning needs and voice concerns. Most of our students who excel at the individual competitions take private lessons. We highly encourage your child to take lessons particularly if they are participating in the All-State audition process and for solo/ensemble contest. Many of our students have already signed up, but there’s room for several more. If you’re interested in taking voice lessons, sign up ASAP! The first students to return the forms will be the first ones scheduled. Fill out the attached form, scan it or take a picture of the second page and return them via email to Mr. B!
13 LETTER JACKETS from last year
Resending this. I sent it out at the end of July and again in August. If you’ve already filled it out, don’t fill it out again.
Hello returning choir students. Because of COVID-19, Balfour was not able to do letter jackets in May as we would normally do. However, we do want to award letters to students and get the process moving to do that at this time. Please accurately fill out the google form ASAP. After verifying answers, an email will go out to students who earned a letter jacket for this past year with instructions of how we will order. We need to do this ASAP.
https://forms.gle/tE4ivW82XE1v9GWWA
14 Anderson Choir Concerts – These are required co-curricular events. All choir students must participate. These are graded performances as they are part of our curriculum.
15 Get involved
There will be opportunities to volunteer to help the Anderson Choir program. Most ‘jobs’ require only a small time commitment, but are so important in helping the students have a high quality experience.
16 Contact:
Directors:
David Beussman – david.beussman@austinisd.org
Katie Vukovics – katherine.vukovics@austinisd.org
Office phone – 414-7926
Booster President – Kristine Munden – ahschoirtx@gmail.com
Choir Website: www.trojanchoir.com