Hello choir family!
Please read this entire email. It is quite long and has many attachments, but it is full of important information.
Director Notes – Beginning of School 2024
Hello everyone! These Director Notes emails typically go out once a month to provide information to our choir families of things happening and opportunities in the choir department. Please read through the entire email.
I’ve really been enjoying this first week of school with the students! While we’re all adjusting to being back at school, we've learned, shared, and made music and IT IS WONDERFUL!
1. Welcome new and returning students and families!
I am 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 be doing concerts and events throughout the year! We will continue to work on individual vocal production and music reading skills! We will move forward and grow and as a result be better! We will do this together! We ALL are a choir family!
2. Choir BIG meeting – August 31 – 7-8:30pm - MANDATORY – Anderson Theater
This is the fourth year of this important new event! Back to School night is not set up well for you to learn all about this choir program and I want to give an opportunity for everyone, students and parents, to come learn about how things work. Therefore, I suggest that you go to other classes during Back to School Night and come to the theater after to learn about choir. You will have a chance to answer questions as well as meet the Choir Booster Officers, Choir Council, and me. I’ll cover everything from expectations and concerts to voice lessons and our spring trip.
7-7:30pm – back of Theater - opportunity for some up-close-and-personal looks at items we offer for purchase, sign up for voice lessons, become a choir booster parent, or just say ‘hi’ to our Booster officers or me.
7:30-8:30pm – Theater – Expectations, opportunities, introductions, and information about our spring trip.
Hope to see you all there!
3. Fall Choir Retreat – September 7 – 2-10pm
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 I 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!
We would love 100% of choir student participation at this event!
4. Purchasing and paying choir fair share fees can be done ONLINE! Ideal due date - Sept 6
Please go to www.trojanchoir.com and click the PAY FEES ONLINE tab.
Here you can pay for (Most credit cards and Paypal accepted):
Fair Share Fees (student T-shirt included in this fee) – Please pay by Sept 6.
Join the Boosters at a chosen level of support.
Pay for All-State entry fees if desired – this must be paid by Sept 18.
Pay for Solo Contest fees if desired – this must be paid by Dec 12.
Support another choir student with an optional donation.
The following OPTIONAL items are available for purchase for a limited time only.
Sale ends on these items Oct 1.
Purchase a choir yard sign (limited time).
Purchase a Duffle bag or Uniform bag (limited time).
Purchase a T-shirt for parents (this must be purchased by Sept 6).
5. First Choir Fund Raiser staring soon!
To help students raise funds for fair share fees or the spring choir trip or Madfest for Chorale or voice lessons, we will be offering fund raising opportunities throughout the fall and early spring. Our first will be selling World’s Finest Chocolates! Details will be shared in class and at the BIG meeting.
6. REMIND
This is a one-way mass text messaging service that I 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:
2nd period – Bel Canto: Varsity Treble Choir
text @bd3ecd7a22 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
Zero hour – before school – Madrigal Singers:
text @madsingers to the following #: 81010
7. Stay connected!
Website – www.trojanchoir.com
Volunteer to help, calendar, music, pictures, forms, general info, links, etc. - available in one place.
Remind – see above
Instagram: @Andersonchoir
Follow and see pics from throughout the school year.
Blend – I will be using Blend for some assignments this year.
8. Handbook
The choir handbook can be found on our website and is attached to the email. Please read through the handbook. Then have you and your student sign and return the handbook contract (also on the website). This is a completion grade for the students.
9. Heath Release Form
Please fill out this form as completely as you can (link to website page). This not only will help me take care of your student in case of an emergency, but also provides me with needed information regarding allergies etc. This is a completion grade for the students.
10. 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. If you use google, you can link the calendar on our website to yours!
11. Voice lessons
We offer one-on-one voice lessons for students who are interested. We have an incredible voice teacher, Jenny Ohrstrom who will be working with our students once again this year. We encourage everyone to consider lessons. We have hired a second voice teacher this year which should help with scheduling. 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. If interested, talk with or email Mr. B ASAP.
12. All-State info:
The All-State audition process is rigorous, but it’s also a great learning experience. I hope that several of our students will participate in these auditions next year. If you are considering competing in the All-State Audition process, I 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. You will know the song selections, not cuts, in 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 can be found at:
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. Our website is www.trojanchoir.com
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://youtu.be/wY7EWF5OV8c?si=GRNGNog3QfQ1sywF
2) Let me know your name and what voice part you are planning to audition on. It is NOT necessarily the voice part you usually sing in choir. I will have a google form to fill out soon.
3) Music packets can be ordered through www.jwpepper.com. Type Texas All-State School Choir Packets in the search box. Then choose either Large school Treble or Large school Tenor Bass. These can be mailed directly to your house. Meanwhile, I can provide Xerox copies until your order arrives.
Attached are the songs that will be judged each round. A lot of the learning is done by the individual. However, we will also have group rehearsals available starting this coming week.
13. 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 (link to the website page). Also, come to the Choir BIG Meeting mentioned above.
14. Short & Sweet and Follies
Yes, we have two fall concerts for choir at Anderson. The ‘Short and Sweet’ concert will be a fairly short concert in early October, but is going to help us set up proper vocal technique for the rest of the year. Additionally, we will once again be doing a Follies concert later that month. The Follies concert always has a theme! This year’s will be announced at the BIG meeting. Please note that there are multiple performances of Follies and a dress rehearsal.
15. Letter Jackets
Letter jackets are available through choir via a point system. This will be explained in class and students will be able to track their progress throughout the year. Students who earned their jacket last year will have their fitting on Wednesday, August 28 after school.
16. 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.
17. Contact:
Director:
David Beussman – david.beussman@austinisd.org
Office phone – 414-7926
Booster President – Leslie Kornblith – ahschoirtx@gmail.com
Choir Website: www.trojanchoir.com
Mr. B
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