Triptych Concerts - Thursday, December 14

Dear Chorus Families,

Below are a few reminders and updates regarding our Triptych Concerts next week on Thursday, December 14th in the Gregory East Gym.   Please read everything carefully. **CORRECTION from the previously sent information: concert attire for the Triptych concerts on the 14th will not be 'nice dress clothes,' but will be the standard Gregory music uniform (gray Gregory Music polo shirt, black pants, and black shoes).**

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All 6th Grade Chorus and Men's Ensemble students need to arrive at Gregory Middle School on the morning of the concert wearing their music uniform (gray music polo, black pants, black shoes), as those students will be performing during the school day. Students will not have time to change before the concert.
6th Grade & Men's Ensemble parents: you are invited to attend, and may come to either performance time (12:45pm or 2:00pm)! To those planning on attending, we have a few reminders regarding the logistics for those performances:

1. Do not park in the circle drive.  This area must remain open for buses and/or emergency vehicles during school hours.  You may park in the staff parking lot as well as on neighborhood streets.
2. All attendees must enter Door #4 (near the gym) for the concert.  That door will unlock at 12:30 for the 12:45 performance and at 1:45 for the 2:00 performance.  You will not be permitted to enter Door #1.  Please do not use the buzzer to enter there.  Go directly to Door #4 near the gym.
3. All audience members will be asked to exit the building promptly following the 2pm concert. Parents may not remain inside the building to take their child home with them before 3:00.  Students will be dismissed at the 3:00pm bell ending the school day.

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7th Grade Chorus & Mixed Vocal Ensemble - students report to the Chorus Room at 5:15pm for warmup & run-through; concert begins at 6:00pm.

8th Grade Chorus - students report to the Chorus Room at 7:00p for warmup & run-through; concert begins at 7:30pm.

Attire for all performing groups that evening is the gray Gregory Music polo shirt, black pants, and black shoes.

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All are invited to attend our concerts, and there are no tickets…simply show up to the East Gym prior to the concert time and find a seat!

We are very excited to share all of the hard work the students have put into preparing for these performances. 

Fall Concerts - Thursday, November 2

Dear Gregory Chorus Families,

We are fast approaching our first chorus concerts of the school year - Thursday, November 2, 2023 in the Gregory East Gym. This is a big night for all of our choral groups at Gregory, as it is the culminating curricular event for everything we have worked on for the first quarter! As is the case with all of our performances, attendance for our singers is required and the fall concert will be a part of their Q2 grade. The following is the schedule of events:

5:00pm - Concert Choir in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

5:10pm - Men's Ensemble in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

5:20pm - 6th Grade Chorus in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

6:00pm - CONCERT in the East Gym (6th Grade Chorus, Men's Ensemble, Mixed Vocal Ensemble, & Concert Choir)

6:45pm - 7th Grade Chorus in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

7:00pm - 8th Grade Chorus in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

7:30pm - CONCERT in the East Gym (7th Grade Chorus, 8th Grade Chorus, Men's Ensemble, Mixed Vocal Ensemble, & Concert Choir)

Please note: students in our extracurricular ensembles (Men's Ensemble, Mixed Vocal Ensemble, & Concert Choir) will perform the same set of music in BOTH concerts; these students are required to attend both performances, but parents of those students need only attend the grade level concert of their student. As it will be a long evening for them, students in these ensembles should plan to have an early dinner (singers should not perform on an empty stomach!), and that homework and other tasks are completed in advance of the concert night as much as possible.

Attire for the evening is the gray Gregory Music polo shirt (will be distributed to students who have not already received one in class on Monday), black pants, and black shoes (if wearing socks, they should be black as well).

Looking forward to a terrific evening of music-making with our young vocal musicians!

Concert Choir 2023-24

Thank you to everyone who expressed interest and shared your voice at Concert Choir auditions...your preparation and talent were fantastic and very much appreciated!

Click here to see the members of this year's Gregory Middle School Concert Choir.

The first Concert Choir rehearsal will be this Friday, September 22, from 6:55-7:45am. Please enter through DOOR #1 anytime between 6:45-6:53am (you should be in your seat in the chorus room ready to go at 6:55), and bring a pencil and your assignment notebook. Rehearsals for Concert Choir will be Tuesday & Friday mornings throughout the school year.

Welcome to Gregory Chorus 2023-24!

Welcome to the Gregory Middle School Choral Department!  The chorus offerings here are a significant part of our school curriculum and will enhance your middle school experience greatly.  The chorus program is designed to help each singer improve their own vocal skills, expand their musical understanding, and increase their personal growth through working together in class and in performances.

It is the goal for each chorus student to:

1.      Discover, appreciate and value his/her own talents, the talents of
         others and the beauty of all types of music.

2.      Improve skills in using his/her vocal instrument, learning music
         theory and reading skills, and general musical knowledge.

3.      Gain a desire to continually improve upon past performances.

4.      Experience self-fulfillment after having communicated to others
         through music.

5.      Experience music in a way that will bring lasting enjoyment and as
         an activity that can be continued long after leaving GMS.

In addition to all of these goals, we also love to have fun together in chorus!  Of course, it is expected that every student give his or her best effort and cooperation.  With all of us working together, it will be an exciting, inspiring, and rewarding year.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to meeting and working with each one of you this year!

Mr. Pfenninger

End-of-Year Updates & Reminders

Dear Gregory Chorus Families,

We are in the home stretch of the school year, so I wanted to make sure everyone had the following events & dates on their radar:

• Students in Gregory's honors chorus, Concert Choir, will continue to be rehearsing Tuesday AND Friday mornings for the next two weeks heading into our final performance (see info further below), so only FOUR remaining rehearsals (5/16, 5/19, 5/23, and 5/26)…please be on time (in the room by 6:55am)!
• Wednesday, May 17 - B/O/C Trip to Funway - for students who signed up to attend, we will be heading to Funway after school, and will be back at Gregory at 8:15pm. See the emails Mrs. Lauff has been sending through Synergy for further details.
• Saturday, May 20 - Fine Arts Festival at Neuqua Valley HS Main Campus. This is our final curricular performance of the school year, and attendance is mandatory for all chorus students. Here is a reminder of the schedule:

8th Grade Chorus - report to the Neuqua orchestra room at 11:00am; performance in the auditorium from 12:00-12:20pm.

6th Grade Chorus - report to the Neuqua orchestra room at 12:20pm; performance in the auditorium from 1:20-1:40pm.

7th Grade Chorus - report to the Neuqua orchestra room at 2:40pm; performance in the auditorium from 3:40-4:00pm.

Concert Choir/Men's Ensemble/Mixed Vocal Ensemble will not be performing at the Fine Arts Festival. Attire for all singers will be nice, dress clothing (please no jeans, gym shoes, athletic attire, etc.). All performances are open to the public!

• Week of May 22-26 - COMBO students will be in B/O all week; please be sure to complete your Fine Arts Festival concert reflection assignment posted in Google Classroom as this is a major component of your 4th quarter grade and must be completed by the posted due date.
• Thursday, May 25 - Auditions for Neuqua Valley HS WildScats vocal jazz ensembles for interested 8th grade students enrolled in a curricular B/O/C class at Neuqua next year. Information and audition materials posted in Google Classroom.
• Tuesday, May 30 - Southside Honors Choir Concert at Neuqua Valley HS Main Campus - Gregory CONCERT CHOIR STUDENTS ONLY - 7:00pm. Report to the Neuqua orchestra room by 6:20pm. Attire is the gray Gregory Music polo shirt & black dress pants/shoes. All are invited to attend the performance in the Neuqua auditorium!
• Wednesday, May 31 - End-of-Year Music Turn-in Party - 3:10-3:45pm - Gregory CONCERT CHOIR/MEN'S ENSEMBLE/MIXED VOCAL ENSEMBLE STUDENTS ONLY. Please have all your music from those ensembles to turn in; you should have nothing left in your folder heading into the summer. If you would like to bring a sweet or salty treat to share (we have about 25 students total), please email me to let me know.

 

Thank you all for a terrific year in chorus!

Announcing the Cast of Matilda JR.!

Thank you to everyone who auditioned. This is always a wonderful and yet highly competitive and difficult process. We had a tremendous turnout and appreciate all of your efforts and talents...we wish we could take everyone! Congratulations to the following members of the 2023 Gregory Middle School Spring Musical:

Matilda JR. Cast List

***Students and parents, we ask that you do not post reactions about the cast to social media. While some are celebrating, others may not be. Please be sensitive to other families.***

The first cast rehearsal is Monday, March 13 from 3:05-5:00pm in the Chorus Room. Please bring an assignment notebook, pencil, highlighter, and water bottle.

Please be picked up promptly at 5:00pm Monday through Thursday by a parent.

Matilda JR. Callbacks - Thursday, March 9

Thank you to everyone who auditioned for the Gregory spring musical.

Matilda JR. 2023 Spring Musical Callbacks

Thursday, March 9, 3:05-5:30pm in the LMC

Please bring a recent photograph to the callback audition.

The photo will not be returned.

Review the “Naughty” song excerpt from the audition packet as well as the same dialogue scenes.

Winter Choral Concerts - Monday, February 27

We are fast approaching our next chorus concert evening - Monday, February 27, 2023 in the Gregory East Gym. This is a big night for all of our choral groups at Gregory! The following is the schedule of events:

5:00pm - Concert Choir in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

5:10pm - Men's Ensemble in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

5:30pm - 6th Grade Chorus in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

6:00pm - CONCERT in the East Gym (6th Grade Chorus, Men's Ensemble, Mixed Vocal Ensemble, & Concert Choir)

6:45pm - 7th Grade Chorus in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

7:00pm - 8th Grade Chorus in place in the Commons for warmup & run-through

7:30pm - CONCERT in the East Gym (7th Grade Chorus, 8th Grade Chorus, Men's Ensemble, Mixed Vocal Ensemble, & Concert Choir)

Please note: students in our extracurricular ensembles (Men's Ensemble, Mixed Vocal Ensemble, & Concert Choir) will perform the same set of music in BOTH concerts; these students are required to attend both performances, but parents of those students need only attend the grade level concert of their student. As it will be a long evening for them, students in these ensembles should plan to have an early dinner (singers should not perform on an empty stomach!), and that homework and other tasks are completed in advance of the concert night as much as possible.

Attire for the evening is the gray Gregory Music polo shirt, black pants, and black shoes (if wearing socks, they should be black as well).

Looking forward to a terrific evening of music-making with our young vocal musicians!