KOB

Orchestra Notes

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From the President Wow, another year has flown by, but what a great year it’s been! I want to take this opportunity to update you on KOB happenings and thank you for all your hard work in making this organization such a success for our students. This year, our fundraisers did a great job bringing in much needed funds to help subsidize all three orchestra programs. Due to the tremendous fundraising efforts we were able to pay approximately $6,000 towards solo and ensemble accompanists and awarded $6,000 in scholarships to 17 deserving KHS seniors! Funds were also provided for other needed supplies and equipment as well as field trip subsidies. This year’s annual Zone Concert brought in over $9,000 toward supporting orchestra programs for KHS, CMS & RMS. This would not have been possible without volunteers, sponsors, company matching funds and all those who purchased raffle tickets. We would like to thank KAM, Warren’s Southern Gardens and Jewelers Bench for their generous donations this year! Papa Murphy’s Pizza also sponsored a successful restaurant night in October & along with Kroger and Randall’s programs have brought in much needed funds as well. I am happy to report that the grocery programs have brought in nearly $1,700 this year. Please remember to keep using your cards when shopping this summer! The Kroger program requires yearly renewal, so be on

the lookout for this information before classes resume again in August! The KOB executive board is already gearing up for the 2016-17 school year, and we are always looking for enthusiastic members who would like to help out! If you are interested, please contact me at sbiancardi@suddenlink.net. I’d like to a say a sincere thank you to all the members of the executive board and the scholarship committee for their unwavering commitment to the KOB. Lastly, I want to say a big thank you to our directors, Dr. Christopher Reidlinger, Elisabeth Hale, Lindsay Countryman, Ken Buck, Rachel Brogdon, Evan Farmer and Desiree Sanchez for another outstanding year! Our directors never cease to amaze me with their joy and enthusiasm in teaching our children! We are indeed blessed to have such an outstanding program that we can be so proud of! Wishing you all a wonderful, relaxing summer! See you next fall!

Dates to Remember:

All Summer:

Help sessions and

clinics at both

middle schools

and at KHS.

Please check the

school websites

for more

information.

August 8-12th

CMS Summer

Ochestra

August 22

FIRST DAY OF

SCHOOL

May 2016

Valery Biancardi

The KHS Orchestra Class of 2016. We’ll miss you!

Interested in being on

the KOB Board next

school year? Contact

Valery Biancardi at

sbiancardi

@suddenlink.net.

KHS Ends Another Memorable Year Summertime is here and at Kingwood High School we are wrapping up one school year and beginning the process of planning and preparing for another great KHS Orchestra season for the 2016/2017 school year. Before we talk about the next school year, let’s touch on some of the recent highlights from these past few months since our last newsletter.

We have to begin with news from our Spring Trip. 150 students plus Chaperones traveled to Winter Park, CO in April to participate in the Winter Park Music & Ski festival. I don’t think we could have wished for a better trip or experience for everyone attending. Winter Park received record amounts of snowfall this season. Thursday night of the Winter Park Trip, the orchestra performed their contest programs for the judges. I was incredibly proud of both performances and each group received Superior ratings and Best in Class trophies. There is something very special about playing on a cold Colorado night with snow blanketing the grounds.

Prior to the Spring Trip, all of our 6 Orchestra classes competed at the UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest to great acclaim and success. Students earned a record number of division one ratings for both their solo and ensemble performances.

Finally, we made it to the month of May and presented two memorable Spring Concerts. The Freshmen Orchestras joined with the Kingwood Concert Band I and presented a concert featuring two Full Orchestral selections: The Tempest by Robert W. Smith and the Finale from the Beethoven 5

th Symphony arranged by Woodhouse. Our string orchestra

selection was a medley of works from West Side Story. It truly was a wonderful concert and indicative of how much the groups have improved this year and how bright the future is for the KHS Orchestra program. Earlier, the 4 upperclass orchestras performed their Spring Concert program. The evening included lots of smiles and tears as we listened to incredible performances from each of the orchestras and awarded scholarships to a number of senior orchestra students. Most importantly that evening we recognized all of our graduating seniors and thanked them for four great years at Kingwood High School.

Please check the KHS Orchestra website for the Summer Orchestra Schedule at KHS. We hope to see all Kingwood High School students grades 9 – 12 in attendance at these free summer lessons.

Most importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your help and support. The kind words, letters, thoughts and prayers are part of the reason why this is such a great job and why we come to school energized and excited about the privilege to work with these outstanding young adults.

Many Thanks,

Dr. Reidlinger, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Countryman

All but the Freshmen orchestras of KHS joined together to rehearse for their end of the year

concert on May 12.

Be sure to check the KHS Website for important information on FREE Summer Clinics!

First Year Orchestra members after their fun day at Splashtown.

CMS Finishes Year on a High Note

The orchestras of Creekwood Middle School continued their long tradition of turning in exemplary performances at their various trip contests. These achievements include: Clean Sweep in trip performance for all groups. FYO - 1st Division plus Best in Class Philharmonic - 1st Division Symphony - "1st Division" plus Outstanding Performance plus Outstanding Soloists (Hope Burton and Jacob Hansen) Chamber- "1st Division" plus "Outstanding Performance" plus "Outstanding" Soloists (Briget Shull, Lizzy Young, Dylan Huynh, and Heather Turner)" plus "Best In Festival" In other news, instrument sizing night for beginners went really well! We also instituted a Welcome Social for incoming orchestra sixth graders that was a big hit. We only have a few students left to see for sizing, but everything is shaping up for an awesome start to next year. We encourage students to attend our summer technique classes as frequently as possible. Playing an instrument is as physical as it is a mental skill and we want to stay in shape! Thank you for your encouragement and support, all you do getting kids to rehearsals, and maintaining their instruments! Lastly, a warm thanks from us to the generous parents who gave to the director's gift fund!

Mr. Buck and Mrs. Brogdon

CMS Orchestras enjoy the Big D Classic and a trip to Six Flags in Dallas.

Pizzas waiting for incoming sixth graders at the Welcome Social (and a table full of trophies

won at the Big D Classic.

Check CMS Charms Website for summer and back-to-school schedules!

Riverwood Closes a Busy Year The orchestras of Riverwood have had a very busy and successful Spring! Trips were taken to the Space City contest where the orchestra received a Superior ranking, and also to Six Flags. The beginning orchestra went to the annual Splashtown contest and made a great showing and had a lot of fun. Solo and ensemble was in April, where the musicians performed extremely well, earning Superior ratings. The final concert and eighth grade banquet was May 24th. We’ll miss our

eighth graders as they move on to high school.

For those returning students, remember to check summer practice schedules. Summer practice is essential for a great start to next school year!

Mr. Farmer and Mrs. Sanchez

Check out the RMS Website for more info on summer and back-to-school events

The RMS orchestra, ready to perform at the Space City contest.

Solo and Ensemble practice at RMS.

The Farmer family were given a baby shower to celebrate their new arrival, due in July,

and Mrs. Refvik, manned the punch bowl for the baby shower.

Freshmen orchestra members enjoy a night at the opera.

KHS orchestra members and Mrs. Hale prepare to hit the slopes in Winter Park.

Greetings from snowy Winter Park, Colorado!

All but the Freshmen orchestras of KHS joined together to rehearse for their end of the year

concert on May 12.

Class of 2016 Douglas P. Mika Orchestra Scholarship winners pose with Dr. Reidlinger.

KOB Scholarships Awarded to Seniors Each year Kingwood Orchestra Boosters awards graduating seniors the Douglas P. Mika Orchestra Scholarship. Applicants are evaluated on their Musical Accomplishments, Academics and Activities, and a Personal Essay. This year, KOB was pleased to present scholarships totaling $6,000.00 to some very deserving seniors, all of whom were outstanding four year members of the Orchestra.

$250 Recipients: Caroline Bell Bailey Breuhl

Alex Broussard Julianne Dugas Kenneth Hinh

Paul Kim Ian Nielsen

Daniel Sandoval TJ Shull

Adrian Tellez

$500 Recipients: Gabby Adame Emily Lafitte

Kirsten Refvik Samantha Refvik

Leigh Ann Robichaux Kayla Russell

Eric Sun On behalf of the executive board and the scholarship committee, congratulations to all the scholarship winners. Best of luck in your future endeavors!

Forty percent of the Class of 2016 top ten are orchestra members, including Valedictorian

Kirsten Refvik and Salutatorian Samantha Refvik! Way to go, ladies!

Have a Happy and Safe Summer Break!