Frederick Douglass High School Orchestras

Hello FDHS Orchestra families,

FDHS will be distributing materials to students starting August 20th. You will receive your school instrument (if you need one) and your method book/music at this time. In order for me to have these items prepared for you, please complete the survey below. If you do not complete the survey by August 18th you may not receive an instrument and/or method book, and will be responsible for obtaining these items on your own for NTI work. If you have your own personal instrument, please still complete the survey, as there are questions about your method book as well.

If you are unsure what size instrument you need, I will be measuring instrument sizes at the CGWA entrance of the building on August 20th and August 21st from 8:30-10:30am and 1:30-3:30pm. If these times do not work for you, please contact me to arrange a meeting time. I can also tune and/or tape your instruments at this time. Once again, if you’re not available during these times, please contact me so we can arrange a time to tune/tape your instrument.

Please be aware that there is a $25 class fee for all students (new and returning) that covers the cost of your method book and music. There is an additional $25 rental fee for any student using a school-owned instrument. We are not collecting these fees at this time; they will be collected at a later date once we return to in person instruction. Please make arrangements to have these fees available when the time comes; families with financial concerns may contact me.

Students will need to have:

1. An instrument in excellent playing condition

1. 1. Violins/Violas – required shoulder rest (school instruments come with these)
   2. Cellos/basses – rock stop recommended (school instruments come with these)
   3. Rosin (school instruments come with this)

2. Method Book

2. 1. General Orchestra – Will be provided to you
   2. Symphonic Orchestra – New students will be provided a book; returning students will utilize the same book as last year.
   3. Chamber Orchestra – New students will be provided a book; returning students will utilize the same book as last year.

3. Highly recommended for NTI work:

3. 1. A Music stand (can be purchased very inexpensively on-line or at a music store)
   2. A metronome (free App’s on your phone and Chromebooks)
   3. A Tuner (free App’s on your phone and Chromebooks)

I know many were disappointed and others relieved to hear that we will not be meeting in person to start the school year. I would like to take this opportunity to improve upon our NTI experience from the end of the school year. I have compiled a survey for you to complete asking for your opinion as to what you would like to learn this fall semester, as well as what you did or did not like about NTI in the spring. Please be honest, I want to know what will help you the most and what will keep you the most engaged and participating in the class. Do not be embarrassed to say that you did not enjoy the previous NTI experience; I know that it was not the best, which is why I’m looking for ways to improve the experience for you. For those of you that are incoming from the middle school, please share your middle school NTI experience.

I know there are still many questions including how to get instruments, how to get instruments tuned, how to get music, etc. Please be aware that I am working on all of these items and will have answers for you as soon as possible. I will continue communicating with you via your school email addresses, and also through the remind app. If you are not signed up for the remind app, please make sure to sign up today. To avoid email overload, I will only email once a week unless there is a very important message that must be sent out immediately. I will update our Facebook page and our webpage on a daily basis, so please bookmark and like these pages. Once school starts, Canvas will be our main form of communication/assignments.

Survey Link:

Remind App Link:

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, or just want to reach out to me to share your thoughts or ideas, please email me at any time. I hope to see you are safely soon,