News

Welcome New Students!

Welcome to the Millard North High School Orchestra! We are thrilled to have you join our program. High school orchestra is a rewarding experience filled with incredible music and lasting friendships, and we can’t wait to get started.

Here are a few exciting updates and upcoming events:

🚌 2026-27 Orchestra Trip: St. Louis!
Next year is a “Trip Year,” an opportunity that only comes around every four years. All enrolled students are eligible to travel with us to St. Louis over Spring Break (April 6–9, 2027). To see if this opportunity is a good fit for you, please come to our Trip Kickoff Meeting:

• What: Trip Kickoff Meeting
• When: Monday, April 27 @ 6:30 p.m.
• Where: MNHS Band Room (1010 S. 144th St.)
• Parking: Please park on the North side and enter through Door 30.

🎼 Summer Orchestra Camp
Registration for the MPS Upper Level Orchestra Camp is officially open! We encourage all orchestra students, grades 9-12, to attend this amazing camp, held right here in Millard!

• Deadline: Register by June 1 to secure your elective choices and a camp t-shirt.

🎻 Instrument Rentals
If you need to rent a school-owned instrument for the upcoming year:

• Action: Please notify me or your current middle school director as soon as possible so we can coordinate our inventory.
• Timeline: Rental forms and instrument distribution will take place in May.

🎵You’re Invited!
Come hear our Community Concert on Saturday, May 9 at 1 PM in the MNHS Auditorium! We’re playing music from the Broadway show Chicago, the musicals Mamma Mia! and The Greatest Showman along with a medley of Bollywood songs arranged by MNHS alum Eshaan Giri.

🎶 All-State Audition Prep
It’s never too early to start! All-State auditions occur in September.

• Materials: You can find the required scales and etudes in this folder or at nmeanebraska.org.

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Upcoming Concerts!

Saturday, May 9, morning – Philharmonic students perform at the ASTA Young Orchestra Festival held at MSHS

Saturday, May 9, 1 p.m., MNHS Auditorium – Seniors and selected sophomores and juniors perform at our Community Concert and Carnival!

Saturday, May 23, 10 a.m. – Chamber and Symphony Orchestra performance at Graduation @ Baxter Arena

June 1: Deadline to register for MPS Upper Level Orchestra Camp

July 6-10, 6-9 p.m. – MPS Upper Level Orchestra Camp at MNHS!

2027 Orchestra Trip Kick-off!

MNHS Orchestra takes one major trip every four years, and 2027 is the year! All students enrolled for the 2026-27 school year are eligible. We have an action-packed plan for April 6-9, 2027 in St. Louis, MO!

• Kickoff Meeting: Monday, April 27 | 6:30 p.m. | MNHS Band Room
• Note: The Worlds of Fun trip (May 17) has been canceled. Trip deposit refunds will be issued this week.

Practice Expectations:

Students should still practice at least 10-15 minutes a day over break to cement precise intonation, rhythm, bowings, and musicality. They also have recordings to reference if they are traveling/do not have access to their instruments.

Instrument Rentals for 2026-27

Current Renters: If your student is staying in orchestra next year, I will check out the same school instrument to them for 2026-27.

New Requests: If your student needs a school instrument for next year but doesn’t have one yet, please contact me.

Not Returning? Instruments must be returned by the end of class on finals day.

Omaha Area Youth Orchestras

Omaha Area Youth Orchestras (OAYO) auditions are open!
If you are interested in taking your performance to the next level, OAYO is a great place to do just that. Audition information may be found at the OAYO audition website.

Honorable Mentions

Congratulations to the Calamari Quintet on their performance at the 2026 NCA Lunar New Year Festival on 2/21!

What is MakeMusic Cloud? MPS purchased a subscription to a powerful music learning tool called MakeMusic Cloud for all HS orchestra students. We have discovered that several student laptops need adjustments in order to function properly with the program. Please consult this trouble-shooting document if your student is experiencing microphone issues.

Congratulations to our MNHS Orchestra members selected to the 2026 UNO BOCH Honors Orchestra! Violins: Lucy L, Saara M, Advaith N, Arun R! All are welcome to attend their final performance Saturday, 1/30 at 4 PM in the UNO Strauss Performing Arts Center!

Congratulations to Ryan Dong, winner of the 2026 MNHS Concerto Competition and to Lucille Liu, runner up! Ryan will perform Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen with the orchestra on March 3.

Congrats to our Orchestra students who earned National Merit and Perfect ACT Scores!
See news broadcast of perfect ACT recognition here.

Weather Concerns

Winter Weather
During winter weather, stringed instruments can come unglued and/or crack because of dry air and cold temperatures. To mitigate the effects of weather on your instrument, I highly recommend getting a humidifier and humidity gauge for your instrument. Keeping your instrument in moderate temperatures (60-78 degrees Fahrenheit) and managing humidity will add years of playability to your instrument’s life. 

Inclement Weather –  FYI – here is the Late Start schedule for MNHS Orchestra and the handbook entry relating to Orchestra Inclement Weather procedures.

Additional Music Courses

If your child plans to major or minor in music in college, I would recommend they also sign up for Intro to Music Theory and AP Music Theory.  We also have a cool course called Digital Music Production and Songwriting.

If you’re considering becoming a music teacher, check out TeachMusic.org, a groundbreaking online resource for students and parents navigating the music education career path!

Course Recommendations – Should be up-to-date in Synergy! 

If you have questions or need further information, contact me at djmartin@mpsomaha.org

Students should still practice at least 10-15 minutes a day over break to cement precise intonation, rhythm, bowings, and musicality. They also have recordings to reference if they are traveling/do not have access to their instruments.

Current Renters: If your student is staying in orchestra next year, I will check out the same school instrument to them for 2026-27.

New Requests: If your student needs a school instrument for next year but doesn’t have one yet, please contact me.

Not Returning? Instruments must be returned by the end of class on finals day.

Omaha Area Youth Orchestras (OAYO) auditions are open!
If you are interested in taking your performance to the next level, OAYO is a great place to do just that. Audition information may be found at the OAYO audition website.

MNHS Orchestra takes one major trip every four years, and 2027 is the year! All students enrolled for the 2026-27 school year are eligible. We have an action-packed plan for April 6-9, 2027 in St. Louis, MO!

• Kickoff Meeting: Monday, April 27 | 6:30 p.m. | MNHS Band Room
• Note: The Worlds of Fun trip (May 17) has been canceled. Trip deposit refunds will be issued this week.

Tuesday, April 14, 7 p.m., MNHS Auditorium – all orchestra students perform + Senior Recognition Night

Time: 7:00 p.m. (Student call time is 6:30 p.m.)
Location: MNHS Auditorium
Special Event: This evening includes our Senior Recognition Night.
Attire: Concert black (Seniors are welcome to wear prom attire!).
Grading: This concert is required and worth 200 points.

Action Items for the Concert:
Refreshments: Use this link: Post-Concert Refreshments Sign Up to contribute.
Program : Click this link for the PDF.
Live Stream: A link to the stream will be available shortly.

Seniors! 

If you plan to pursue music/audition for scholarships at UNO, the deadline is March 7!

See this link for more information and to apply.  UNO will hold auditions in February and March, although you can also schedule alternate times. See me if you need repertoire or need help preparing.

Thursday, March 26, MPS Orchestra Clinic

1st hour Chamber Orchestra students will perform their DMC repertoire for judges and MSHS and MWHS orchestra students at MWHS Auditorium. Final details will be released soon.