djmartin

All Millard Orchestra Festival Monday, January 26

I NEED YOUR HELP!

If you (or a trusted adult i.e. grandparent/aunt/uncle, etc) can chaperone on Monday, I need five more parents for 8 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3 more for 10:45 a.m.-3 p.m. Email me or sign up here.

The students have worked hard for this and it will be a spectacular event. I highly recommend coming to watch the show! See the linked Parent Letter for more details

Thank you to our sponsors!

Millard Public Schools Foundation
Omaha Area Youth Orchestras
Orchestra Omaha
SEI Security!

Shoutout to our parent committee for securing sponsorships!

Students – remember to bring your FOLDING STAND, instrument, music, a snack, and a bottle of water. 

Philharmonic students need a sack lunch - they will eat after 2nd hour, before loading the bus at 11 a.m.

Students that are performing do not need to purchase tickets but everyone else will need to. We are still waiting on a ticket link from Baxter, but you can call and purchase tickets (and avoid the $3.10 online fee) at (402) 554-6287. The box office is open for calls Monday through Friday from 12-5 p.m.

Also new this year is that the arena has two small parking lots that are paid parking. There is PLENTY of FREE parking so please do not feel obligated to pay for parking! 

The students have worked hard for this and it will be a spectacular event. I highly recommend coming to watch the show!

See the linked Parent Letter for more details

Thank you to our sponsors

Millard Public Schools Foundation

Omaha Area Youth Orchestras

Orchestra Omaha

SEI Security!

Shoutout to our parent committee for securing sponsorships!

One of the coolest things we get to do in MPS is our district All-Millard Orchestra Festival!
We need donations to keep this event going strong.
Please consider donating and share this link (or QR code) with friends and family:

https://www.schoolpay.com/link/MPSOrchestraDonations

All State (high school level) Band/Orchestra/Choir/Jazz Band meets Thursday-Saturday, November 20-22. Rehearsals are held on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus for instrumental groups, and at St. Paul UMC for chorus. The performance will be held at the Lied Center on Saturday, November 22.

Ticket orders will be open to the public at 11 a.m. CST on Oct. 27.

For those participating, here’s the schedule for Nov. 20th:

• Bring your luggage, instrument, music, pencils, concert clothes to school on Nov. 20 – we will lock items in dressing rooms until it is time to leave.
• You will be dismissed after 4th hour on Thursday (11:32 A.M)
• Eat lunch after dismissal. (You will be able to get lunch at school or bring a sack lunch)
• Load bus at 12:00 PM
• Leave for Lincoln no later than 12:15 PM
• Unload luggage at Embassy Suites at 1:15 PM
• Have instrumental sectionals/chair placements/choir solo auditions/jazz band rehearsal at 3:00 PM
• Finalize check-in/eat dinner with MNHS Ensembles between 4:30-5:45 PM
• Be prepared to rehearse when the doors open at 6:00 PM for rehearsal (6:30-9:00 PM)
• Return to Embassy Suites by 9:30 p.m.
• Room check is 10:00 p.m.
• Lights out is 10:30 p.m.

Here’s the detailed 2025 ALL-STATE STUDENT SCHEDULE.

Parents will need to arrange transportation home from the final concert. At the conclusion of the concert students should meet their parents at locations that will be announced at rehearsals. Please be in contact with your student to plan your meeting point and departure plan.

Next Football Concessions 10/23!

We appreciate everyone who worked last Friday’s game and all who have signed up to sell concessions at Buell Stadium in 1 week! 

Sign up here!

It’s a MNHS Orchestra tradition to gather at Vala’s to hang out, meet other orchies, and enjoy this Nebraska fall-themed amusement park.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, Oct. 8, 6-8 p.m. See this doc for more information.

First concert is Thursday, Oct. 2 @7 PM!

This is a required, graded assignment for all MNHS Orchestra students.
Orchestra students report at 6:30 PM for warm-ups; concert should conclude by 8:15 PM.

We do have a concert attire dress code – long-sleeved black dress shirt, black dress slacks, black dress shoes, black dress socks that go to mid-calf. More detailed guidelines may be found in the orchestra handbook. (Students, remember to turn in your concert attire photo in Google Classroom.)

MNOrch concerts are a good time!
Please plan to attend, and invite your neighbors, friends and family as well! Our kids do great work – it will be an evening to remember! Plus, we all bring refreshments for after the concert (please sign up to bring refreshments 🙂

We have our concerts recorded by a professional videographer, who also provides a livestream on YouTube, so friends and family can watch from wherever they may be! (Link will be available soon by email.)

Concert attire guidelines are linked here.

Option 1:
Black, long-sleeved button down dress shirt with a collar
Black necktie
Black belt
Black dress slacks (NOT jeans)
Black dress socks
Black dress shoes

Option 2:
Black, long-sleeved blouse with modest neckline (crew neck or button down dress shirt preferred)
Black dress slacks (NOT leggings, jeans, or yoga pants) – can be slim fit or boot-cut style slacks
Black dress socks or nylons
Black, closed-toed dress shoes

If your child would like to purchase a used, floor-length black dress for concerts, we have some available for $40 each. Please contact Mrs. Martinez if interested.

As a general rule, skirts and dresses are not permitted, as I prefer not to take on the role of monitoring hemlines. However, if you wish to request an exception, the following criteria must be met:1. The skirt or dress must be ankle-length 2. It must have sufficient fabric to allow for wide-stance seating.

Parents, please join me for our organizational meeting Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 7:00 p.m. in MNHS Lecture Hall A
(Lecture Hall A is upstairs – park on the east side of the building and enter through the main doors).

Our main goals are to meet and greet each other as orchestra fans, learn about ways to get involved, and get ready for the September and December concerts.

Can’t make it? Check out these slides for more information!

Orchestra Remind: Students and parents, join this Remind group: remind.com/join/mnhsorch26 The Remind app allows you to send and receive notifications from Mrs. Martinez via text message (or encrypted phone call if your cell provider allows).
You can also text @mnhsorch26 to the number 81010 to join.

Handbook Signature Google Forms – due Aug. 19! – Your child’s first assignment requires parent participation!

Part 1: Students will review the Orchestra Handbook in class on Wednesday, and will have a chance to complete the Student Version of the handbook signature form.

Part 2: Parents and Legal Guardians – please review the handbook, paying special attention to pages 2-7 for concert dates and other important expectations. Once you have the concert dates marked in the family calendar, please complete the Parent Version of the handbook signature form. Once both steps have been completed, the points will go in the gradebook. Please complete both forms by Tuesday, Aug. 19.

School Instrument Rental –
If you are renting a school instrument, please sign and return the contract with the $95 rental fee – thanks!

What’s an Orchestra Letter?
A way to earn a level of distinction through going above and beyond musically and by serving the organization.  Students track their own letter points on this sheet. 

A link to the letter points sheet is also in the navigation at the top of the page: “Resources – Student Resources.”