Goodbye Fitz, Hello Hayek!

Dear Northern Chorus students and families,

I have truly enjoyed serving as your chorus teacher at Northern High for the past three years. You have accepted me into the Northern family and made me feel welcome. I have watched the students grow vocally and musically, and seen their talent blossom on stage and in the classroom. I have been proud to work at Northern High, but am sad to say that I will not be returning to Northern next year. I have accepted a position as the lead music teacher at Sandy Ridge Elementary. This was a very difficult decision for me to make, and I will miss you all terribly.

Sandy Ridge Elementary is a new arts magnet elementary school opening in August. Mr. Colclough is the principal of the new school. There will be a big emphasis on performance, guest artists, field trips and arts integration. I am excited to have the opportunity to explore teaching another age group! You can find out more about Sandy Ridge at http://sandyridge.dpsnc.net.

Mrs. Lindsey Hayek will be the new Northern High Choral Director. She has her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance and Masters of Arts in Teaching from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is an outstanding vocalist and pianist, kind and capable. She is very excited to join the Northern family and cannot wait to meet you all. I feel very confident leaving the Northern Chorus in her hands. Please make her feel welcome next year and stay away from the phrase, “But Ms. Fitz used to….” Mrs. Hayek will do things differently, just like I did things differently when I started working at Northern. She has your best interests in mind, so I hope you will make her feel at home. Mrs. Hayek will be sending a letter home in early August introducing herself and announcing the class lists.

I hope you will think of this transition in terms of a new beginning—not like an ending. A new beginning is a wonderful thing! Mrs. Hayek will expose you to new music, new warm-ups, new performance opportunities and a new style of teaching. You will become a better musician because you will get to study with two music teachers—not just one.

You can always email me, find me on facebook, or send me a text (when you’re not in class). I know this chorus will continue to grow and make Durham proud. With the Superior ratings and positive comments from judges all around the state and country, I hope you know what you are capable of! I am so proud of you and cannot wait to see what you do in years to come!
Best of luck. Keep in touch and keep singing!

Timeline for Graduation 2011

Graduation is FRIDAY, JUNE 10th.

10 AM: ALL chorus students meet in the chorus room at Northern High for warm-up and rehearsal. Yes, even seniors need to be there!
10:30 AM: Depart for Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University
Option 1: Students ride bus to graduation (I need a permission slip from you)
Option 2: Students arrange their own transportation to graduation
11 AM sharp: Sound check at Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University. This is our ONLY rehearsal with Mrs. Colclough!
11:15 AM: Seniors line up, all other chorus members sit next to risers until graduation starts
12 noon: Graduation
1:30pm or so: Graduation Ends. The bus will leave 10 minutes after the ceremony is over.

**Don't forget: Please send $5 for your copy of the Spring Concert DVD!**

Spring Concert: May 6 and 7, 2011

Spring Concert is coming!

The end is near! The following rehearsals and performances are REQUIRED for all current NHS chorus students.

• Tuesday and Wednesday, May 3 and 4 Rehearsals for Spring Concert, 6-9pm


• Thursday, May 5 Dress Rehearsal for Spring Show, 6-9pm


• Fri, May 6 and Sat, May 7 Spring Chorus Concert 7:30pm, students arrive at 6pm


• June 10, 2011 Graduation (Northern Chorus sings- yes, this includes seniors!)

Upcoming but not required:

• May 20 and 21, 2011 Spring Musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," starring Nicole T, Frank B, Zavian P, Naomi B, Sara P and Philip R.
  

Don't forget:

• Two Concert Reports (2 pages EACH- total of 4 pages) are due by May 31st. Please see the tab marked "Concert Report Rubric" for more information!

Festival Disney 2011

Thirty NHS students traveled to Orlando, FL from April 6-10, 2011 to participate in the Festival Disney Competition. The result? Five trophies and a lot of fun. :)


Blues in the Knight sings "Can You Hear?" at the Festival Disney competition

Walt and Mickey in front of the castle!

Knight Sounds sings "All My Life" at the Festival Disney competition
Group shot of Knight Sounds

The whole crew

Adrienne and Sydney accepting Blues in the Knight's Superior Award and Best in Class (Treble Choir)!

Fitz gets a hug from Mickey and accepts Blues in the Knight's Bronze Award for third place chamber choir overall.

Silly Seniors- Class of 2011

Sydney holding our "Best in Class" Mickey award!

Hard Rock Cafe breakfast

Bubba Gumps Group Dinner

March Updates

Congratulations to all chorus students who participated in the NCMEA Large Ensemble Choral Festival at Meredith College on March 7th and 8th. Blues in the Knight, the advanced women's chorus, performed Grade 5 music ("Fences" by Andre J. Thomas and "Sisters" by Gwyneth Walker) and received a Superior rating of 95. The NHS Mixed Chorus, a combination of 2nd and 4th period choirs, performed Grade 4 music ("The Gartan Mother's Lullaby" by Neil Ginsberg and "Go Down Moses" by Mark Hayes) and received a Superior rating of 91.

NHS Mixed Chorus- Meredith College, March 8th

NHS Blues in the Knight- Meredith College, March 7th

Upcoming:

March 25--Arts Night

March 30 and 31-- CHORUS AUDITIONS FOR 2011-2012 (2:45-4pm)

April 6-- Disney

May 6-- Spring Concert

June 10-- Graduation

January: Exams, EOE, Pecans, Florida and DVDs.

We still have leftover pecans. Please order some!

• 6 bags of chocolate left, $10/each
• 9 bags of cinnamon left, $10/each
• 11 bags of pecan caramel clusters left, $9/each
• 12 bags of glazed left, $9/each

Florida announcements:

• The next Florida deposit for girls in Blues in the Knight is $100, due January 10th. (The entire $450 is due by February 15th) Please contact me if you need to set up a payment plan.

• The first Florida deposit of $250 for those in the Men's Chorus planning on traveling to Florida is due by Friday, January 28th. Remember, paying early and paying in full is always an option :) (The entire $450 is due by March 1st at the absolute latest)

DVD information!

• DVDs of the fall concert "Free at Last" are available for $10/each.