As tomorrow’s assembly approaches, the late replacement of an orchestra teacher and minimal preparation left students concerned about preparing for the concert on their own.
This assembly will be no different from other years with guest speakers, slideshows, and live music performed by the ELHS orchestra, band, and choir. The orchestra has faced an extensive challenge in preparing for such an important event.
“The orchestra will more than likely be performing less repertoire than in a typical year, at least for Veterans Day,” music department head Anthony Maiese said.
Asking substitute teachers to teach niche music classes isn’t very realistic, so the Orchestra, Piano, Guitar, and History of Rock and Pop classes have turned into study halls. The new teacher, ELHS Class of 2015 alumna, Emily Lattanzi, arrived on Oct. 30 to teach said classes.
While the orchestra and band plan on only performing “God Bless America,” many orchestra students feel unprepared as the piece is in several challenging keys.
When given a difficult piece of music in the past, orchestra students would practice often in class, learning the piece together. Before Ms. Lattanzi’s arrival classes were sometimes “sectionals,” where each instrumental section plays independently. With only the cellos knowing how they sound together, it is very difficult for the violins to grasp what they will sound like as a whole. This idea applies to each section. There were some instances in preparation for the assembly when the orchestra played with the band, but only for a short time at the beginning or end of the 90-minute class.
“The piece is challenging when simply practicing by yourself,” junior and Strings Honor student Eric Yang said. He explained the necessity of hearing other parts of the music and how it all connects with his own.
The separation for sectionals challenges students, as they are not given the chance to listen to the whole orchestra and band parts together. Sectionals are often the easiest way to ensure real practice is happening, along with assisting students in learning their part in the first place.
“At the beginning of the year, the class was a study hall with a substitute teacher,” sophomore and guitar student Oliver Rush said. Students were assigned EdPuzzles and given structured time to practice guitar with a substitute without one one-on-one instruction.
When checking Infinite Campus for a grade, students of both Orchestra and Guitar classes realized there were no grades in without a teacher.
The missing grade left students worried, however, Mr. Maises assured students saying, “We would never penalize students for an extenuating circumstance that’s outside of their control, and this is no different.”
Students were excited for Ms. Lattanzi’s arrival and to finally learn to play music. Rush has expressed concern about being one of the only students in the class who knows how to play the guitar. It was left up to him to help other students learn the basics while still trying to excel in the class.
“Aside from this first quarter or so, [I’m] confident that the new teacher will be able to provide the high-quality experience that our students are used to,” Mr. Maiese said.
The timing of Ms. Lattanzi’s arrival was less than ideal as the orchestra only had four classes with a teacher before the assembly, however, students have learned the importance of self-advocacy as well as leadership from upperclassmen to help students who may be struggling with the piece.
“With enough practice and with enough dedication, we can do it,” Yang said.
