Music Program
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Orchestra
- Director: Angelo Moreno
- Sign up for the Combined Holmes, Harper and Emerson Orchestra Listserv, which emails information about the activities of the combined junior high orchestras. Check out the new Combined Holmes, Harper and Emerson Orchestra website for more information.
- Holmes Harper Emerson Orchestra
You can help Holmes, Harper and Emerson's award winning Combined Junior High Orchestra raise funds for the future. When they become available, buy a Rotary Club Raffle ticket from any junior high orchestra member. You need not be present to win. Tickets are ten dollars each. 100% of the money you donate will go directly to the orchestra.
"The Holmes Jr. High School String Orchestra meets every day for fifty minutes. It is open to students who play violin, viola, cello, and bass. The orchestra is open to all string players who have studied at the elementary school level or the equivalent. It is a general music class so no audition is necessary to enroll, but basic string technique and music reading skills are required. The group performs with the Emerson Jr. High school Orchestra throughout the year at a number of public concerts. The Holmes String Orchestra also attends the Golden Empire Orchestra Festival in the winter.
Last year, 2004-2005, I formed two orchestras at Holmes so that all students are able to learn at their appropriate level. An intermediate 7th grade orchestra and an advanced orchestra allows me as an instructor to focus more on the needs of the students and challenge those who are advanced to improve their skills while building the musicianship and technique of the intermediate players. Please encourage your student to continue strings in the secondary orchestra program. The goal is to see them perform in the high school symphony one day!
Thank you," Angelo Moreno
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Chorus
The Holmes Jr High choir typically performs once every couple of months throughout the school year. In many of these performances we will combine with the Emerson Jr High choir for one or more songs. The repertoire is designed to give exposure to many different types of music, develop familiarity with foreign languages, and increase the understanding of music theory. By the end of the year students should be familiar enough with music to sight read and sing three part harmonies with little to no difficulty. We take occasional trips outside of Davis to perform, such as attending the Golden Empire festival in Sacramento or performing at the State Capital.
Traditionally there have been two choirs at Holmes Jr High, and for the first time in years they have been combined into one class. This year we have a larger choir of 50 people or so and all the beginning and advanced musicians together in one class. This is largely due to the lack of male voices, because with another 20 guys we could easily go back to having two choirs. My goal this year is much like Mr Moreno's with the orchestra - to increase enrollment (particularly male enrollment) enough that we can create a second choir class each day. It would remove many of the problems we encounter in class and allow the students to be challenged in more specific ways. Choir is a fun class and I hope to see more guys enrolled next year.
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