Throughout the Spring semester, first-year ensemble students showcase their musical learning with parents/guardians at the Snacks & Sound Series – a season of open rehearsals and ensemble presentations across our partner schools. The community series includes: Bagels with the Band, Cookies with the Choir, Oranges with Orff, Snack Attack with Modern Band, and Sweets with Strings. These presentations for family and community members mark a turning point and milestone for our students – their first time performing with their ensemble in front of an audience!

The goal of the Snacks & Sound Series aims to demonstrate basic ensemble skills and structure: making a unified sound, playing/singing as a section, interacting with the other sections, following the conductor, and working as a team. Additionally, performance skills such as correct posture, breath control, reading musical notation, basic tone production, playing ‘do’ to ‘sol’, and more, help display the growth each student experienced within their ensemble.

Parents and guardians celebrate their child’s progress through this collective experience; they also appreciate connecting with ETM-LA Ensemble Directors on ways to help their child achieve success through regular practice and consistent participation. Community attendees leave with a greater understanding of the positive impact that being part of an ensemble has on their child’s school experience and overall development and how to further support them at home.

 

Behind the Scenes
The ensembles enjoy sharing their musical learning process at the Snacks & Sound open rehearsals, which includes:

Warm-Ups – Playing or Singing in unison and harmonic intervals by the whole ensemble.

• • • • • • • • • • • Focus areas: intonation, balance, blending of sound, articulation, bow direction (if applicable), active listening, and watching the conductor. 
                    • Foundational exercises: variations of scale patterns, rhythmic values, dynamics, or tempo.

Section Spotlight – Featuring each ensemble section.

• • • • • • • • • • • Demonstration of etudes, excerpts, and/or melodic transcriptions from students’ favorite songs.
                    • Brief discussion of each instrument’s qualities, range, and musical functionality within the ensemble. The Ensemble Director may choose to have each instrument/voice group demonstrate this as well.

3 Ensemble Pieces – Presenting selections & excerpts from method books and concert repertoire.

 

 

The Celebratory Snack Time!
Celebrating students’ achievements.

Immediately following the performance, all of the parents/guardians join the Director and ensemble members for light refreshments.

This special time provides an opportunity for the Ensemble Director to further connect with the ensemble parents/guardians, strengthen relationships, and build a sense of community. This in turn ensures each child’s success within music and their overall development!