2016-17 HANDBOOK & CALENDAR

MR. JOHN GORECKI, DIRECTOR OF CHOIRS JGORECKI@SANGAMONVALLEY.ORG / 791-4096

CHOIR PERFORMANCES
Wednesday, October 19, 7pm
Fall Choir Concert
(CC, Voices)
SVHS Cafeteria, Niantic

Friday, March 3, 7pm

PRISM Concert
(CC, Voices, Band)
SVHS Gym, Niantic

Thursday, November 10, All day

LOVC Choir Festival
Location TBA

Wednesday, April 26, 7pm

Spring Choir Concert
(CC, Voices, Middle School Choir)
SVMS Gym, Illiopolis

Date TBA
Mall Trip to Springfield
(CC, Voices, Middle School Choir)

Date TBA
High School Graduation
(CC, Voices, Band)

Date TBA
Voices Christmas Tour (Voices only)
Wednesday, December 14, 7pm
Winter Concert
(CC, Voices, Band)
SVHS Gym, Niantic

Welcome to choir! I am very excited to begin another year of music-making with the excellent
students at SVHS. In order to have a successful school year, please review the handbook
carefully before signing and returning the last page. In order to get a good grade in Concert
Choir, you must be present at all performances and abide by the policies listed in this
handbook.
If you would like to get even more involved, auditions for Valley Voices, our extracurricular choir,
will be this Friday at 7:00 AM. I hope to see many of you there!

PURPOSE
The purposes of the music programs at Sangamon Valley High School are:

To provide students with the opportunity to improve their performance abilities by

learning about technique, intonation, expression, interpretation, and music literacy.
To expose students to an essential component of their own culture as well as provide
insight into the feelings and beliefs of other cultures.
To provide students with a unique outlet for their own creative thoughts, feelings, and
beliefs.
To encourage students to actively listen by crucially analyzing music.

VOCAL ENSEMBLES
Concert Choir is the core group of the choral program. Students sign up for this class during
course selection and receive a grade (based on participation, assessments, and performances).
While a performance ensemble, the primary goal of Concert Choir is to teach students vocal and
music fundamentals along with good performance practice. No audition is necessary to
participate.
Sangamon Valley Voices is an extracurricular choral group. Its goal is to prepare a wide range
of classical, jazz, and popular music for performance in the community. This is primarily a
performance-based ensemble. Membership in Voices is limited to students with vocal
experience in Concert Choir. An audition is required to participate.

GRADES
Participation: 40%
During each quarter, students will fill out a Participation Evaluation worth 50 points to selfevaluate. After careful review of the self-evaluation, the instructor will award up to 50 points.
To earn all 50 points, students must meet the following criteria:
1. Attendance: Student is always on time for class and has no unexcused absences.
2. Class Procedure: Student consistently gets their folder and goes to their assigned seat
when entering the classroom.
3. Preparedness: Student always has their folder and a pencil with them.
4. Posture: Student always sits or stands with good posture.
5. Behavior: Students behavior shows they want to make a positive contribution and they
limit quiet conversation to appropriate times.
6. Listening skills: Student responds quickly to directions.
7. Warm-Up: Student always participates fully in warm-up exercises.
8. Attitude/Effort: Student always has a positive attitude and gives their best effort.
9. Rehearsal: Student always participates fully in music rehearsal.

10. Responsibility: Student takes good care of their music and folder, and keeps food and
drink off the stage.
Students not meeting any of the above criteria will have points deducted from their quarterly
participation grade.

Quizzes/Practice: 20%
Membership in a performing ensemble requires individual practice for the group to function,
especially in extracurricular groups that meet infrequently. It is expected that students will be
mature enough to learn their parts when new music is issued by giving their fullest effort in
rehearsal, spending time at home practicing, or meeting with the director to practice before
school.
To hold student accountable to this policy, quizzes will be a regular part of the curriculum.
Quizzes will be announced a week before they occur and may include any literature the
ensemble is currently learning. Students will be evaluated in the categories of Tone Quality,
Intonation/Pitch Accuracy, Diction/Articulation, and Musicianship.

Performances: 40%
Because the culmination of studying and rehearsing any piece of music literature is the
performance, attendance at performances will count for 40% of the semester grade. If a
student must miss a performance for a legitimate reason (death in the family, personal illness,
religious holiday, etc.) performance credit may be made up by an alternative assignment.
Except in extreme situations, the director must be made aware of and excuse the absence
before the performance. Absences may not be excused for reasons such as work,
oversleeping, or vacation. Since an unexcused absence implies that no effort was made to
participate, it cannot be made up. Students who choose to leave a performance early will also
receive a zero.

MUSIC & MATERIALS

Each student is required to read the Choir Handbook and have a complete understanding of the
information it contains.
Each student will be assigned a music slot which will function as their mailbox and music
storage. The student is responsible for checking their slot before each rehearsal. Students will
also be assigned a folder containing music. The folder is the students text for choir, and the
student is responsible for any lost or damaged folders or music. If any item is lost or damaged,
it will be the responsibility of the student to pay for its replacement at current market value.

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
Students are expected to arrive in concert dress 30 minutes prior to a performance. This will
allow time to warm up before the concert. Students arriving later than this time will be
considered tardy and will lose points for the concert.
When not performing, students are expected to be polite, attentive audience members for other
ensembles. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in partial or full loss of performance
grade and/or disciplinary action.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
In addition to the school rules contained in the student handbook, there are specific
expectations for choir. Students are expected to:
Respect your director by paying close attention to instructions during class and saving
socialization for before or after class. (No phones or conversation during the class
period.)
Respect your peers by encouraging and uplifting rather than demeaning fellow
musicians. (Be on time - dont make others wait and wait our rehearsal time.)
Respect your art by actively practicing music in preparation for rehearsals and
performances.
Respect our facilities by taking care of music, folder slots, and other resources provided
by the school. (No food, drink, or gum is allowed on the stage.)
Failure to adhere to these expectations will result in a verbal warning, loss of participation
points, contacting of parent/guardian, or office referral based on the severity of the offense.