Rose Creek Orchestra
2023-2024

August 21st, 2023

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT!

Mrs. Hughes is excited to be at Rose Creek as the new Orchestra Teacher!

May 16, 2023

"Sometimes, there aren't enough rock[stop]s."
-Forrest Gump

May 15, 2023

Every year, all the elementary orchestra programs in Jordan School District come together to play in a "Monster Concert". Our Friday group has been working HARD to get these songs ready to play and absolutely smashed it at the performance! Mrs. Christensen got to conduct her arrangement of Klaus Badelt's "Pirates of the Caribbean" on the same stage she not only performed on throughout her high school years at Bingham High, but also the first stage she performed in at the same monster concert 25 years ago!

May 8, 2023

Now that the weather has warmed up, the air conditioning is back on. Several students saw the need for blankets during rehearsal. :)

We've had Miss B. come in and help this week. She's studying Music Education at Utah State and wanted to come observe and help teach. We're lucky to have her!

May 4, 2023

Star Wars day! May the Fourth be with you!
Our orch dorks love blasting the salsa music on the keyboard and dancing around with the light sabers.

May 3, 2023

I asked someone to volunteer to pretend to be "Mrs. Christensen" and one of our violin players got it just right - even the scolding was spot on!

May 2, 2023

Their favorite pick from the prize box are the tiny recorders....
I'm sorry, parents.

April 14, 2023

After class each day, these three sixth graders stay to help put away all the chairs and stands back in the store room.
Their reward is rocking out to jazzy beats on our electric keyboard. 

April 3, 2023

When an orchestra has a P.E. teacher as their director, their punishment for being chatty is doing squats while playing!

March 9, 2023

Our intermediate class LOVES playing "Threshold" by Tyler Arcari.
To help us play our ff sections even louder, Mrs. Christensen said she'd reward anyone
that actually broke a bow hair while playing. We got two winners!

March 8, 2023

Today in beginning orchestra, we played "Pass the Cup". We have to keep our bow hold consistent as we pass a cup down the line.
We timed ourselves and were able to get down to 51 seconds!

February 3-4, 2023

I attended the annual UMEA (Utah Music Educators Association) conference in St. George this weekend. Utah has an incredible culture for music education and conferences like these are an amazing way to make connections and share ideas.
Our orchestra program wouldn't be what it is without the influence and passion these wonderful educators!

January 20, 2023

Until now, all songs that we've learned have been played in unison, with all sections playing the same melody. As we're preparing for the Jordan District "Monster Concert", each instrument has a unique part to learn. Our intermediate class parent helpers are amazing at facilitating these "sectionals"!
We are SO grateful for our parent helpers!!

January 11, 2023

Sometimes you need to stretch your legs and stand while you play! We split up into three groups around the gym and had a contest to see which could play the loudest. The cellos won.

January 5, 2023

We sing a lot in orchestra! We tune our instruments by singing the proper pitch, we sing while doing finger warm ups, and ask the students how much they loved it when I made them sing the choo-choo train song while practicing their bow holds! ;-)

December 20, 2022

Orchestra party! We played incredibly last night and today we got to have some fun!
Students got to swap instruments and now all our violin and viola players want to switch to learning cello. :-)

December 19, 2022

Concert day! We had a combined dress rehearsal this morning on the stage. Our school assembly concert was at the end of the day and a great run-through for the concert that evening! WHAT AN AMAZING NIGHT! Thank you so much for your attendance and immense support! 

December 16, 2022

After school, we carpooled to an assisted living facility in our neighborhood. Sadly, the residents were under quarantine and couldn't come to the common area to watch us perform, but they opened their doors and were able to enjoy the music from their rooms! This was a great way to serve our community and practice our songs before our upcoming Holiday Concert! Thank you to all the parents who helped with carpool!

December 15, 2022

Our incredible helper (and my BFF), Mrs. Ally Roberts, gifted me with a personalized conducting baton! I can't wait to use it!
Ally and I started playing viola together in 5th grade and are thrilled that our daughters now get to play together under our direction!

December 14, 2022

I arrived a few minutes late this morning, but I got to see the entryway filled with tired students waiting impatiently to play!
Parents, thank you SO much for your help in getting them up and ready for orchestra!!

December 10, 2022

Mrs. Christensen plays viola with the Utah Philharmonic Orchestra and invited our students to attend their Christmas Sing-A-Long Concert.
The conductor asked for volunteers and called up four of our students! Three of them directed the music and one played the sleigh bells!

December 9, 2022

The audience is in for a surprise when we play our grand finale: Jingle Bells!
I'm so excited to get both the beginning and intermediate groups together for the concert to hear their harmony!

December 5, 2022

Accidents happen! Always get the protection plan!
(This cello was repaired at no cost to the renter thanks to the Riverton Music Rental Protction Plan!)

November 30, 2022

When you live in Mrs. Christensen's neighborhood...you are forced to play for the neighborhood Christmas party! ;) 

November 11, 2022

Orchestra is a LOT of repitition. Let's make it interesting by standing on our chairs. :)

November 8, 2022

Today in orchestra we taped craft sticks to our wrists. Why? To train their hands and brain to avoid collapsing back into what we call "pancake wrists".
Flat wrists inhibit good sound and cramp your hands! Correct posture can be tiring but with persistence becomes second nature!

November 2, 2022

Today was Frog Day in orchestra! The frog is the part of the black part of the bow that controls the tension of the bow hair. We talk about our frogs a LOT as we learn correct bow hold and bowing technique. We ate gummy frogs, put frog stickers on our folders and named our mascot: Fred the Frog!

October 20, 2022

I was so excited to find these pretzel rolls at Harmon's to be our "hot cross buns!"
Is there an orchestra in the world that doesn't learn this as one of their first songs? :-)

September 15, 2022 

Tonight was the annual Jordan District String Camp, hosted by Charles W. Liu Violins. Charles Liu is a professional Luthier with over 30 years’ experience in making, restoring, and repairing string instruments! We met up at Arctic Circle for ice cream afterward and had a blast!

August 29, 2022 

First day of Beginning Orchestra! We had 30 new students sign up this year!
I spent the day taping their instruments and delivering them back to the students' classrooms.

August 2022 

I'm getting VERY impatient for orchestra to start back up! I've spent the summer preparing fun learning aides!

A curved pinky is essential posture for the violins and violas, but can be tricky for beginners to maintain. Learning the bow hold with their pinkies in the donut holes will help them remember correct positioning. Down the road, when their bow hold gets lazy, we'll call out "Pinky in the donut hole!"
We also celebrated with donuts to cement it in their memories. :)

I found this brilliant idea (and many others) by Angela Harmon, a middle school teacher in my area.
I'm excited that the students to have a pencil handy and ready to use!