Staff Board of Trustees
News from Reaching Heights
For Immediate Release: March 4, 2004
Contact: Susie Kaeser 932-5110
Middle school is a very formative time for students, including student musicians!
A new initiative designed and organized by Cleveland Heights-University Heights instrumental music teachers and funded by Reaching Heights, is giving motivated middle school musicians an opportunity to invest more deeply in music, stretch their skills, perform at a high level and have fun!
The newly formed Middle School Honor Band and Honor Orchestra involve 77
middle school students from Roxboro, Monticello and Wiley middle schools. The project offers students nine weekly sessions to perfect music for the first-ever Cleveland Heights-University Heights Middle School Honor Band and Orchestra Festival. The March 22 concert at Wiley Middle School will feature individual performances by the two ensembles and a combined finale. Middle School music directors Jeff Altonen, Eric Richmond, Paul Hungerford and Sylvia Kwaka-Smith will direct the ensembles.
Elementary music teachers Pam Adamson and Bob Adamson, and high school instrumental directors Fred Mayer and Brett Baker are part of the team of music educators who are giving the middle school students an intensive opportunity to grow as musicians. High school students Abie Klein-Stefanchik and Evan Klein are among the community musicians who are serving as coaches in small group sectional rehearsals. Lilian Belknap, Andrea Brennan, Anne Donaldson, Amber Ghent and Ho Fan Lee are also coaching.
The middle school honor ensembles are a by-product of the concert that Reaching Heights organized at Severance Hall last March, Reaching Musical Heights. The first ever district-wide concert featured vocal and instrumental musicians. The middle school instrumental teachers assembled a city-wide honor band for that concert. It was such a positive experience that they organized a new group for the 2003-04 school year and extended the opportunity to orchestra musicians. Reaching Heights allocated $3,500 raised from the Severance concert to support this enrichment opportunity.
“This is a perfect way to support the district’s tradition of musical excellence,” said Reaching Heights trustee and music committee member Mark George. “It gives emerging musicians extra instruction and the experience of playing at a high level. It sets a high standard and will keep them involved in music through the critical middle school years.”
Reaching Heights is a community-based nonprofit citizen support organization for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District. Founded in 1989, the 15 year old organization mobilizes community resources to support excellence in the classroom and promote community responsibility for the public schools and their success. Reaching Heights created a special purpose fund for music honoring two Heights High alums who made significant contributions to music in the region, Eunice Podis and Robert Weiskopf.
The public is invited to the March 22 Middle School Honor Band and Orchestra Festival to be held at Wiley Middle School. Admission to the 7:00 PM performance is $2 for adults. Students are free.
