Junior Wind Ensemble Update 9/18/20
Dear Junior Wind Ensemble Parents & Students,
We're excited to have you back with us! We truly appreciate your patience as we strive to make everything run smoothly in order to create a rewarding experience for all.
Please read through the updates and message below from Junior Wind Ensemble Director, Tara Yaney, and please contact us if you have any questions.
Best,
Kim Wachter McShea, Operations Manager
Emily Tarantino, Orchestra Manager
Sheet Music PDFs
Music for Junior Wind Ensemble is being uploaded here:
We will continue to upload music to this folder as needed throughout the season.
Dear JWE parents and players,

Welcome to just another year of JWE…. oh wait, no, it’s going to be pretty different!

Our rehearsal time is short (40 minutes!!!) so that we limit the potential exposure time to aerosols, and so that the room has time to be cleaned and aired out before the next group. We need to use all of our time well. In pursuit of making these short rehearsals work, here are some things we ask you to help your player be ready for rehearsals:

  • Please be on time for rehearsals (12:30 this year). You can even be as much as 15 minutes early since we are the first rehearsal of the day.

  • When attending via Zoom (which is all the online kids AND any kid who wants to stay home for a rehearsal), the home workspace needs the following. We suggest you keep all the pieces together in one bag or box if possible so everything’s always ready for the next rehearsal. There’s really no time in 40 minutes to wait for someone to look for something.
  • A music stand and the computer screen (not a phone, something bigger) with the Zoom video on it, CLOSE TOGETHER AND BOTH VERTICAL. I know this is tricky with desks and chairs and whatever else, but the student at all times needs to be able to see both their sheet music and the conductor on the Zoom screen. Two diagrams that may be helpful are below (art credit - Amy Stubbs).
  • Headphones for the Zoom connection (that do not interfere with the ability to play your instrument). The student needs to be able to hear the conductor and the in-person part of the band while they are themselves playing, and computer speakers are often not loud enough.
  • Please note, we will continue to monitor sound quality and appreciate your feedback. We adjusted the sound equipment throughout the day this past Sunday and believe the sound should be better this weekend for those of you who hard a hard time hearing rehearsal.
  • A chromatic tuner (one that can produce the notes as well as hear the notes).
  • A metronome (both the tuner and the metronome can be apps or their own stand-alone gadget).
  • All the music printed out.
  • Plentiful, working pencils.
  • Instrument, reeds, mouthpieces, warmed up and ready to play.
  • Also, your video should be on so that we can see you, and please rename yourself if needed.

  • A helpful additional resource is “Dolby On”. It’s a free app for recording and sending in questions and sometimes assignments, and it's much better than a phone's voice recorder.


Thanks to you all for your patience as we figure all this out!

Tara Yaney, Junior Wind Ensemble Director
Previous Emails Sent
Links to the previous emails sent out to students and parents are on the PYCO website here: pyco.org/2020-2021-season-info
ENSEMBLE SCHEDULE FALL 2020
Sunday - Rehearsals at PYCO School of Music & Streamed Live

12:30 PM - 1:10 PM ....... Junior Wind Ensemble (Recital Hall)
 1:45 PM - 2:25 PM ....... PYCO Wind Symphony* (Recital Hall)
 3:00 PM - 3:40 PM ....... PYCO Orchestra Strings+ (Recital Hall)
 4:00 PM - 4:40 PM ....... Chamber Strings (Recital Hall)
 5:00 PM - 5:40 PM ....... Junior Strings (Recital Hall)
​
 2:45 PM - 3:25 PM ....... Chamber Woodwinds (Room 203)
 3:45 PM - 4:25 PM ....... Chamber Brass (Room 203)

* PYCO Orchestra Brass, Woodwind, & Percussion students
+ PYCO Orchestra Strings students
Pittsburgh Youth Concert Orchestra | 412-600-5369 | info@pyco.org | pyco.org