My kid has been playing in an outside orchestra run by the youth program of an absolutely top conservatory for years now. He has to fulfill his arts commitment for high school. The quality of the school orchestra is … ok I guess. Should he sign up for the school orchestra or should we try to get him an exemption which frees up time for another course?
My kids both played in the precollege ensembles at the Hartt School for four years, both orchestra and wind ensemble. One went to BUTI during the summer between 11th and 12th grade.
It never dawned on us that he should be excused from his school arts requirement. He was in his HS wind ensemble for four years, as well as the Jazz band. And you know…he loved it.
Don’t you want him to be involved with his own school?
Music was a big part of how kids made friends with each other in high school.There’s a lot of cameraderie in school orchestras.
The music played by school orchestras may be a bit dull for an advanced player, but being a member of the school orchestra usually makes the student eligible to audition for state and regional honors orchestras. This can be a valuable experience for those who are interested.
One of my kids was a fairly serious player of a wind instrument. She participated in high school band all four years, despite the schedule difficulties this created, in part because she wanted to maintain her eligibility for all-county and all-state honors bands. It worked out well. She qualified for all-county all four years and all-state twice. The audition process itself was an excellent learning experience, and she enjoyed being in the honors groups with other advanced musicians.
Other than the intangibles - school contribution, making friends - are there any other downsides though? He will not be trying for the county/state ensembles.
And if your kiddo is that talented, he can be a leader in that orchestra.
Why are you looking for downsides? The HS orchestra director should be very happy to have a talented player. But don’t be surprised if there are also other talented players in that HS orchestra who don’t play in an outside ensemble.
I am just trying to find room for another class. Also the EC/academic pressure is too much and I am trying to get him out of the school sports and math teams as well as he does all that outside of school.
What else does he want to take so badly in place of orchestra?
French II through V in the 4 years.
I’m sure there are plenty of top students in that orchestra. The very tippy top students in our school all were in the instrumental ensembles.
What class is so important?
Is your son an entering ninth grader? I would urge you to let him do the things that will make him part of his school rather than getting him excused from them.
There’s usually room to take five academic courses each year (including foreign language) in high school while also fulfilling the other requirements, including the arts requirement. It’s just a matter of juggling things so you get it all done.
As for school sports and math teams, they aren’t required, are they? They’re not courses; they’re extracurricular activities, right? It does seem reasonable that a student who participate in these types of ECs outside of school might not want to duplicate them in school. But that’s different from fulfilling the arts requirement.
Sports is required for everyone but he will get an arts exemption for sports because he does other music related things outside of school. Math team is voluntary but there is a lot of peer pressure on him to stay involved as he has been the captain throughout middle school but I think it is a waste of time as he does lots of competition math outside of school. Arts is required just like sports and will take a up a lot of time which is why I am thinking of trying for an exemption. Also then he can take a second foreign language which he really wants to take instead of school orchestra but I wanted to see if there are downsides to it. Yes he is going into 9th grade and has lots of friends already that he will carry into 9th grade so I am not worried about that but how important is school participation as I am thinking of taking him out of all that so that he can actually sleep sometime. I can’t believe the insane load of today’s kids.
Please don’t forget that there is more to high school than creating a resume for college apps. Did four years of wind ensemble at D’s high school wow the admins reviewing her college application? Probably not. But I would not have traded the friendships, the leadership opportunities, and the just plain fun that she found being a part of her school’s “just average” band in exchange for yet another AP course to pad out her resume.
No it’s not for college. It is to cut down workload and allow the kid to take 2 foreign languages because he wants to.
Wow. I have no comment. Other than to say that the kid and his family have a LOT of control over the “Insane load” on kids.
Yes I hope so that’s what I am trying to do by cutting out all duplicate (arts, math) and extraneous (sports) activities.
Talk to the guidance counselor at the school, see if a waiver is even possible, and go from there. Our HS has a number of very talented and dedicated musicians who take lessons/play in ensembles at the top places in NYC in it every year and they all seem to truly enjoy the experience and camaraderie of the orchestra, but it is your son’s call I guess.
My daughter has always been more advanced than the rest of the band at school, but still wanted to be part of band regardless of how relatively weak it is. She was able to fit band into her schedule for three of her four years of high school and able to take two foreign languages during her sophomore year and stay in band by taking a half year PE course and a Health course online. She had hoped to continue with the second foreign language but was not able to fit it in to her schedule for junior year or this year. This year she could not fit band into her schedule, however, she plays with the band on a volunteer basis, attending rehearsals right before events when they have them during their “seminar” period, and this keeps her eligible to audition for the regional honor band activities. All of this had to be worked out with approval from the administrator at her school. She loves her music and practices every single day.
You have no choice but to work with your child and their school, consider what your child wants to do, and take the best fit possible.
What does your son want? If you’re trying to relieve stress, adding more academics may not be the best way to do it!
Another thing to consider is the level of the high school orchestra. My daughter was a very advanced flute player by middle school but still wanted to remain in the school ensembles, so she was allowed to play with some of the high school wind ensembles/ flute choirs as well. When she moved on to a private high school, the orchestra was very basic and she was taking voice lessons as well as having shows in rehearsal and performance- the only option for her was to drop the school orchestra.
Talk to your son and I suggest that both of you make an appointment with his school counselor to see what his options are for next year- remember, what an eighth grader is thinking about now may not at all be what looks great by the time he’s in in 10th grade.
The waiver is possible I am just concerned about any downside e.g., the school getting upset which impacts recommendations down the line. If we can swing all the waivers plus no math club that’s extra 10 hours a week which means 2 extra hours of sleep each night which will be priceless plus a second foreign language becomes possible. I just don’t get this work yourself to the bone attitude that is so common all around these days.