Q: To confirm, the student performer/musician does not need a ticket to enter, correct?
A: Yes, that is correct. The performer is not required to get a ticket. Once a qualified performer completes all the required rehearsals, s/he will become a finalist and be allowed to perform at the show. All the finalists will be checked in at the Artist Entrance without a concert ticket as we will submit the full list to the hall.
Q: I am in Cello 2. I have a question about the pieces I should be practicing. The spreadsheet you sent doesn’t require me to play the Mendelssohn Fifth Symphony, but in the optional in-person rehearsals you said it was for everyone. Was there a mistake in the document? Also, will I also be playing God Bless America?
A: Mendelssohn Fifth Symphony & God Bless America: they are for rehearsal only for some students. It will be great if you can assist the younger kids during the rehearsal as we plan to do so for the remaining rehearsals.
Q: I am in Honors Orchestra 1 and the Cello Choir. I believe there is also an Honor Orchestra 2 and a Chamber Orchestra that I am not a part of. Firstly, can you please confirm that this is correct and that I am not required to learn any music for Honor Orchestra 2 and the Chamber Orchestra. Secondly, it looks like the in person rehearsals are primarily for the 3rd-6th grade students. Can you please tell us what specific pieces will be rehearsed?
A: As we take a step to the full return to an in-person rehearsal and concert, we are faced with some issues we never experienced. We value your feedback and questions which improve our administration.
- Answer to the first question: Yes, you are not required to learn them but highly recommended to practice the repertoire of Honor Orchestra 2 along with them (for rehearsal/practice only). If it burdens you, you can have free time when the in-person orchestra is in rehearsal.
- Answer to the second question: Yes, you are right as we highly recommend the younger kids to attend the optional in-person rehearsals. You can assist young cellists by sitting as a stand partner (will be assigned during the rehearsals) as a volunteer basis, and you will receive a volunteer service hour credit for our volunteer service program “Donate-Your Talent”
- Rehearsal repertoires: Please find the list below. It is available on Google Spreadsheet. Some extra hard copies may be provided if we need to rehearse for practice only in order to develop the orchestral skills.
| Mendelssohn, Felix | Fifth Symphony (for rehearsal only; for some of you only) |
| Hill, Stephen | McBeth (for rehearsal only; for some of you only) |
| Strauss, Johann | Radetzky March (for rehearsal only; for some of you only) |
Q: (for instrumentalists only; online or in-person rehearsals?) Am I required to attend both online rehearsals and in person rehearsals? I prefer in-person rehearsals. Are the online rehearsals still mandatory even though I choose the in-person rehearsals? Is the Zoom rehearsal mandatory for all instrumental musicians? Is the in-person rehearsal optional for them the following day each week? Is there no option to just attend in person rehearsals instead of the Zoom rehearsal for instrumental students?
A: The instrumental online rehearsals are mandatory. The in-person rehearsals are optional but highly recommended. If you can attend the in-person rehearsals, you may be excused from the online rehearsals. In this case, you need to watch your portion of the recorded rehearsal video to see what the conductors addressed during the rehearsal. Please remember completing the RSVP Google Form to be excused from the Saturday rehearsals & to received the video links. The vocal choir will go on in-person.
Q: (for instrumentalist only; Zoom) Will the instrumental performers be on Zoom the entire time on Saturday? Will there be any information for the parents during the Zoom?
A: The instrumental Zoom rehearsal schedule will allow the student performers to enjoy flexibility. For example, if you belong to Honor Orchestra 2, you can enjoy a free time while Honor Orchestra 1 or other groups are in rehearsal and vice versa. During your free time, you can refresh yourself or maximize the free time as your own individual practice session. To watch the rehearsal along with your child as a parent audience is highly recommended.
Q: (for instrumentalist only; how to be prepared) This is my first-time rehearsing and performing with an orchestra. I took the music sheets to my private teacher yesterday who was a bit hesitant to mark down fingering and bowing for him because he suspected that once the whole orchestra gets together to rehearse, things will likely change in order to have everybody sync up. So my question is, what are the expectations of the players when they show up for the 1st rehearsal? Are they expected to be able to play all the pieces as if they were playing solo? Do they get there to practice together?
A: First, print out all your repertoire. Plan the page turn. If needed, insert a blank page (You may write down “This page is intentionally left blank for page turn”). Second, listen to the reference soundtracks. Try to play your instrument along with them. The real performance will be almost the same as the reference soundtrack. In the first rehearsal, we will play in concerto tempo (similar to the soundtrack tempo) and practice tempo (slow). For markings, see the next Q and A.
Q: (for orchestral strings only) Am I required to follow all of the bowings already written on the sheet music, and is there the possibility of changing it during rehearsal?
A: For the uniform bowings, follow the markings even though your preferences are different. Yes, we may change the bowings during the rehearsals.
Q: For any divisi parts, do I play top or bottom?
Practice both until your stand partner is set up during the rehearsals
Q: For some parts with octaves, if it doesn’t have “divisi” written, could I just play one of the notes (top or bottom, whichever one I should play)?
A: Practice both and either one will be assigned during the rehearsals.
Q: (for Chamber Orchestra & soloists only) For the rehearsal schedule, do the Chamber Orchestra members need to stay for the additional rehearsal hour?
A: Yes, you need to attend the extended rehearsal session.
Q: (RSVP for instrumentalist only) For the optional in-person rehearsals, do we need to reserve a space for those all now or is it possible to do that as we go? I feel my child will want to come to the first one and then maybe decide how he feels he is doing?
A: You need to RSVP 3-5 days prior to each in-person rehearsal to secure a space for you.
Q: (in-person concert) To confirm, the actual dress rehearsal and performance is still in person on July 9 at Walt Disney Hall, is that correct?
A: Yes, that is right. We confirm that the dress rehearsal and concert will go in-person at Walt Disney Concert Hall of which physical address is 111 S Grand Ave. LA, CA 90012.
Q: (not-vaccinated students) For the unvaccinated performers who will not be participating in the in-person tutti rehearsal, dress rehearsal and the performance at the concert hall, what are they supposed to do?
A: The dress rehearsal and performance will be live-streamed so that online participants can participate in the dress rehearsal virtually and record theri video during the concert as a recording session. The recording guideline will be sent separately. The online video and in-person videos will be combined and edited after the concert to publish.
Q: (Woodwind Choir) I am part of the Woodwind Choir. I have a couple questions regarding the rehearsals. For the June 25 rehearsal, does the Woodwind Choir only participate in the “All Ensembles” section from 2-2:30pm? For the tutti rehearsal, is the Woodwind Choir the part of the “all choirs” section led by Dr. Jennifer Garett? If the woodwind choir plays the Honor Orchestra 1 & 2 music, which orchestra will the woodwind choir rehearse with in the tutti rehearsal?
A: Woodwind Choir: as you can see the repertoire, Woodwind Choir will play the repertoire of Honor Orchestra 1 & 2 (the sections which Woodwind Choir needs to play will be informed during the rehearsals). All choirs by Dr. Jennifer Garrett means vocal choirs. There will be the seating plan for the Woodwind Choir.
Q: (Honor Band) From the acceptance letter, I got into the MS/E Honor Band, but the Google Spreadsheets only have Honor Orchestra 1 and 2. I was wondering which one is the middle school one so that I could access the music sheets and practice.
A: This year, we could not form MS/E Honor Band but as we guided it in the guideline as follows, we created wonderful choirs: Woodwind Choir & Cello Choir. We hope we can form a Brass Choir or MS/E Honor Band next year.
(Copied from Audition Guideline) Based on an applicant’s audition result, experiences, engagements, and current school grade level, a qualified student performer as a semi-finalist will be placed into each appropriate honor group:
Orchestra: There are High School Honor Orchestra, Middle School Honor Orchestra, & Elementary School Honor Orchestra. Elementary and Middle School Honor Orchestras may be combined as a 4th-8th school grade level honor orchestra.
Band: 7th-12th Grade MS/E Honor Band. If there are not good enough applicants who do not meet our audition requirements, the formation of this ensemble may be postponed to next summer.
Flute/Clarinet Choir: as an ensemble, a flute or clarinet choir may be formed.
Choir: High School SATB Honor Choir, 4th-8th Grade SSA/SATB Honor Choir, and Adult SATB Honor Choir. These choirs are subject to change into a mixed festival choir or chamber singers.
Q: (Vocal Choir) The choral piece “The Bartered Bride” features both the Czech version and its English translations as options to be sung. Should we learn the original Czech version or its translation? In a similar vein, should Lohengrin (Scene I – Erste Scene) be sung in English or German?
A: The Bartered Bride will be sung in Czech, and Lohengrin in German. Please find the pronunciation guide for Bartered Bride. We will ask Dr. Jennifer Garrett for a German pronunciation guide for Lohengrin and will share it with you.
Q: (Vocal Choir) I noticed there will be quite a few professional singers in the choir. Is this generally how the choir is structured? Just interested since this is my daughter’s first year with LAYPO.
A: Yes, it is what we do to get the choir parts balanced. 16 students from the Bakersfield area will be joining the choir.
Q: (meal breaks) For the concert day schedule breakdowns, from 1-2 pm and 6-8 for meal breaks, can you clarify, if parents are to pick up our children for that hour and feed them or if the students will be going to the food court as a group or bringing their meals and eating together and parents are not recommended to come in those periods of time. We have several children to coordinate plans for so the most specific information helps us greatly.
A: Please find the guideline below.
- Pick up by parents during meal breaks: Parents can pick up their child during the meal breaks at the Artist Entrance of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Please ask the Disney Hall staff in the lobby to see where the Artist Entrance is located. Your child just needs to notify his/her chaperone or choir/orchestra manager to be checked out.
- The Concert Hall Cafe is the only place inside the Disney Hall. The student performers can use this restaurant at their own cost, but they need to check out and in at the Artist Entrance.
- Children under age 13: They are highly recommended to be picked up by their parents. If you as parents are not available during the meal breaks, you need to send a brown bag so that your child can eat it in the rest area within the backstage where a vending machine is available for drinks and snacks. If it does not work, just let us know that we can arrange for our chaperones to form a group and lead/supervise your child to the Concert Hall Cafe.
Q: Just curious. Out of 8 Flute 1 in woodwind choir, only 2 of them do not get to do honor orchestra at all (1 or 2). Some are in both orchestras. Any reason for that?
A: The Performer Selection Committee selected them based on their current playing level, engagement, and audition results.
Q: Thanks for the info but I don’t see music sheets for orchestra 2 for cello? Also, how do friends and family purchase tickets to see performances?
A: Walt Disney Concert Hall will start selling the tickets June 17.
Q: What is the difference between orchestra 1 and 2? Which group is more skilled? What is the difference between honor orchestra 1 and honor orchestra 2?
A: The Chamber Orchestra will play the leading role within Honor Orchestra 1 & 2. Honor Orchestra 2 is an intermediate/advanced/developing group which embraces elementary students whereas Honor Orchestra 1 consists of mainly HS students and advanced MS students.
Q: According to part assignments, I am playing 3rd horn in the chamber orchestra and Honor Orchestra 1, but I received and only received the 1st parts for these two ensembles. Would you please clarify this for me and send new parts as needed? Is it possible for you to let me know how the time will be split for the 3 different orchestras during rehearsals?
A: When there are 4 horn parts, you will play as horn 3 whereas you play as horn 1 when there are 2 horns. Please get the parts for horn 1. We will send you the rehearsal day schedule, so that you can bring your books, laptop, or any materials with which you can spend time while you are not in the rehearsals.
Q: Quick question, on the day of the concert, is she allowed to leave the concert hall for dinner between 6-7pm?
A: Yes. You must notify your leave to your chaperone and check out at the Artist Entrance desk at Disney Hall.
Q: My daughter is very concerned about missing that first rehearsal because she thinks it may affect her position in the orchestra. I wanted to reach out and see if this is true. If so, we could possibly change our flight so that she could attend the first 2 hours of rehearsal. Please let me know if this is worth doing or if the musicians will be placed later after a few rehearsals.
A: As we are doing our best to accommodate our students’ busy summer schedule, we will consider each student’s unique situation. Please encourage her to send us the shareable link for her practice videos of her assigned repertoire so that we can share it with the conductors. Record your videos at your convenience, upload on YouTube or other places, and send the shareable links only.
Q: I am in all three orchestras (chamber, honor 1, and honor 2) so I was just wondering if you can tell me how my schedule is going to work in more depth. Also, I was wondering if participating in this orchestra counts towards volunteer hours? Thank you for your time.
A: Please find the guideline for each ensemble
- Chamber Orchestra will play the leading role within Honor Orchestra 1 & 2, which means the Chamber Orchestra students need to be well prepared for the repertoires of both Honor 1 & 2 in order to assist the developing students. This ensemble only will perform the orchestral parts of the concertos (Ibert Flute Concerto, Wieniawski’s Tarantella, Mozart Piano Concerto, Marimba Concerto after Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto). Chamber Orchestra students are selected by the Performer Selection Committee based on an applicant’s audition result, experiences, engagements, and current school grade level.
- Honor Orchestra 1 consists of high school and middle school students who demonstrated an advanced playing level and skill in the audition process.
- Honor Orchestra 2 students are selected mainly from middle and elementary schools and will be supported partially by Honor Orchestra 1 and Chamber Orchestra students.
The summer concert does not award credits for volunteer service, but the chamber music series in upcoming season (2022-23) will provide a volunteer service program which includes Convalescence Visit Concert, Benefit Concert, Donate-Your-Talent Program etc.. Please notice that we will make an announcement in August or September.