Newhall School District orchestra and choral music students will perform in their 2013 Winter Concerts on Tuesday, Dec. 17 and Wednesday, Dec. 18. The concerts, featuring students from all schools in the district, will be held at Pico Canyon School.

On Tuesday the 17th McGrath, Newhall and Valencia Valley Schools Will perform at 5:30PM and Old Orchard, Pico Canyon, and Peachland Schools perform at 7:30PM. On Wednesday, December 18th Meadows and Oak Hills Schools will perform at 5:30PM and Wiley Canyon and Stevenson Ranch students perform at 7:30 PM. A $3 donation in support of the district’s music program is requested at the door.

The Newhall School District has maintained an instrumental music program for over 35 years, a unique accomplishment in an era when budget cuts have decimated arts programming at the elementary level. Over 950 students participate in the instrumental program and another 800+ students are members of school choruses.

Newhall School District music teacher Ben Morey directs the string section at Valencia Valley School during a student concert practice.

“Concerts are the culminating experiences of hours of home practice and weekly group lessons. Performing music represents a remarkable human achievement in terms of the combination of skills that it requires- physical, cognitive, interpretive, social and emotional. When student musicians contribute in real time to create something larger than each of them individually, these components are thoroughly intertwined,” said Tara Speiser, Orchestra Teacher for the Newhall School District.

The Newhall School District Winter Concerts will feature a variety of music from different cultures and time periods in accordance with California State Board Of Education Music Content standards. Not only does this expose students to different musical styles, but it provides a varied and interesting program for the audience.

“We are proud of the fact that we have maintained this valuable program through the worst years of education funding in the history of California,” stated NSD governing board president Phil Ellis. “We value the arts in our district and the Winter Concerts are a great way to showcase student talent for all to see.”

This music program serves all 10 elementary schools in the district. Kindergarten through second grade students receive classroom music instruction. Third graders receive instruction on recorders as well as classroom music instruction. Fourth through sixth grade students have the option of joining the chorus and/or learning to play an instrument.

Music Makers PTA, an organization that supports the Newhall School District Music program, assists with the annual concert production. The Music Makers provide salary support for music teachers, volunteers at all concerts and events, funds for instrument repair and acquisition, as well as care for over 500 instruments which are district owned and loaned to students each year.

For additional information Contact: Nancy Copley, assistant superintendent, or visit the website at www.nsdmusicmakers.com.