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Highcrest Orchestra
About Orchestra at Highcrest
Class Components
The Highcrest Middle School orchestra program includes large ensemble rehearsals and a small group technique class. Students are grouped into like-instrument technique classes so that instruction may be focused on instrument-specific needs.
There are three orchestral ensembles at Highcrest -- the Beginner Orchestra, the Hawk Orchestra, and Wire Choir. New string students in Beginner Orchestra will work on learning familiar tunes and playing in unison. Hawk Orchestra works on expanding students' repertoire and their playing to include pieces with 5-part harmony. Different instruments will move at different times and play different notes to create a full ensemble. Wire Choir is an auditioned ensemble. It provides an extra challenge for students who may have been playing prior to coming to Highcrest.
Curriculum
This year orchestra students will be working with the String Basics method book. Beginner Orchestra students will use Book 1. This method book helps students build technical skills and learn key music terminology. It was chosen because it follows a logical progression of skills. One concept is introduced at a time and then reinforced throughout subsequent activities. Additionally, String Basics includes pieces from a wide variety of musical styles. Finally, the book includes an audio/video DVD that contains start-up videos, play-along tracks, and a listening library of songs. This will help students learn faster and stay motivated.
Work in the String Basics method book will be supplemented with additional outside ensemble music.
Click here for the Orchestra Calendar
About Ms. McTighe
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. McTighe began playing violin at the age of three. She joined her school orchestra in second grade and later joined the Rivers School Conservatory Youth Orchestra program. Over the summer, Ms. McTighe brings high school students from around the United States to Europe with America Music Abroad. Through this experience, she had the opportunity to play and conduct concerts at Schönbrunn Palace and Normandy American Cemetary on the Fourth of July. Ms. McTighe has collaborated and performed with Sisai Ensemble, an Andean music group in the Chicago area. She has also studied baroque violin bow making with a member of the North Bennett Street School faculty.
Ms. McTighe received a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. While at Northwestern, she was a member of the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra and Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. She also studied in Vienna, where she taught Music and English in a local school. Ms. McTighe introduced her Viennese students to stop-motion animation, using it to explore the connection between music, stories, and emotions. Ms. McTighe also worked as a Northwestern University Music Mentor to teens at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, where she taught music composition using GarageBand and conducted research for Dr. Maud Hickey.
Most recently, Ms. McTighe worked in Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 as a 4th and 5th grade beginning orchestra teacher. Ms. McTighe has also worked at The People's Music School and The Rivers School Conservatory Summer Music Program, leading orchestras, coaching chamber groups, and providing private instruction. She is the conductor of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras' Overture Strings and assistant conductor for Preparatory Strings. Ms. McTighe joined the District 39 family as the Orchestra Director in 2015.
