The Emerson Middle School Concert Orchestra 1 was approached by the Illinois American String Teachers Association Board of Directors (ILASTA) asking for their participation in the 2016 Teacher Enrichment Workshop! Teachers from across the state attend this workshop every year and are searching for ideas, tools and inspiration to take back to their own programs and studios. This year, the ILASTA were looking for a student group to work with the keynote speaker, Dr. Louis Bergonzi from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Music. Based on performances at the Niles West-University of Illinois String Clinic, superior ratings at Music in the Parks, and overall structure of Emerson's instrumental music program, Concert Orchestra 1 was asked to be the featured student group for Dr. Bergonzi's keynote session under the direction of Miss Charous. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the well-rounded educational experiences we offer our students in the Emerson learning community.
Dr. Bergonzi rehearsed with the orchestra on Tuesday, October 18 during their morning rehearsal. It was a great success! (See below for pictures). The ILASTA teacher enrichment workshop is on Saturday, October 22 at York High School in Elmhurst. Good luck to our Concert Orchestra 1 students!