Hazel’s dedication to her musical instrument of choice at 5th grade, the cello, has meant adapting to learning on a computer screen (due to Covid19 restrictions) not long after first picking it up—a challenging task even for more experienced music students. Her efforts have paid off and Strings Director Mrs. Wright noticed a huge improvement … More November 2021 Music Student of the Month – Hazel McKenzie
Orcas Island Music Advocacy Group (MAG) is helping to raise money for 4 steel carts to safely stack, move, store and protect the 80 or so music chairs used daily by 5th-12th grade music students for practice and performance in the public school. These storage carts will keep large stacks of chairs stable, freeing up … More Public school music program needs chair carts for daily use — GiveOrcas Holiday Campaign 2021
Hello from MAG! School music has started, in-person, at Orcas public schools. Hooray! The high school band even performed ‘live’ at the Homecoming week bonfire on the Village Green on October 8th. Holiday concerts are being planned, albeit only open to families at this time. This year, there are 116 students in Band and Strings … More 2021 Fall School Music News
A junior at Orcas high school, Paxton packs a busy daily schedule that starts with zero-hour band class and ends with after-school sports, often with away games that end with a late ferry ride home. With all he has going on, he still brings enthusiasm to the band with his tuba playing! We love his … More October 2021 Music Student of the Month – Paxton White
As a high school student musician in the Strings program, Silas starts his school day at ‘zero hour’—7:30am, an hour before regular classes begin. In his leisure time, he plays bass guitar, piano, and drums. Wow! Read more about what drives him. Congratulations on being the first Music Student of the Month in the 2021-22 … More September 2021 Music Student of the Month – Silas Kok
A belated but heartfelt congratulations to these amazing Orcas Island middle school musicians—Stella Dillard, Vera Sasan and Lauro Quintero, who helped us close out a highly adapted last quarter of the 2020-21 school music program! And once again, thank you to the generous sponsors of the ’Music Student of the Month’ series! Now that the … More Hooray for April/May/June 2021 Music Students of the Month
Our music teachers and students have truly shown us how to power through with music. School music has persevered because the teachers and students have made the commitment to keep playing together—through online Zoom classes, through home video recordings and through physically distanced practice time in the short sessions in the music rooms when they … More Bravo! String and Band concerts 2021
Hello friends, The birds are filling the Spring air with “live” tunes as we emerge from a winter quieter than most. This is the time of year that the Music Advocacy Group (MAG) normally brings you “100 Musicians! 1 Great Cause!”, our main fund-raiser to benefit music education at the public school. Although pandemic restrictions … More Spring 2021 News – Enjoy Our Surprise Concert Video
Athena’s love for playing the viola comes through clearly when she talks about playing music and she brings her enthusiasm to class as Strings Director Pamela Wright attests. Reflecting on the value of regular practice, Athena shared that she could not read music when she first started learning the viola three years ago; now she … More March 2021 Music Student of the Month – Athena Moore
Henry, an 8th grader, has been playing percussion since 5th grade, and now finds himself tapping out a tempo quite naturally. His advice for new or hesitant students is simply to not overthink it because playing music is fun. Nevertheless, Band Director Darren Dix has noted Henry’s effort at pushing himself musically throughout the virtual … More February 2021 Music Student of the Month – Henry Walker
Music Advocacy Group 