Upcoming Events: Brownsburg Symphony Orchestra performance at BHS Wednesday April 27th. Enter door #6. 6:30-9pm.
Brownsburg Symphony Orchestra Performance at Zionsville. April 29th.
Brownsburg Symphony Orchestra Performance at Pike May 7th. (contingent upon receiving a top 8 score)
String Fever performance for all orchestras on Sunday May 15th at 4pm in BHS main gym.
Congrats! Freshmen Orchestra for earning a 2022 ISSMA gold rating. and Philharmonic orchestra for earning at 2022 ISSMA gold rating with distinction!
Brownsburg High School Orchestras
Glen Hauger, Orchestra Director
ghauger@brownsburg.k12.in.us
Welcome to the Brownsburg High School Orchestras! We currently have three orchestras: Freshman, Philharmonic, and Symphony.
Freshman Orchestra: All freshmen are placed in the freshman orchestra. There are opportunities for advanced students to perform with older students at their after-school rehearsals and concerts.
Philharmonic Orchestra: This is the intermediate group. Placement is determined following students’ freshman year. There are opportunities for advanced students to perform with the Symphony Orchestra at their after-school rehearsals and concerts.
Symphony Orchestra: This is the highest performing orchestra. Placement is determined following students’ freshman year and every year thereafter. The symphony orchestra combines with band members for some performances to create a full orchestra. The full symphony orchestra has after-school and evening rehearsals throughout the year. The symphony orchestra rehearsal schedule is outlined in the handbook linked at the top of this page.
Performances
Tuesday, October 5th, 2021 – Fall Concert (all orchestras)
Wednesday, December 15th, 2021 – Winter Concert (all orchestras)
Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 – Spring Concert (all orchestras)
Friday, April 22nd OR Saturday, April 23rd, 2022 (TBD) – ISSMA Organizational Contest (Freshman and Philharmonic ONLY)
Wednesday, April 27th, 2022 – Combined concert w/ band and choir (Symphony ONLY)
Friday, April 29th OR Saturday, April 30th, 2022 (TBD) – ISSMA Organizational State Qualifications Contest (Symphony ONLY)
Saturday, May 7th, 2022 (TBD) – ISSMA Organizational State Contest (Symphony ONLY)
Sunday, May 15th, 2022 – String Fever Performance (all orchestras)
Monday, May 16th, 2022 – Orchestra Awards Night (all orchestras)
Additional Performance Opportunities
Brownsburg Chamber Concert – January 26th, 2022
This event is a great opportunity for students to explore solo and small ensemble experiences. Students will perform for a trained professional who will provide written comments on the students’ performance.
Brownsburg Honors Recital – February 2nd, 2022
Select individuals who performed at the Brownsburg Chamber Concert are invited to perform for an audience at the Brownsburg Honors Recital. A main difference is that the top three performances will be ranked and named.
ISSMA Solo and Ensemble – February 5th, 2022
This is another great way for students to explore solo and small ensemble experiences. It is similar to the Brownsburg Chamber Concert in that students prepare a piece of music for a judge. However, this event is held at at Avon High School and students from all over central Indiana participate. Students are also categorized from groups 1-5 based on the difficulty of their musical selection (group 1 being the most difficult) and are given a bronze, silver, or gold rating. More advanced students should consider participating in this event.
ISSMA State Solo and Ensemble – February 19th, 2022
Students who performed a group 1 solo or ensemble and earned a gold rating quality for the State Solo and Ensemble event. This is a huge honor and another chance to receive commentary from trained professionals at an even higher level.
All-State Orchestra – January 13-15th, 2022
This event, sponsored by the Indiana American String Teachers Association (IN-ASTA) is for exceptional high school students in central Indiana who demonstrate a high level of performance in orchestra. Orchestra members are selected by the IN-ASTA committee based on a recorded audition. Selected students come together from various schools for a spectacular weekend of rehearsals and sectionals, culminating in a performance in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Private Lessons
Private lessons are STRONGLY encouraged. Lessons are extremely valuable in that they provide individualized attention that is not found in a classroom setting. Brownsburg’s disctrict-wide private lesson program provides high-quality enhancement to classroom instruction. Most of our teachers are professional musicians in the Indianapolis area and have advanced degrees in the performance of their instruments. The teachers listed below teach both during school and outside of school. Their availability is on a first come, first-served basis. Please contact the private lesson teacher individually to set up a lesson time.
Kathy Hershberger – Violin/Viola – kathyhershberger@gmail.com
Kathleen Swayze – Violin/Viola – violakeeper@gmail.com
Candida Wiley – Violin/Viola – didajane54@gmail.com
Eric Lakanen – Cello – lakanen.eric@gmail.com
Ingrid Pierson – Cello/Bass – catbirdmusicstudio@gmail.com