Middle School Strings

Download the 2010 Middle School Strings brochure

Conservatory Dates
June 14- June 25, 2010 (two weeks, Monday through Friday)
Please check the Concert Info page for performance dates.

Department Description
AFA’s innovative curriculum for middle school string players is now in its eighth year serving graduating fourth through graduating eighth grade students. This half-day program, modeled on the established full-day orchestra/chamber music program for high school students, provides students with a thorough and challenging curriculum that culminates in two performances for the Houston community.

String Orchestra
Orchestra emphasizes preparation, concentration, imagination and teamwork as part of the highest level of music making. The AFA Middle School Strings program consists of two orchestras (determined on playing level) for graduating 4th through 8th grade students. Placement in either group is made at the sole discretion of the AFA Middle School faculty and orchestral conductos. In both groups, students will take part in daily rehearsals of standard orchestral literature and new works. Read conductor biographies here.

Chamber Music
All AFA Middle School Strings students are part of a chamber music group that receives daily coaching from AFA’s outstanding faculty of clinicians and performers in quartets, quintets or other combinations in music from the standard repertory. Chamber music classes emphasize teamwork, active listening skills, communication skills and leadership as students work together to perform in a more individual context. A final concert in their chamber music group gives students valuable performance experience in small ensembles.

Musicianship Class
Musicianship class gives students in the middle school program a valuable context and framework for all of the skills they develop while in the program. Featuring sectional rehearsals, technique classes, performance practice, music history and theory, students learn how every aspect of music frames their experiences as performers and interpreters of the music they play.