By Emily Petillon
Staff Writer
Mira Costa students will have the opportunity to receive honors credit for taking advanced classes in band and orchestra this year.
Prior to this year, students received art credit from music classes. Now, the classes are University of California honors accredited as well.
“This isn’t really a whole new band class,” Costa band director Joel Carlson said. “Think of it more as an opportunity for getting well-deserved honors credit.”
The new honors music classes are harder than college preparatory classes but do not provide college credit like Advanced Placement music courses.
“I noticed that it was possible for our Wind Ensemble to achieve this credit due to the current courses, so I applied for honors status and got it,” Carlson said.
The orchestra, however, took a different approach to obtaining honors credit.
“I’m starting a new, after school, period seven chamber orchestra for those who want to delve further into the music,” Costa orchestra director Peter Park said. “I believe the next step in the honors program is to implement new classes for each teacher’s musical specialty.”
The honors orchestra class will consist of students that go through an audition process and are willing to stay after school to practice and work on songs. Music theory and other facets, such as conducting, will also be taught.
“This class would give me the chance to really go more in-depth with the music, as well as give students the chance to try things that they wouldn’t get to experience in class, such as actually running the class or conducting the orchestra,” Park said. “It is a chance to expand their horizons.”
Park is not using the typical try-out process that he and others use for the other bands and orchestras in order to determine which musicians will get into the new class. Instead, he is evaluating student growth and performance throughout the years. Thus, freshmen will not be able to participate.
“For this class, I feel that a one audition process is not really appropriate, because I don’t want amazing students missing out because they blew one audition,” Park said. “Also, I want to take into consideration the progress each student has made, and not only their musical skills, but also their leadership abilities as well.”
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