For IYJA, IYCA, and OCA.
TARDINESS & UNEXCUSED ABSENCES.
There’s an old saying I’ve heard when I was in the American Youth Symphony in 1992 under Mehli Mehta – “If you’re early, you’re on time…If you’re on time, you’re late…If you’re late, you’re fired!”
In IYCA, the rehearsal begins when we begin tuning. When the oboe gives the A and you walk in after that, you’re late.
If you are late to a rehearsal and it is unexcused (you did not email or call in early to give a good reason), you will be asked to play -- standing up, in front of the entire orchestra, on the conductor’s podium – any passage from our rehearsal repertoire. Whether you are the principal player or the last chair in the viola section, if you are late, you play by yourself for everyone, standing up.
This concept of playing solo in front of the entire orchestra is drawn from my mentors from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In the Berlin Philharmonic, one auditions to be a member by auditioning in front of every member of the orchestra.
IYCA’s attendance policy will consist of having any latecomer (winds or strings) perform by themselves should they choose to not be on time.
ABSENCES WHICH ARE OK.
Those who cannot make rehearsals must have valid reasons for missing a rehearsal. Valid reasons include anything that is “school-related” such as:
- PSAT/SATI&II/ACT exams (all of which occur on Saturdays)…
- Honors Orchestras rehearsals & concerts… (middle school, high school all district honors orchestra, high school all southern, all state honors orchestra, Orchestra America, and NSOA All National Orchestra)…
- Sports conflicts (must be school related)…
- Saturday School…(heaven-forbid)
All other excuses must be documented in writing.
Do I need to come to rehearsal after taking the SAT exam?
Yes. You are required to be at rehearsal AFTER your PSAT or SAT exams are finished. You do not skip rehearsals after completing an exam. If you do, we will ask you play excerpts in front of the entire orchestra the following week.
Do I need to come to rehearsal after I finish a cross country meet? Or science olympiad competition? Or math competition? Or speech and debate tournament?
If the event is finished, you must still come to the rehearsal. Take the time you need to change. But do not assume we know your schedule. Put it in writing: email us. If you are absent when we start rehearsal, you will play by yourself at the next rehearsal.
All Southern and All State orchestras take up the entire Fri, Sat and Sundays. Is it ok to miss rehearsals for these groups?
Yes. We encourage you to audition and learn from being in all those honros orchestras, and they do run rehearsals for 3 days straight, if you’re in high school. If you are a member of those orchestras, you must email us before you depart to let us know you’ll be missing in rehearsals. Failure to do so means you’ll be asked to play excerpts by yourself the following rehearsal.
What if I have a dress rehearsal on a Saturday with another youth orchestra and it’s mandatory?
Email us. This happens very rarely. If you are a soloist on that concert, we’ll replace you. So make sure you are clear with what you sign up for.
ABSENCES WHICH ARE NOT OK:
The following activities cannot conflict with our rehearsals.
These are some of the examples from previous years.
- Any extracurricular activity unrelated to school – MUN, speech & debate, math competitions, science meetings, IVC or UCI classes…
- SAT prep classes
- Tutors
- Family vacations (special occasions are ok, but not taking off a Saturday to relax)…
- Can’t get a ride…(this is unacceptable.)
- Violin or cello or any type of musical lessons scheduled at a time which make you late to rehearsals OR leaving early due to another lesson or class
- Doctor’s appointment
- Another youth orchestra rehearsal or concert
- JCM rehearsal scheduled the same time
- Sport events/activities (golf, archery, swimming, water polo) unrelated to school.
What if we have conflicts once in a while?
We understand if there are conflicts “once in a while.” However, consist poor planning is not acceptable. If you miss too many rehearsals, you’ll lose all solo opportunities, principal chairs (if you are a principal player), and be asked to play solos by yourself at the next rehearsal.
What if we take a class in the morning and I must take that class and it’ll mean I’ll be slightly late?
If you have conflicts with making rehearsals on time due to a class which is unavoidable, we need this in writing with clear dates and precise times of all conflicts. In writing! It will be up to the music director to decide whether it is ok or not. If not, you can sit out until the next concert, sit last stand, or lose your solo opportunity.
WE UNDERSTAND.
We understand the importance of taking tutoring services (SAT classes for high schoolers are vital and necessary). However, they need to be scheduled before or after the rehearsals. Do not schedule it over orchestra thinking that orchestra is less important. From years of experience, this has never proven to be an effective method of learning and improvement for a student.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO.
You should make the effort to be done with your previous class and have enough time to be at rehearsal. Remember, having good habits is probably the most important thing to being successful.
We also value the importance of many extracurricular activities (listed above) which always takes place on Saturday. But make sure you do not overbook, especially as the year goes along. Treat every orchestra rehearsal seriously. Bad habits creep in when you believe “it’s ok” to miss rehearsals for certain activities.
We will dismiss members who consistenly overbook.
ATTENDANCE RULES.
For IYJA and IYCA and OCA members.
REHEARSAL RULES.
Be on time. This means being in your chair when we start tuning.
No one can leave early from any rehearsal, unless it is a serious emergency.
You cannot cancel performing in concerts the day of. No exceptions.
You must bring ALL music to each rehearsal.
You must be in your seats after breaks.
ABSENCE RULES.
You must always email or call and leave a message if you miss rehearsal.
Do not facebook or text us. Use email or call us.
You must include a reason of your absence.
CONSEQUENCES OF NO SHOWS.
If you do not notify IYJA/IYCA about an absence:
You will play in front of the entire orchestra the following week ANYTHING we ask from the repertoire being currently rehearsed. No exceptions!
(Music will be music we’re working on for the next concert.)
How you play will not affect your chair, but we will expect you’ve practiced and play by yourself. If you play poorly, we will ask you to play again by yourself the following week again.
SEATING RULES.
IYJA/IYCA does not have fixed seating or use rotations.
Where you sit is determined on how well you play when we ask you to play at the rehearsals. Everyone plays by themselves, one by one, during a given rehearsal, sections.
Reseating is part of a rehearsal. We may reseat an entire section at any given rehearsal. As this does take a lot of time, we will try to reseat only one section per rehearsal.
After your section has been reseated, that is your seat until you are reseated again.
If you are absent on the day we reseat your section, you will be seated last stand. There are no makeups for reseating or auditions, even if the reasons are beyond your control. For example, we reseat the violas in early November and there are 2 violists missing due to the SAT exams. These 2 violists will sit last stand for that concert and rehearsals.
We hope this encourages everyone to learn their parts so that rehearsals run smoothly.
WHERE’S THE MUSIC TO PRACTICE AT HOME?
We will give you a set of parts to practice at home. They’re your’s.
We will pass this music out to everyone at the first rehearsal for each new concert.
If you lose that part, no worries – the music is posted on our website.
We will not print out another one for you.
If you forget your part after rehearsal, print out your own parts at home.
Whatever is left behind at rehearsal will be recycled and tossed.
All parts are posted on our website: www.irvineyoungconcertartists.org.
We will give you our login and password during rehearsals.
If you forget the login and password, please email us and we’ll let you know.