It's hard to believe we're already beginning November! We've had a great start to the 2023-24 school year - from the first day of school (and even before!), our fine arts students have been working hard to continue to grow their craft. We've had beginning instrumental nights for newest players, first performances, and creative projects in a short time with so much more to come!
We were able to hire great new staff members this summer and they have merged seamlessly into our team. Our department is continuing to learn and grow with our students and we have many great ideas to implement and projects on the horizon.
Keep track of our events and join us throughout the year - you'll be continually astonished by our amazing wildcats!
~Sarah Gentile
The West Genesee Central Schools Fine Arts Department and Camillus Middle School proudly present Once On This Island, a coming-of-age musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Little Mermaid.
Performances will be located at Camillus Middle School, 5525 Ike Dixon Rd. in Camillus on Thursday, November 2 and Friday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 4 at 2:00 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the show. Tickets are $10 general admission.
Click here to read the full article on the West Genesee website.
The 2023 Wildcat Marching Band performed a show that was a musical representation of the 7. Using show tunes, pop music, traditional music, mother nature and a lot more - "Seven" took audiences through a musical and visual tour of one of the most popular numbers, 7.
There have been many things to celebrate this season: getting back on our home turf, a second place finish at the US Bands competition in Annapolis (including a tie for best music caption and best color guard caption), continued hard work and improvement week after week, and a fabulous performance and 5th place finish at the NYS Field Band Conference Championships on Sunday, October 30th at the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse University.
Throughout the season, the staff and students along with our amazing family volunteers have worked tirelessly to bring this whole show to life - from the first idea to the final performance. This is truly a collaborative activity and the band could not have done it without the contributions of everyone!
Five West Genesee High School musicians were accepted into, or as alternates, to the All-State Conference to perform in Rochester, November 30-December 3, 2023. The conference, including the final concerts, will take place at the Rochester Convention Center in the Eastman Theatre and is sponsored by the NYS School Music Association. The students from West Genesee High School are: Daniel Alvaro (Mixed Chorus, Alternate Symphonic Band), Samantha Bullock (Mixed Chorus), John Diem (Mixed Chorus), Elena Pacheco (Symphonic Band), and Joanna Ray (Mixed Chorus, Alternate Symphonic Band).
Way to go musicians!
On September 12th, our orchestra staff held the annual String Beginner Night for our new string players in 4th grade. New string students are able to register for their instruments and see the 4th graders that participated in our summer Jump Start program perform. The students and their families are able to learn the who, what, where, why, when, and how of playing a string instrument and what they can expect throughout this first year of learning. Finally, everyone was treated to a stellar performance by the WGHS Symphony. It is so much fun to see our newest string players intently watching our oldest string players!
Another great night was September 19th, Beginning Band Night for our new wind and percussion students. Our new 4th grade students are able to pick up their instruments and hear an inspiring performance by the WGHS Wind Ensemble. The teachers and our wind ensemble students split the new players up by instrument and the 4th graders have their first lesson right that night.
Such an exciting time for our new instrumentalists!
West Genesee has redesigned the school district website. It is now easier to find items directly related to Fine Arts from the Fine Arts page. It is also very mobile responsive and easy to find items from your phone. We will be updating the Fine Arts page over the coming months so please keep checking back!
In addition to the new website, West Genesee has launched a new mobile phone app to communicate to students, parents, and community members about West Genesee news, upcoming events, and other important information. You can keep track of all Fine Arts events this way too! The West Genny app is available to download free from the Apple App store or the Google Play store. For more information about the mobile app, click here to view a video about the app. [FYI-this app is different from your ParentVUE app which you will continue to use to communicate with teachers, check on schedules, and other items that relate directly to your specific child(ren).]
