“The Spring Break of your Day!”
Morton High School Orchestra
Welcome to the homepage for the MHS Orchestra. In this Orchestra, we keep our ducks in a row and work hard at having fun!
Daily Links
Extra Performance Opportunities
The All-State Festival at the Peoria Civic Center
All-District / All-State
If you would like to be a part of a full orchestra that performs some of the best symphonic repertoire conducted by experienced professionals, then All-District is for you.
All Auditions are on video this year!
Morton is located in District 4, and the top 2 chairs automatically qualify for the All-State Orchestra Festival, which takes place in Peoria at the end of January. In many instances, depending on audition scores, more than 2 from each section are invited.
The Youth Symphony performing at ICC.
Youth Music Illinois
Youth Music Illinois is a phenomonal organization that is based out of Peoria, IL. With three tiered ensembles, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Prep Orchestra - This Strings-only ensemble performs concert repertoire between Grades 3-4.5 (in our terms, somewhere between 8th Grade Orchestra and Concert Strings).
Concert Orchestra - This full orchestra (strings, winds, brass, percussion) is conducted by Mr. Getz and performs staples from full orchestra repertoire ranging from classical pieces to soundtracks to pop tunes.
Youth Symphony - This full orchestra features the top players from the Tri-County area and plays professional level and quality symphonic repertoire. It is conducted by David Commanday, conductor of the Heartland Festival Orchestra.
If you would like information on how to audition for any of these ensembles, visit the link below:
Solo & Ensemble
The only way to get better at performing is to perform! Solo & Ensemble is a great way to get more performing experience and get some valuable feedback from professional judges. You can either sign up to perform a solo (you must have a piano accompanist) or an ensemble (at least 2 instruments). Please have talked to Mr. Getz or Mr. Martin before filling out this form.
Pit Orchestra
As a musician, it is so much fun to learn to play many styles of music. In Pit Orchestra, you will do just that! Every spring, the MHS Musical is a hit with the community, and one of the things that makes it so special is the live student Pit Orchestra.
Students must be fairly advanced and independent on their instrument and be ready to learn a lot of pieces in a short amount of time. Mrs. Berger sends out invitations to Pit Orchestra in the early spring, so if you are interested, put your name on this list:
Creative Things Mr. Getz Does
“Let’s Go Down to Orchestra!”
In what has become an anthem of sorts for the MHS Orchestra, Mr. Getz tries his hand at hip-hop after being inspired by Hamilton and The Q Brothers. This song is now sung with great joy every year the day before Spring Break.
“Hey ya, we’re in Orchestra!”
Mr. Getz opened the Fall 2017 semester with another foray into the world of hip-hop, for better or for worse.
“Orchestra Will Change Your Life”
The year the MHS Orchestra put on a Tony Awards themed fall concert, Mr. Getz opened the semester with a particular Broadway flare.
Mr. Getz’s Top 3 Sayings
“Great music makes great players make great music…”
This means that pursuing harder and more challenging music will make you a better musician that is capable of playing harder and more challenging music….you get the picture.
“Orchestra is the Spring Break of your day!”
When you are playing, really playing, you are actually working very hard at it. Spring break should be the time of year when you really work at what you love to do. Every day in Orchestra should be like that. We work really hard because we love to see our progress, both individually and as an ensemble.
“Have your ducks in a row!”
720 days of high school go by like that *snap!* That is a lot of time to develop either really good or really bad habits. Get in the habit of working hard and having fun doing it now so that your “ducks will be in a row” in case any comes by looking for ducks. Trust me, this will make a lot of sense someday.