Thank You!

Here's a video from the Mohawk High School Chorus for Valley Gives Donors as well as everyone who supports the Mohawk Music Students in a wide variety of ways all year long! Click to watch.

Winter Concert Photos

Great concert last night!

A few photos from after the intermission:

The Hype performs Hotel California

Leif (with the guitar) and Sam

Middle School Music director Gina Glover conducts the Middle School Band

Middle School Band

Combined Middle School and High School Bands

Yearbook photo op for the High School Strings Ensemble before their performance with the High School Band

High School Music Director Scott Halligan directs the Band and Strings Ensemble

High School Band

 

Winter Concert Program

 

Thank you to our program advertisers:  Blackmer Insurance Agency, Smithers & Son Silversmiths, Hilltown Tents, The Optician.

Thank you to our program advertisers:  Hair By the Lake, Titan Roofing, Mo's Fudge Factor, Clear Point Acupuncture & Naturopathy

Winter Concert

Wednesday, December 17

6:30 pm, in the Mohawk Auditorium

 

Middle and High School Bands and Choirs will be performing a great selection of music including pop songs, folk music, Celtic music, Gospel, and Holiday Favorites!

Concessions will be available during intermission.

This concert is free and open to the public.

You won’t want to miss this! Bring your friends and family for some winter warmth! We hope to see you there!

Baking Help Needed!

 We are looking for volunteers to donate baked goods for our concession table at the Winter Concert. If you can help us out, please bring your items (must be individually wrapped) to the concert that evening, or you may have your child bring them to the music room that day. Thank you for your help and support!

Citrus Delivery

A reminder from Scott Halligan:

The Citrus delivery will be tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16, at 9am. Parents can pick-up orders at that time, or at the end of the school day (2:15-2:30pm). Parents can also call or email me to arrange a separate pick-up time if needed. Just a reminder that students will be responsible for distributing their citrus orders ASAP.

Phone  (413) 625-9811 x1317

Email  shalligan@mohawkschools.org

 http://www.mohawkmusicassociation.org/2014/09/florida-citrus-fundraiser.html

What a great dinner!

The 2nd Saturday Supper on December 13 at Fellowship Hall in Shelburne was a fundraiser for the Mohawk Music Department. Music students prepared and served a ham dinner with some help from their families.

The kids did an awesome job! It was great to have so many students there helping out.   All the adults who helped had a nice time working and visiting together. We ended up serving 97 in the hall plus a couple of really little kids under 2 and a couple of take-outs.

Some photos of the evening, courtesy of Sue Cole

The diners got entertainment with their dinner. Zac welcomed everyone, invited them to the concert Wednesday night, and then the kids sang a song.

We even had 2 alum helping in the kitchen - Emma and Ashley are both home on winter break. Thank you ladies for helping out your Alma Mater.

Later on after the kids cleared the tables and served dessert (the cupcakes they decorated earlier in the afternoon), then they sang another song. They did great! Looking forward to hearing them Wednesday night at the Mohawk Winter concert.

Senior Center Holiday Serenade

The Select Chorus visited the Charlemont Senior Center on Wednesday, Dec. 10, where they spread holiday joy with carols and  other selections from their repertoire.

The photos are courtesy of Dana Johnson, Triple-B Photos. Dana wrote

I did include the soloist and the young man conducting. I might add you impressed a number of people by allowing this young man to take over the conducting. Furthermore everyone was very impressed with the chorus, and they have every reason to be proud.

Matt solos

Zach directs

Scott Halligan, Music Director, and Amy Roberts-Crawford, Accompanist

The Senior Center audience joins the Chorus for a group photo.

Thank you to our Valley Gives Donors!

With an hour left in the Valley Gives 12/10/14 fundraising effort, we want to thank the 47 unique donors that have contributed a total of $2,300 to the Mohawk Music Association. Your generosity will help provide an ice cream treat to an elementary school student after their first concert on the big stage at Mohawk High School, make the four day field trip to Williamsburg, VA more affordable for all the high school music students, or fund scholarships to graduating seniors.

[Update 12/14/2014:  According to the Valley Gives website we had $2300 in donations on 12/10/2014. There was also $375 in new donor prizes, plus $20 cash from a friend, less Razoo fees, giving us a net profit of $2620.54. We also received a $25 donation through the Valley Gives website on the next day, bringing our total to $2645.50.]

The Mohawk Chorus at the Cantate Choral Festival at Keene State College.

Thank you!

It's Valley Gives Day!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014 

Please Support the Mohawk Music Association

http://valleygives.razoo.com/story/Mohawkmusicassociation

Help us enrich the experience of music students at Mohawk. 

We

• raise funds to help the music department

• provide scholarships to graduating music students

• purchase and maintain uniforms & performance attire

• assist the music department in its activities

• encourage youth and adult interest in music

Track our progress on the Valley Gives Small Nonprofits Leaderboard. Medium and Large Nonprofit Leaderboards here.

The Valley Gives Blog will post Golden Ticket Winners here.

Winter Concert, Weather Willing

[UPDATE 12/9/2014 5:35 am]
Email from the Superintendent: Due to icy road conditions, especially on the secondary roadways in the upper elevations, which are expected to continue into the early evening in some parts of the district, school is canceled today. Please note that the Mohawk Winter Concert is postponed until Wednesday, December 17th. Please be careful. Thank you.

Winter Concert – Tuesday, December 9, 6:30pm

Mohawk Music Department's annual Winter Concert is Tuesday, December 9, at 6:30pm in the Mohawk Auditorium! 

Middle and High School Bands and Choirs will be performing a great selection of music including pop songs, folk music, Celtic music, Gospel, and Holiday Favorites! 

There will also be some great raffle prizes, and of course concessions will be available during intermission. This concert is free and open to the public. 

You won’t want to miss this! Bring your friends and family for some winter warmth! We hope to see you there!

Snow Date: Wednesday, December 17, 6:30pm

Help Us Spread the Word

Please share this poster online & via email, also print & post or distribute. We need your help to let people know this is happening. Our goal is to inspire 150 people to give just $10 each - that should give us a fair chance at winning additional prize money. Thank you for all you do all year to support our students!

More information:  http://www.mohawkmusicassociation.org/p/blog-page_5.html

Music News

From Principal Lynn Dole's December 6, 2014 Newsletter:

High School Music News from Mr. Halligan

This December, join us in the Mohawk Music Department as we give a warm welcome to winter with our concerts, events, community outreach, and philanthropy! This is the season for celebration, togetherness, and giving. In that spirit, I want to invite you to take part in our wonderful events this month: hear the fantastic work of our music students; have a meal with us; sing carols with us; encourage friends and family to go online and support us – You’ll be glad that you did!

Since this is also the season for giving, the Mohawk Music Association and I are hoping you can help support our music students. Please consider inviting your friends and family near and far to make a donation to the MMA on Valley Gives Day. Donations of any size are welcome, and any donation could win an additional $1000 for our students! Wouldn’t that give you a warm fuzzy feeling? More info on Valley Gives Day is below, along with details about all of our events this month.

Thank you, I hope to see you soon!

Scott Halligan

Winter Concert – Tuesday, December 9, 6:30pm

Snow Date: Wednesday, December 17, 6:30pm

Our annual Winter Concert is Tuesday, December 9, at 6:30pm in the Mohawk Auditorium! Middle and High School Bands and Choirs will be performing a great selection of music including pop songs, folk music, Celtic music, Gospel, and Holiday Favorites! There will also be some great raffle prizes, and of course concessions will be available during intermission. This concert is free and open to the public. You won’t want to miss this! Bring your friends and family for some winter warmth! I hope to see you there!

Select Chorus at Charlemont Senior Center – Wednesday, December 10

The Select Chorus will be visiting the Charlemont Senior Center on Wednesday, Dec. 10, where they will sing carols and selections from their repertoire.

Benefit Dinner – Saturday, December 13, 6:00 pm – RSVP

Music students will be preparing and serving a ham dinner on Saturday Dec. 13 at 6pm at Fellowship Hall, 17 Little Mohawk Rd, Shelburne. All proceeds from the dinner will benefit students' trip to Williamsburg, Virginia in April 2015 for the Heritage Performance Festival.  Dinner is $10. Children 11 and under $5.

Seating is limited and reservations are strongly suggested! Call 625-0127 to make your reservations!

Seussical Auditions – Thursday, December 18, 2:30-5:30

Students interested in taking part in this year’s all-school musical – SEUSSICAL – come to auditions after school on Dec. 18! Those who would like a role should prepare a song from the audition packet, available in the music room or the front office. Students interested in working on sets, lighting, and other technical aspects of the show should come to the audition at 2:30pm for a brief meeting about the production. Even if you have never been on stage before and are interested, please come to auditions, we’d love to talk to you about the show!  Please email Shelley Roberts if you have questions sroberts@mohawkschools.org See you there!

Caroling in Northampton – Sunday, December 21, noon-4:00 pm

Mohawk’s student singers will be spending an afternoon spreading Holiday Cheer in Northampton on Sunday, Dec. 21! Stop by and treat yourself to some caroling outside of First Church on Main Street (near Urban Outfitters).

Fundraising – Valley Gives Day – Dec. 10

This is the season for giving!

Valley Gives Day is an innovative online fundraising event that encourages individuals to donate to their favorite charities – like the Mohawk Music Association! Throughout the day, donors will be randomly chosen and their gift may be amplified with a Golden Ticket adding up to $1,000 in support of our students!

To maximize our organization’s success on Valley Gives Day, we need you to help us with these three things:

1) Mark 12.10.14 on your calendar and bookmark our Valley Gives page.

2) Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and help build excitement for Valley Gives by using the hashtag: #ValleyGives.

3) Help spread the word! Send a link for this website page to your family and friends along with a personal note as to why you believe in our work, and why they should give on 12.10.14. You might also want to send them a link to our great promo video.

The MMA says: “We greatly appreciate donations of any size. If you don't have a lot to give, there are many other ways to help. You can start right now by sharing this webpage with family and friends via email, Facebook, or Twitter. In addition, we depend on volunteers and always welcome the involvement of new families and community members.”

Mohawk Music Promo Video

Follow the link below to check out a beautiful promo video about Mohawk Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xf8FBRQSEho

The music in this video was performed by our High School Choral Students at the Riverside Church during their trip to NYC in April, 2014. The voiceover is Mohawk Music alumna and WHAI / Bear Country 95.3 's own "Hannah the Intern". Out of over 400 eligible non-profit organizations who signed up for Valley Gives Day this year, the Mohawk Music Association won 16th place in a promotional video contest!!!

 

Fundraising – Coupon Books

Students participating in the trip to Virginia are offering valuable coupon books for sale. The books are being sold for $25 each, and they include some great coupons to Big Y, like four coupons for 10% off entire purchase - no matter how big! There are also 4 coupons for $6 off a purchase of $50 or more at Big Y.

These Big Y coupons make the books well worth the cost! Ask a music student for more information, or email me at shalliganwithmohawkschools.org 

Fundraising – Tote Bags

Tote Bags are still available! These are very practical, and they make great gifts! You can find them at the MMA website.

Middle School Music News:
On Tuesday, December 23^rd, Mohawk MS chorus and 8th grade band students will be performing at the Shelburne Senior Center. This event is open to the public and will begin at 1:00. Students will perform several concert selections as well as lead a sing-along of holiday carols. Please join us if you can!

Reminder: Our concert is coming soon! Now is the time to gather “concert dress” pieces: Black socks, Black dress shoes, and Black dress pants. Tuxedo shirts and vests will be provided by Mohawk.

Please remember to check the MS Music class pages! https://sites.google.com/a/mohawkschools.org/middle-school-music/

Seussical Auditions on Thursday, December 18, from 2:30-5:30 pm.

Students interested in taking part in this year’s all-school musical – SEUSSICAL – come to auditions after school on Thursday, December 18! Those who would like a role should prepare a song from the audition packet, available in the music room or the front office. Students interested in working on sets, lighting, and other technical aspects of the show should come to the audition at 2:30 pm for a brief meeting about the production. Even if you have never been on stage before and are interested, please come to auditions, we’d love to talk to you about the show!  Please email Shelley Roberts if you have questions sroberts@mohawkschools.org See you there!

Why This Is Important

Emily in a Mohawk Marching Band uniform in the early 1980's

A note from Emily Robertson:

My father likes to tell people our family lived in Ashfield even before it was incorporated as a town. Having that continuity, knowing that I am a placeholder between past and future generations, makes participating in community organizations as important as what I do to maintain our individual household. There are many organizations that play a vital role in the education, growth, and prosperity of our communities to choose from. Currently, I serve as treasurer of the Mohawk Music Association and am also an elected Mohawk Trail Regional School District School Committee Member representing the Town of Ashfield.

As chair of the education subcommittee, I could go into a very long spiel about the importance of music education in the schools and its spill-over benefits into other disciplines. As a Mohawk Alumna I could tell you stories about what Mohawk Music meant to me when I was a kid. And as a mom of three, who have all participated in the Music and Drama programs at Mohawk, I could tell you what an impact those opportunities have had on their growth and development.

But the fact that you are here, reading my story, lets me know you already value music education in our schools. What you may not know is the reason the Mohawk Music Department has been having so many fundraisers this fall and why we are still asking for help above and beyond the generosity we see every year.

Mohawk Select Chorus performs at Disney World in 1986

Most of you will agree that for multiple reasons, it is critical for music students to get out and “hear the world”, to perform for different audiences, and to get professional, constructive feedback. (Imagine a sports team that only plays home games.) That is what our music trips are all about. In fact, I was a high school senior the first year the Mohawk Music department took a trip to Orlando and never would have had the opportunity to go otherwise. As the wife of a dairy farmer, I told my kids the only way they would get to Disney World would be to stay in the Music Department and go on a performance trip. Unfortunately, the last trip to Florida took place just one year before my eldest was eligible. Now, the cost of one bus is a staggering $20,000 so it’s not something the Music Department could even consider, as the cost per student would be much too high.

Even on the High School Music Department trip to nearby New York City this past April, only half of our music students were able to go, with financial hardship being the primary obstacle. (Imagine that sports team earning a spot in a championship match but only half of the team shows up.) It hurts everybody, not just the students left behind.

The Mohawk Music Association tries to raise $10,000 annually for scholarships, uniforms, trips, workshops, and activities that are not included in the school budget. This year, we are trying to raise an additional $3,000 to help defray the remaining transportation costs for our trip to Colonial Williamsburg in order to maximize participation. And the students are working to earn enough to cover their portion of the trip cost as well.

The good news is, there are many ways to help. Financial support is always welcome, but we also value your ideas and input, baked goods to sell at performances, volunteer hours working a booth or table, or assistance with uniforms, and spreading the word to your coworkers, family and friends about who we are, what we do, and why this is important.

As always, thank you so much for your support! Please consider donating to the Mohawk Music Association on Valley Gives Day on Wednesday, December 10, 2014.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Performances Tonight and Tomorrow Night

Although it is not a musical performance, many of our music students are involved in the Mohawk Arts and Education Council's production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Performances on Friday, December 5 & Saturday December 6, at 7:00 PM in the Mohawk auditorium.

To reserve tickets in advance, please call 413-768-9979.

Schedule Your Valley Gives Donation Now!

Won't have time on Wednesday, December 10, but want to schedule a gift for us via Valley Gives?

Schedule your donation now and help enrich the experience for music students at Mohawk. Tell your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter about it and encourage them to do the same.

Mohawk High Music Association Valley Gives website

Visit our Mohawk High Music Association Valley Gives website now and click the green Donate button to get started!


Details below from the Valley Gives FAQ page
http://valleygives.razoo.com/giving_events/VG14/faq#gen4

How Do I Schedule My Donation for Valley Gives?

FROM DECEMBER 1ST TO DECEMBER 9TH, 2014, donors will be able to pre-schedule a donation for Valley Gives’ 24-hour event. This means a donor will need to create a user account in order for Razoo to securely save the card information to be processed on 12-10-14. On 12-10-14, all scheduled donations will be processed with the transaction information previously saved. The user will receive a donation confirmation with a tax-deductible receipt when the transaction is complete. A user can also check the status of a scheduled donation in their user account under the "My Donations" tab. Below are the directions to schedule a donation before 12-10-14:

• Go to valleygivesday.org.
• Select "Schedule My Donation."
• Search for the nonprofit you wish to donate to (up to five at a time).
• Select the green "Donate Now" option.
• Create a user account as prompted*.
• "Complete" your donation.
• Receive confirmation email outlining the details of your scheduled donation.

*In order to schedule a donation, a donor MUST save their card information and create a user account for the Razoo system to securely store the card information as "pending" until the event day. If a donor does not want card information stored, he/she must wait until December 10th, 2014 to make a live donation in order for the donation to count towards the event day prizes and totals.

Valley Gives 2014 Promotional Video

This how-to video will show you all the basics that you need to know to participate in Valley Gives 2014!

MMA December Meeting

The next Mohawk Music Association meeting is Tuesday, December 2, at 6:30 pm in the school library.

We will be discussing the upcoming Winter Concert, Valley Gives Day, as well as planning for the upcoming Ham Dinner to benefit the high school music student trip to Virginia. We really appreciate your help and continued dedication to the MMA.

Ham Dinner

Click on the poster for a larger view.

Music Students will be preparing and serving a ham dinner on Saturday, December 13 at Fellowship Hall, 17 Little Mohawk Road in Shelburne. The dinner starts at 6 pm

All proceeds from the dinner will benefit students' trip to Williamsburg, Virginia in April 2015 for the Heritage Performance Festival.

Dinner is $10. Children 11 and under $5.

Seating is limited and reservations are strongly suggested! Call 625-0127 to make your reservations!